::movement on stage - the LIVE show::

November 1, 2005 at 2:57 AM

You know the type...

They move around on stage. Their posture is less than par. They seem to "work" an audience with their interaction(s) between them and their instrument.

That type is me. I dance as I play. I interact with the other musicians. I make uncomfortable faces. My feet and legs go in every direction. Sometimes my violin is on my shoulder, sometimes on my forearm, and sometimes behind my head.

I shred bow hair as if it were going out of style. I NEED to reing my violin every 2 concerts, because I play that hard. Otherwise the strings would break.

Am I nuts? I love it! People seem to dig it. My performance isn't less than par. But to an onlooker, I'm anything but the "typical" violinist.

Who's with me on this one...? I'd love to foster some discussion regarding others' performance tactics, nuances, ticks, likes, dislikes, do's, and dont's.

-Ross Christopher
www.rosschristopher.com

From Eric Stanfield
Posted on November 1, 2005 at 3:04 PM

So you are saying you let the music move your body which in turn energizes your performance and makes for an all around better evening for the audience? All at the expense of standing rigid as a pipe with each limb positioned precisely as some long dead master said it should be?

Heretic.

From Ross Christopher
Posted on November 1, 2005 at 3:43 PM

exactly

From Carley Anderson
Posted on November 2, 2005 at 12:23 AM

Itzhak Perlman: "If it's hard: MAKE FACES!"

From Bill Henderson
Posted on November 12, 2005 at 4:32 PM

Traditionally, the "fiddler" has always been at least partly for kicking up the show. I played that way in my gigging days. Bows rehaired all the time, etc. I always found it a little difficult that my chin was anchored to the instrument (I learned classical techn). I'd love to try one of the Mark Wood flying-V type electrics that free you totally from the shoulders up.

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::movement on stage - the LIVE show::

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