“Is dance democratic?”  A question raised near the end of the Guggenheim’s Works and Process program on Sunday night, The Art of Teaching: Participation and Perception.  I am so grateful to Tony’s previous post for presenting the material so clearly and expanding on some of the inherent problems of the specificity of ballet and each line of questioning that was raised.  I too, found the lecture highly stimulating.

Damian Woetzel, former NYCB star and recent appointee to the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, brought up and answered the above question by maintaining that dance can be democratic in enjoyment and appreciation; it being an obvious fact that there is a technical gulf that often puts professional dance, and all highly technical art forms, on an unattainable pedestal, and therefore can restrict participation in the most literal sense.    Michael Sandel, his co-conspirator onstage and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard, had a different answer.  He allowed that we need not be queasy about whether dance as an art form is inherently democratic because it has (or hopefully has) resonance.  And resonance, can be a two way street for performers and audience members; much like his question and answer discussion on justice which he led earlier in the evening about disparity of wealth and compensation strived to be.  Much like the relationship between teacher and student in the classroom.  (Now we have come full circle to our title.)

Why is the idea of resonance important to me?  Why does it matter if dance or art is democratic in and of itself or just fosters democracy?  How does that relate to issues of justice and equality, whether in matters of money compensation or status in our world?

There are so many answers, or maybe just more questions, but I took away this circular reasoning: in order to maintain the ideals of equality and freedoms of speech and therefore, art, that our democracy is seeking to provide and as citizens we claim to want, we have to make sure we maintain the very institution that provides it.  And in order to try to maintain any sort of democracy, utopian or our current grasping-at-straws version, the participation of the whole community is really necessary.  And artists of all disciplines, dancing and teaching artists included, can have an impact by creating a shared experience via their art for a community of people to participate in, either literally or by enjoyment and appreciation.  Participating begets participating.  I can channel this idea even more easily by thinking of the inverse:  that tyrannies are allowed to exist when people lack community and shared experiences, resulting in feelings of fear and isolation that further perpetuate that negative cycle.  Even seeing or experiencing art that is depressing or upsetting, is somehow still a beacon of light; if only to remind you that you are not alone, that you are surrounded by community and someone out there understands moments of darkness too.

Sandel also brought up the idea that our sense of justice in regards to compensation is just a reflection of our values as a community (what we are willing to pay for and how much) and so if we truly wanted to fight for equality in our society, it would theoretically just be a matter of righting who and what we value.  Just!  I know it sounds overly simplistic.  But it was a really inspiring moment for me because I realized that the righting of values and therefore our reflection of those values in our society, begins in the classroom, in museums, in studios, in concert halls and opera houses.  Ultimately, it is just about coming together to have a shared experience of other and each other.

As our nation, and in particular New York City, struggles with the ever widening gap between rich and poor, I found this lecture to be timely and profound.  Ultimately art and teaching and the art of teaching is about learning and experience and hopefully, reciprocation between teacher and student, artist and audience.  And the resonance that extends beyond that participation and/or perception is what brings us to the shared experience and sense of community; two of the greatest examples of the evening being the opening of the lecture with the audience joining together to do the opening phrase of Serenade and the closing of the lecture with the finale of Dances At a Gathering.  I got chills, even as I was guest tweeting it love for the Guggenheim and for my own twitter feed.

Now more than ever, I want to go to bed at night thinking my community is not a corporation, but rather a collection of individuals (who are also not corporations!) coming together every now and then to participate in the intellectual and creative life that a healthy democracy and our treasured freedoms require.

{Pictured:  Tiler Peck, NYCB dancer, Damian Woetzel and Michael Sandel.  Photos by Erin Baiano.  Courtesy of Guggenheim, Museum Works and Process.)