The thing that really hits me, watching this again, is the ludicrous contrast between Miss Hampton and Mr. Dokes, and all the other dancers you can see. Is he doing anything particularly fancy, fast or physically demanding? No, I don't think so, and neither would you if the lady were 80 years old. But they seem to be in a completely different world from everyone else visible — except the band. Especially towards the end, from about 04:30, where the youngsters seem to be thrashing around more and more like ‘brute beasts that have no understanding’, while everything Dokes and Hampton do is there for a reason.
It gets more and more revelatory to me every time I watch someone Actually Good.
Of course Mr. Dokes can dance more energetically: here he is again, with a plainly delighted young lady (Denise See). But he still always knows when it's time to stop one thing and do something else, or just stop.
Dance is playing Air-Sax, Air-Drums, or Air-Bandoneón with your whole body, each instrument infinitely mutable in shape and function, but keeping its sound.
Wednesday, 23 December 2009
Actually Good
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
"where the youngsters seem to be thrashing around more and more like ‘brute beasts that have no understanding’, while everything Dokes and Hampton do is there for a reason."
This is so true. When I sit and watch couple's dance .. I am attracted to the couples who dance and mean everything they do, pause and go, breathe and savour. Honestly my eyes don't rest on the hyperactive flurries of blur that some couples do.
I was going to say "youngsters do" but I do see some lovely young couple dancing, moving with intent and profundity, being every movement.
Great post! And loved the opera post too! And the links (angry man!)
Hmm, I actually like the young longhair's dancing. If you look closely you can see his whole body is moving to the music.
I think they're just expressing diffent things with different people.
Dokes reminds me of the time I yelled at group of kids to stop fighting. They paused. In the past I would have run over to them to "finish up" and disperse them but this time I thought
"Ah, hell, I've got grey hairs now, I'll just walk over." lol
Experience is a wonderful thing to express through dance. But running works too ;o)
Great vids. In the second one it takes about 3 1/2 minutes until someone passing by actually stops to watch. A bit like Joshua Bell playing the violin in the Underground ...
Post a Comment