Art Appreciation of Ms. Veronique Doisneau's Ballet, Swan Lake
Describe the performance and use specific gestures movement and non-movement to prove your points. The performance is complex, emotional, and perfect. It is complex because without prior knowledge about it, the piece would seem senseless. There is difficulty in appreciation because it consisted mostly of immobility and poses with music playing in the background. The music cued the performer to move and to change to another position, but until then, the performer holds a pose for a long and boring wait. It becomes emotional when you discover how powerful the impression it is trying to make. The performance is actually the enactment of the role of a corps de ballet from the scene of the classical, Swan Lake. Corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage. It is a group of dancers who are not soloists, which means that they only serve as the “shadows” to the “stars.” Ms. Veronique Doisneau narrates in the beginning that it is the most horrible thing we do. The performance has become an outlet for her to express her emotions. Finally, it is perfect because the performer knows the dance in heart and mind. Every serious dancer is driven by notions of perfection: perfect expressiveness and perfect technique. It is a fact that no one is perfect, but in dance, the performance standards are always being raised (Sontag). Ms. Doisneau dances brilliantly even without the presence of the other members of the corps de ballet to guide her on the timing and positioning and only allowed the melody of (perhaps) the most legendary and classical music in ballet to give her the signal as she stands still in choreographed poses. She inhabits her poses with the breath and life of a professional performer. She exhibits, until the very end, the depth of presence that transforms the performance into something more metaphysical. She finds a way to deeply engage (and does it exceptionally), even in the midst of
Cited: Goldberg, Rosalee. Performance Art: From Futurism to Present Rev. ed. . New York: Abrams , 1988. Holcombe, C. John. Art as Purposeful Activity. 2007. 15 August 2011 . Sontag, Susan. "Dancer and the Dance." Sontag, Susan. Where the Stress Falls. Great Britain: Jonathan Cape, 2003. 187-193. Veronique Doisneau. Dir. Jerome Bel. Perf. Veronique Doisneau. 2009. Winterson, Jeanette. "Imagination and Reality." Winterson, Jeanette. Art Objects: Essays on Ecstasy and Effrontery. New York: Vintage, 1997.