Senior Showcase December 2010 BYU-Idaho Introduction speech to the new title, Lead and Follow: Life Lesson

through Dancing Organized and Delivered by author R.K. Shanahan Addressed in an open performance to the student body at BYU-Idaho Most of this speech is comprised of excerpts directly from the book

The late 19th century philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche stated, Dancing in all its forms cannot be excluded from the curriculum of all noble education; dancing with the feet, with ideas, with words, and, need I add that one must also dance with the pen? It is with this idea in mind that I happily present tonight, Lead and Follow: Life Lessons through Dancing. Two years have been spent working to be able to present this today. It has pushed me in more ways than one. It seemed appropriate though to do such a work, which has allowed me the ability to give back something for all that I have received from this great art form we call dance. Lead and Follow is book that I hope will be an enjoyable and thoughtful read about life lessons coupled with a reflection on the ability dance has to shape our lives in many ways. Through it I discuses the parallels of life and dance instruction in a variety of key themes spread out over 7 chapters. In a way I feel I have the unique privilege of introducing you to the dancers you will see tonight. They are talented individuals who have worked very hard at becoming great. My work has been to explore dancers and dancing, and interpret its meanings and the thoughts that underline the purpose of dance. In my study, these dancers were among those who helped to teach me the life lessons that can be found in dance, and realize its significance. So I will now say to each of them, friends, thank you. Life is full of lessons. They can be found anywhere and in anything. They are those moments of experience found in living that shape and define our current attitudes about our life and who we are. They often have a strong impact upon us, and for that reason we can remember them clearly for many years. Life is an enormous topic, but it is easy to speak about life when codified into simpler contexts, such as within the boundaries of dance. Dance is something simple that has meant a great deal to many individuals because of its power to spark passion in others. We could ask ourselves how dance might fit in with lifes task of day-to-day living. They dont seem to be related subjects. But some aspects of dance can be used in metaphor to illustrate certain aspects of living. Dance has been compared to many things, and had much said about it. These comparisons range from the extreme, to the thoughtful and endearing, to simple truths which, given the right thinking, can be found in many activities and art forms.

The art of dance uses the whole body as its medium, and projects the image of the body the same way as a painting projects an image from a canvas, but in three dimensions and with character narration in real time. The body is a wondrous creation of ergonomic function and anatomic possibility. It defines the form of our existence in this world and the method of our interactions with it. We master the general use of our extremities by the time we reach adulthood, but elaboration on basic function is something we develop over a much broader span of time. With this we must understand that all creations are designed with a characteristic nature defining the boundaries by which they are meant to operate. Our bodies are among these which we interact with under certain design parameters, which define principles of movement and are grasped by conscious articulation and clarified by stresses on the body in the form of pain. Bringing out the potential of our bodies is a lifelong pursuit that is only possible with persistent development and everyday training. Dancers who have developed a passion for their art do not often have trouble in this regard, but a dancer may find that devotion to the task of dancing is understandably a much richer experience when one discovers the connection of the art form to the self, which goes beyond any individual step or pattern. Like the difference between being certified and qualified; one may be capable, even proficient in performing a task, or may possess certification for a position. Yet a person certified may be dull and unseasoned. Qualified individuals on the other hand, as the word denotes, posses a certain quality of character derived from consistency in passionate interests related to their qualifiable work. Such individuals have stepped outside the boundaries of certificate practice and have discovered a wealth of interest, driving the spark in their character and the connection to their work. Dancers, whose work is to dance and to perform, naturally seek this sort of connection to themselves, and, in the process, they discover the relationship of the conscious with the physical to be as satisfying an experience as seeing a naturally occurring wonder for the first time. Why do people get so excited about dance? This isnt a question that is answered in any simple term. There are so many reasons. But we can start with the idea that for a dancer, dance is a part of life, a part of dreams, and can be a part of personal identity. This comes with the understanding that identity is a very personal element to a persons life. Personal identity is a consciousness in individuals that they will struggle to maintain, and fight vigorously to defend, all the while redefining it with each passing year. In interviewing dancers with various backgrounds for this project, I began to notice a curious consistency in the way many began to answer my questions about their dance histories. Many always began with the same sure statement, Dance is my life, or, Dance means so much to me. And others statements were very similar. So much so that I began to wonder what I was going to do with a collection of statements that all said the same thing. It seems that dance has a deep connection to individual lives. It becomes such a part of who people are that it cannot be separated from their identity. A writer from Austria in the early twentieth century, Robert von Musil once stated, One does what one is; one becomes what one does. Passionate dancers may find it easy to attach dance to their identity. They do so

