I most certainly hold the view that we can truly be certain
of very little in life, and that our perception of life is largely what forms
our understanding of the world. I find it fascinating to realise that the lens
through which I look at the world is entirely different from the person next to
me. How can we come to universal definitions and decisions and generally work
as a society if we are all viewing the world simply through our own perception? Yet we manage!
' In so far as I have a body through which I act in the world, space and time are not, for me, a collection of adjacent points nor are they a limitless number of relations synthesised by my consciousness, and into which it draws my body. I am not in space and time, nor do I conceive space and time; I belong to them, my body combines with them and includes them.' (Merleau-Ponty in Burkitt, 1999, p.74)
These lines have so much power. They really resonate with me and seem to encompass this notion of embodiment. Being at one with ourselves and the world around us.
I have been encouraged to look back to my biggest inspirational figure in the field of ballet - Anna Pavlova and to think about the body of her work and how her work relates to knowledge, positivist and non positivist approaches.
When I watch videos of Anna Pavlova dance, I have always
felt that she embodies all that I like about ballet. Expression, precision,
artistry, emotion, individuality and honesty. She herself had a difficult early
childhood, born prematurely, not knowing her father, being unwell as a child
and losing the father figure in her life very early. She suffered with poor
health as a child but was so determined to become a dancer, after failing to
gain a place at The Imperial Ballet School the first year, she work
very hard and was successful the following year. Throughout her career she
became known for her rare individual qualities and was described by Ashton as
someone who ‘personified dance’ in this interesting clip here. She literally
embodied whatever character, creature or element she was portraying. She also
became so famous for her portrayal of the dying swan and one cannot help but
see that ill health as a child must have given her an awareness of coming close
to death and perhaps this allowed her to express it so honestly. Crofton (in
Pritchard 2013, p.171) describes her dancing the Swan saying: ‘ Her lovely arms
seem to breathe as she opens and lifts them. Her whole being is the dance.’
Did she embody her roles so much that her life and career really
merged together? She pushed herself a great deal performing all over the world
and eventually died of pleurisy still in the middle of a tour.
Her work intrigues me, I believe because when portraying a
role, she often improvised and changed choreography, it has an organic flow
which inspires me at a deep level. I feel as though I understand Pavlova and
whenever I am feeling lost, I return to her work, every time feeling myself
rebuild a connection to why I dance.
She knew her strengths and even though she could not fulfil
every element of virtuosity which many other dancers did, she had something
special and she independently carried that to the world, inspiring generations
after her.
When I look at her work it seems like she did not try to fix
certainty in her choreography. It feels so natural, it is like it is what would
emerge from her on that day. There must of course have been some element of
setting, but there are many accounts to prove that she would change the Swan
every time she did it. Pritchard (2013, p.171) says that ‘the choreography for The
Swan changed considerably over the 24 years Pavlova danced it. This was hardly surprising
given the spontaneity Pavlova brought to her dances.’
Pavlova felt that she wanted to pursue a route which allowed her
to express the areas she was interested in and moved a way from the exactness
of the classic ballets she was performing in Russia to pursue the
expressionistic career. It looks as though she believed that her individuality
and embodiment of dance needed to be pursued in a individual way. Pavlova
created her own reality and she herself was at the centre of that work very
much embodying a non positivist stand point. It feels as though she is forever
exploring movement and using the ballet technique only as a means to express
emotion in the purest form. Yet she and her work is shrouded with a sense of
mystery and an unexplainable essence. She used the body she had and used it to
inspire everyone who saw her dance, despite being told she had the wrong
physique as a young dancer.
It is as though the classical works often require you to fit
in a box but the work of Pavlova was her own, it could not be replicated and
she inspires me to live a life as a freelancer that is in full alignment with
who I am.
Following on from my last blog, perhaps it is the full
embodiment that I sense when I watch Pavlova’s work that I am drawn to. This is
what I seek to further in my own practice for sure.
