What I Missed and Dancing

January 9, 2008 at 5:41 AM

Krzysztof Penderecki came to Saratoga Springs, NY and I missed it. Where in the world was I? Daydreaming? I am disappointed.

saratogian.com

Well, life goes on.

Recently, I put up a video on the discussion board talking about how I really enjoy athletic violin playing, i.e. sweating, hair boucing around, flips and kicks, triple-double axles...

Today, as I watched Leila Josefowicz play the second movement of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto again and again, I noticed that I was dancing. Well, okay, I didn't notice, I actually dance to classical music quite regularly, thank you very much.

And I am not talking about swaying back and forth, or tapping my foot to the invisible metronome of the music. I mean, full on dancing i.e. "the butterfly", "the tootsie roll", "tick tock", "the walk", "lean wit' it, rock wit' it", "moonwalk", "swing", "tango", "flamenco",
"head bobbin'", you name it!

To Shostakovich's Violin Concerto, I find myelf clappin' my hands to the beat, bobbin' my head, and twisting my stomach to the rolls and twirls of communication between the orchestra and soloist.

I sat down at the computer with my headphones on. My mom, curious to see what new beat I was dancing to, came over and was disappointed to find out that the assumption that her daughter was extremely weird was true. "How can you dance to classical music like that? I mean, I can understand ballet or simply swaying your body, but Jasmine, is 'the walk' and 'the butterfly', hip-hop moves mind you, really fitted to this type of music?" My mom asked, clearly amused.

"Mother, hip hop, pop, rock, all got their rhythms and beats from earlier music. Why do you think Alicia Keys used the theme from the Brahms Violin Concerto, or the Black Eyed Peas used a theme from a symphony?! So, clearly, it is appropriate for me to dance this way."

Of course, I was right. I mean. just try it. Dance to Shostakovich, or to the second movement in the Prokofiev violin concerto no. 1, or Bach's Solo Partita in E major, and you will find that some of the "beats" are not all to unfamiliar. I mean, the 3rd movement in Bach's E Major Partita starts out with a very typical hip hop rhythm. Or should I say, baroque rhythm which is used by smart recording artists of the future? So, really I can dance to this music if I want to.

"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to, cry if I want to..."

So, if I ever become comfortable enough to step out of my shoes during a performance and just relax and be myself, my involuntary movement will probably be a dance of some sort. Can't wait to see whether it is the "butterfly" or "the walk"...

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

What I Missed and Dancing

Laurie's Books

Subscribe