Dance Arena Ep. 7. – It’s Not About You
“My creation, my vision, my message, and I will not change any part of my artistic vision for anyone.” There is a lot of “me” in that sentence. In fact, there is only “me” in that sentence.
Dance, as with all art, is about communication. More specifically, it is about human communication.
When human beings communicate, they build relationships. The extent of each relationship varies greatly, but without exception, the moment one begins communicating with another person, a relationship is established. Being a performing artist means that that you are creating a relationship with the public.
“Art is a communicative relationship.
It never involves just one being;
it is always at least two.”
– Rick Tjia
But a relationship is a two-way street– it is not, as is commonly believed by the artistic community, a monologue. You cannot just talk; you have to listen. And as in any relationship, it evolves on both sides and gets deeper and more involved with time and emotional investment. The minute you open the theater doors and begin your performance in front of an audience, it is no longer about you– it’s about us.
“My creation, my vision, my message, and I will not change any part of my artistic vision for anyone.”
Try that approach with your wife, your husband, your boyfriend, your girlfriend, your lover, your best friend. Let’s see how that turns out.
The Artistry of Compromise. It is arrogant to think that your creation/performance is only about you, what you want to say, and how you want to say it. If you’re building a relationship, it’s a give and take; it goes both ways. Compromise is not and never was a sellout; it is the thread that human relationships are built on. It is the thread that connects the artist to an audience and keeps the relationship healthy. It is also what keeps the artist down to earth and continually connected to the reasons why they became an artist in the first place.
It is easy to do whatever you want on stage, and “screw it if they don’t like it; this is my vision.” Anyone can do that; two-year-old children are famous for doing exactly that. The creative challenge (and consequently the skill), is in creating something for them– the audience– while keeping your own artistic integrity.
That – is difficult. And that – is what we call Artistry.
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