Dualism undoubtably has it’s place within research and I
think I very much hold dualist views when it comes to medicine and other areas
of life still as there are times when evidence is so clear for something. It is
such a joy to be exploring these concepts in more depth and to realise that I
am really seeking to further this embodiment of my myself and work and that I
definitely lean towards the non positivist outlook on life. Therefore I will be
going towards a non positivist approach to my research as well.
References
Ashton, F. (1984) ‘Anna Pavlova’ in Lazzarini, R. and J.
(eds) Anna Pavlova impressions,
presented by Margot Fonteyn. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson
Limited, p. 9.
Franks, A. (1956) Pavlova a biography, London: Barke
Publishing
Horton Fraleigh S. and Hanstein P. (1999) Researching Dance:
Evolving Modes of
Inquiry, London: Dance Books
Lazzarini, R. and Lazzarini J. (ed s) (1984) Anna Pavlova
impressions, presented by Margot
Fonteyn. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson Limited.
Pritchard, J and Hamilton, C. (2013) Anna Pavlova: twentieth
century ballerina. 2 nd edn.
United Kingdom: Booth-Clibborn Editions.
Sorell, W. (1967) The dance through the ages. London: Thames
and Hudson.
Svetloff, V. (1974) Anna Pavlova. 2 nd edn. New York: Dover
publications. Inc.
Vaughan, D. (1977) Frederick Ashton and his ballets. London:
Adam and Charles Black.
Goldenidol, (2008) Anna Pavlova available at:
https://youtu.be/Cn_K41P0B1w
Last accessed 08/02/2023
HuntleyFilmArchives, (2013) Anna Pavlova performs ballet
solos, 1920s - film 7724.
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRwb5DGekg
Last accessed 08/02/2023
Thank you, Ann for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe movie about Anna Pavlova inspired me to enroll in a ballet school when I was 6 yo. And her representation as physically unfit but hard working talent set an example how to deal with the hardship of ballet education or any other obstacles in life. But at the same time, this romanticization of her character justified for me many questionable practices of ballet education and self sacrifice as an essential part of artistic career. Moreover, there was a dark side of successful ballet career she definitely had to deal with—patronage of male sponsors and rivalry with other ballerinas which definitely affected her self perception and embodiment.
Hi Olga,
ReplyDeleteSo true and I think this is the aspect of her we are not so exposed to. Self sacrifice as an essential aspect of the artistic life is something that I really battle with. I think you are right there is much that is questionable and it is for sure easy to see someone who seems to show embodiment, yet almost impossible to know if they truly are, because it is again our perception of a person.
So interesting thanks for sharing your thoughts here Olga.
Oooh this made me think about the difference I experience from the dancers I know who try and really give exact replications of the performance and those who try and do a different show every time. I think spontaneity is a really interesting component within the discussion of how fixed we experience things to be. When I remember that the performance is already different because maybe it is colder today or I have a spot on my chin that is more red than it was yesterday I get some kind of permission to discover what is new today, which I think is super exciting. But then again - I don't feel uncertain in those moments, or at least I think you can be very certain and very spontaneous at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Matthew. You know I really seek to embody this feeling of spontaneity. I do think I often worry about making it exact and sort of the same as before instead of embracing the day and realising that today is a different day and that therefore a performance will be different every day. To see the opportunity that each moment offers is so exciting and yet I am surprised by how little I think in this way. I try so much to control and the 2023 new year's resolution is to live more in the moment. I am going to try and allow this to follow through into my performance. So interesting!
ReplyDeleteGreat insight into the work of such an icon. I'll definitely watch her with a new lens! I totally agree that there is a space for a more dualistic thought, especially as you said in Science or Medicine, but I also feel that this is specific to Western medicine and science as the Eastern approaches are very much non-positivist. It's so interesting when we start to look at it from the research point of view specifically with either culture or discipline differences! Thanks for sharing your research, I loved reading it!
ReplyDelete