[The Art of the Exchange] PART I

I was, for a very long time, involved with an amazing bunch of enthused dancers and sorcerers who believed that it was their job to train the world to fall under a new standard of dance. While their training mechanisms were interesting and highly effective, they fell victim to a couple of illnesses - mainly ego and greed and the game of the big ole' H word...HIERARCHY.
This was more than dancer bootcamp folks, this was the full on war...a war against individualism and creativity. Somehow, dance stepped out of the picture and structure and bureaucracy was all that was left - well...for me at least.

One day I sat down, thought to myself - hey, I've seen this before.
In 1984, Orwell portrays a state in which government monitors and controls every aspect of human life to the extent that even having a disloyal thought is against the law. The controlling force kept a boot on the neck of its followers by means of:
psychological manipulation
physical control
control of information and history
and acceptable language/terminology used...

sound familiar?

seems some folk don't read between the lines...or read lines at all!
But me and a choice few - we broke free...in baby steps - because though maybe what these happy folk were into was right for them - it surely was not right for me, my soul, and my moral compass. During my slow breakaway process I received an email stating this "...because of your fear of subjugation and constant disdain for authority in many forms, your words often turn to or can be interpreted as obfuscation, inveigling and downright disrespect."
WAIT.
WHAT?
The happy dissenter should shut up...because her words might be misinterpreted?

Well...it's been a while since this has all gone down. And I've been thinking of my words carefully so as not to mince. And then I thought,
WAIT.
There's a fellow - who can articulate much better than I.

And here's what he said:
"The hierarchical principle is the magic spell that has blocked the path of men in their historical struggles for freedom. NO REVOLUTION WILL BE WORTHY OF THE NAME IF IT DOES NOT INVOLVE, AT THE VERY LEAST, THE RADICAL ELIMINATION OF ALL HIERARCHY."

The "revolution" I was previously engaged in - seems now to me to be a farce. A means of gaining and gaining and controlling and winning and gaining and making big names and getting billboards and performing for ClearChannel and hey - I'm on MTV and gaining and controlling and yes yes yes I'm master, you're below me, you know nothing.

Maybe a bit of a rant - but a valid one. Ask the dancers in NYC and elsewhere who either 1) are now disgusted by the thought of the dance or 2) are pushing past their bad taste to create something completely in opposition to what they've experienced and endured.

I own no bad blood - but I am determined to fuck the system...right up it's tight little ass.

The dance comes from an insane hunger to give - to show - to extend the tumultuous mass of emotions to an audience so that one might elicit response and ponderance.
We really shouldn't waste time with bitterness...(you should know this - my dearest Hindi gal)

My therapy? GIVE.

Dancers, are you hurt? GIVE.
This exchange that we've turned our art into - this exchange that has become a play on commercialism and ladder climbing and colored shirts and ranks and $44 tickets has determined the prestige of the giver.

But no - because, how many "famous" modern day dancers are there? You watch the music videos and really, how many dancers can you recognize by name? Who's really getting the shine here outside of the ones who consistently teach or work for big name studios such as Broadway Dance Center or Steps?

'Forced out of the sectors dominated by economic imperatives, this exchange can easily find itself reincarnated in values such as hospitality, friendship, and love.' Teaching to teach. Performing to perform. Free skill shares in the park at night!
GIVE PEOPLE GIVE!

Grow balls big enough to kill the market that this has turned into - and if that is too scary for you - grow balls big enough to change it.

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