following annoyance

Last Fall I read this article by Adam Mostroianni and it’s been following me around ever since. He posits that instead of ‘doing what we love’ we should, instead, do what we can’t stand not to, pursue that which annoys us; the problems we can’t let go unsolved.

Dancers and choreographers go to one another’s shows then they grab drinks and dissect the work. The higher the expectations, the more rigorous the dissection. Dissection is absolutely the wrong word because it’s much, much more emotional. We get elated, deeply envious, woefully disappointed, furious to the point of rage…in short, other people’s art bothers us, in good and not-good ways. 

I used to feel bad about this practice and at its worst it really is just a catty, gossip-fest. But, at its best, it’s a group of likeminded people getting together to talk about the thing that annoys them the most: dance performance that isn’t quite what they think it should be. Or performance that is exactly what it should be but was not made/performed by them which is both inspiring to experience and exquisitely painful, a bit like eating the ripest, most delectable mango while standing on broken glass. 

As a choreographer on the verge of premiering a new work, I know why I’m doing this (see above). I even know why I make dance that is permeable and responsive: because I so badly crave that extra-ephemeral, only-this-way-with-this-specific-group-of-people, experience. What I don’t know is why other people attend live dance performance. 

So, I’m asking you: Why do you see shows? What are you interested in experiencing? What do you want from a dance performance? And, if it’s relevant, you can throw in what really gets under your skin – in performance or otherwise. 

That’s it for now. Keeping it shorter and, perhaps, sweeter for now because spending my days with a five-month-old is kicking my energetic butt in a deeply satisfying and all-encompassing way.