Manifesto

Manifesto: A public declaration of intentions, motives or views.

"Dance has served through time and cultures as a collecting force, a softening of hard edges that separates one person from another, an activity of communion." Ruth Zaporah

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Leslie Smith

Leslie Smith
4/22/11
D331 – Carter
Dance Manifesto
          Dance is a language. Dance is selfish and selfless. Dance is freedom of wordless expression. Dance should be practiced by free will, to serve the purpose of expression, exercise, ritual, or pastime. Dance can be an escape from your life or the center of your life. Dance should not be stressful. And above all, dance should involve leaving little pieces of your soul wherever you go.

Kelly Judge

Kelly Judge
Dance Manifesto

Dance establishes health in both mind and body. It serves as therapy for an at times troubled mind. It is the release of negative energy and feelings to achieve a feeling of balance and peace. It makes me feel like anything is possible and helps to bring light to dark situations. Dance symbolizes hope and possibility for the future.

Alex Sigler

Manifesto
Brief gestures of an arm can do a lot of things:  It can stop a vehicle, prepare a race, snap.  It can motion the wind, render a greeting, give praise.  It can say how you feel, pass up dessert, invite a guest.  It can cause fear, make a fist, and send someone to their death.  Movements of the fingers can signal peace, happiness, anger, pain, even how many orders of fries you want. It varies on location and culture.  This is a language unspoken.  A language associated with words, but truly has no written language; no verbal language.  A language communicated through motion; a language bounded only to motion. But this language does not stop with just the hand.  It is whispered by the legs, felt in the drop of a hair, seduced by the stare of an eye, persuaded by the grin of a lip, grieved through the pounding of a floor; an intangible language with an infinite amount of finite experiences; a language with and without a structure; a language that can tell a story and can just ramble nonsense. Some see the true presence of what this is, others take it for granted. Some don’t need to recognize it, others want to.  But I am telling you, those who ignore the voices of the movements forget what it truly means to be alive.

Leslie Spitznagel

Leslie Spitznagel
D331
My Dance Manifesto
            For me, dance is a gift, but should not be only for others entertainment, but your personal joy and growth as well. Dance is for the eyes and not the mouth, the body and not the mind. Once you think about it, you lose the feeling. It is something to experience and cannot be taught through books or lecture, but through experience. Dance should express an emotion and be a cathartic experience for the performer. It is not about the audience, they are a small portion of the process. Dance is what we give to others who cannot or don’t know how to express themselves through the art form. A friend recently told me to “dance with your feet, body, and heart -  not your mind,” and that is what I intend to do from now on. That is what it is supposed to be.

Adrienne Anderson

Adrienne Anderson
Selene Carter
D331

Dance Manifesto
Dance is a culmination of many ideas and forms. Movement, emotion, dynamics, culture, race, and religion all combine at times to form what we call dance. Dance should be filled with emotion and passion as the dancer works to connect each movement. Dance encompasses each dancer’s identity and worldview. With every movement that is made the dancers reveals another aspect of themselves. Dance is a culmination of emotions and connections.

Kalyn Whitaker

Kalyn Whitaker
24 April 2011
D 331
Dance Manifesto
            When I dance I can be anything, I can express anything, and I can tell any story. Dance is a part of culture. It is a part of my culture. Dancing can be as simple as taking a step to as complicated as a series of turns. Dancing is not something merely done for entertainment, but also contains a social life. Dance allows me to forget all of my troubles. It is a form of release. It is a release in the sense that I can move away from everything and seclude myself from all troubles and emotions. I can dance about nothing. I can dance just to dance. But, dance is also a way I can express myself. It is a way I can show my emotions and express them in the best way I know possible. This kind of dancing is purely for me. It is a release of all the emotions I have. In dance I can truly be myself. Dance is a way of exploring ourselves and culture within that. Dance is a way of life. It is my life.

Kellin Miller

Dance Manifesto
Dance is telling a story without words, a communication reaching every corner of the world. It is a timeless form of self expression, always changing and growing, never dying.  Dance is a portrayal of power, grace, and beauty, no matter the style. It is not contained to a single idea or time, but captures the very spirit of its performer. Dance is not about being perfect, but being you. It is about showing the world who you are, and who you strive to be. It may be a look at the past, present, or hopeful future. Whether it is on stage or off, dance has the power to move and change both dancer and viewer.

Kellin Miller