with statements such as, Dance is my life, Dance is who I am. These are appendage statements, summarizing the larger picture of who they are. Of course, dance isnt everything that a person is or has become. But because dance has such an elaborate impact into so many facets of individual identity, it is easier to say that dance is in fact our life, rather than try to express all the many details of our life in a drawn out way. It has changes us, shaped us, enabled us, freed our bodies, and our minds, as well as strengthened us to perform many feats, and provided us with greater clarity of our strengths, and greater power over our bodily weaknesses, or limitations. Dance is unique in its ability to offer experience that demands the focus of all the senses of the body, incorporating its extremities in an infinite exchange of gesture. By this we may well say that dance, in all its propensities, is an activity of self-discovery, an action of selfdiscipline, an exploration of the soul of man. Dance is one thing to be passionate about, and passion is essential to bolster our efforts to achieve our potential. People are more free when they are able to move freely. In this, I mean that a person may feel freer to act and do as they like, once they have limited physical limitations. Along with this, confidence is harbored as a person begins to discover more of what they are capable of doing. Moreover, a person who has gained confidence in this manner may have greater ambition to engage themselves with other talents, or to discover new ones. In this way dance can have an even greater effect on a persons mind than on the body, because dance has a way of lifting our perception of reality from a mundane cycle of routine complacency to a more creative, enthusiastic, and interactive state. This suggests to me, that dance is a creation process. This is opposed to a creative process only. Creativity represents an exploration of possibilities to be created, while creation represents the action after possibilities are defined. One precedes the other, and so it is that dancers in the processes of creativity are by such practice shaping themselves in many other areas outside of their dances. And thus dance is a creation process and not a creative process only. To create something takes effort, patience, faith, talent, and understanding of the elements being worked with. Creation is a benefit, whether the creation is recognized or not, because through the process of creating we grasp at our own intelligence. By its action we act in like manner upon ourselves, building and shaping who we are. By contrast, it doesnt require any talent or understanding to destroy. Hand a young child most any object and it is understood not to last long. But creating in any sphere affects the body by suiting its properties to the work it has been engaged with, and the mind by building its character, its knowledge, and its precepts. - Spencer W. Kimball. We must recognize that excellence and quality are a reflection of how we feel about ourselves and about life and about God. If we dont care much about these basic things, then such not caring carries over into the work we do, and our work becomes shabby and shoddy.

Real craftsmanship, regardless of the skill involved, reflects real caring, and real caring reflects our attitude about ourselves, about our fellowmen, and about life. Striving for quality in dance, as well as in life, requires effort which will require caring about the work we do. The method of movement in dance expresses the self with quality of movement and character, formed by the foundations of technique and artistry. Movement through life is much the same as this, quality of character, and performance of excellence. When these two combine we truly evoke a lifestyle of happiness, health, and wealth, as it adds richness to our spirits. Dance experience becomes life experience for many, and the example of dedicated dancers and performers show us that dance as well as life can be a rich experience full of hopeful ventures and exciting possibilities, if we make it so, by our efforts to achieve in excellence in the things we do. Dance is also unique activity. A dancers goals are not always for glory or praise, like some athletics, nor for intellectual prowess like some academic aspirations. They dont look necessarily for an exploration of the mind, but wish to experience the form of the body in all its propensities. A dancer dreams of that which he or she can accomplish through movement, at the fingertips of imagination. We might ask ourselves, what then do dancers gain from their experience? What is it that a dancer is left with after the long hours of practice are over, and the years of dedication to the art have passed? What do dancers find when they reach an awareness and understanding of all the art has done for them and created in them? What have they learned or gained? To answer any part of this questioning we have to look into what dancers must undergo in the course of their training. If we were to consider a dance class comprehensively, it might suffice. But the feelings dancers have toward dance can be expressed as both subtle and overpowering at once. This makes it extremely difficult to describe adequately unless thought has previously been taken to the subject. The influential English poet, literary critic, and play right of the seventeenth century, John Dryden, expressed his sentiment on dance saying, Dancing is the poetry of the foot. This is echoes best, I think, by the early Modern dance pioneer, Ruth St. Denis, who once stated, I see dance being used as communication between body and soul, to express what is too deep to find for words. Dance in simple terms represents a communication of gestures in a system of leads and follows. Lead and follow is a basic rule of life. Thoughts lead to action. Indecision follows fear and lack of understanding. Hope is led by faith. Love follows charity. Identity follows purpose. Passion is led by desire. Identifying with this principle is a matter of coming to know ones self better and more intimately, as well as to identify with others more fully. We can come to understand and appreciate others beliefs, opinions, desires, goals, and behaviors, simply by recognizing where each is centered. More importantly, as we apply this understanding to ourselves we can hope to live better and fuller experiences in life. This project for me has been an engaging experience that has brought greater understanding and appreciation for the many dance forms. It also has allowed me to get

more connected with my fellow dancers. Many of them were kind enough to add to this work by offering their thoughts and experiences with dance. Many of their ideas are listed in these pages, and my hope is that their stories and ideas will serve to bring greater clarity about dance, both to dancers and those who have not yet begun to dance. There are many reasons why people do and would do well to pursue dance as a part of their lives. There are certainly many reasons I continue to dance, which are not all the same reasons that got me started. Dancing is fun, for one, but I also find that it allows me to spend time enjoying the company of many good people, and developing myself. Outside of dance, my studies here at BYU-I have included a miner in philosophy. With this background, the philosopher Nietzsche has another quote I enjoy sharing, I do not know what the heart of a philosopher could more wish to be then a good dancer, for the dance is his ideal. Others will also find many good reasons to dance as well. Each of the performers you will see during the rest of this evening have unique stories to tell, bright with enthusiasm, energized by experience, expanded on with imagination, and expressed with power by the individual spirits of the dancers who will perform them. The dances tonight are not necessarily personal stories, but they are stories the performers wish to share, and feelings they hope to express. You might consider taking note of any thoughts you have about the dances that you seem to connect with. Hold on to that, explore it, and ask how it is significant. Within this method lies the basis for interpreting life lessons both in dance and in many other things. Enjoy the rest of the show, and Thank you.