THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY

So I went to see a production which, in initial description, can not sound anything but ridiculous. A friend of mine, Richie, has been dancing for over twelve years, and at the age of 19, the director of his  Queens community center finally made him the head choreographer for the children’s dancing groups. This year, he decided to choreograph a dance to Britney Spear’s “Gimme More” single on her new album, Blackout. Now you’re right, there are a number of things that could go wrong here. Britney’s music, often reflective of her personality, might not be the best the most ideal coupling. This first assumption that we had, and that undoubtedly you will as well, was justified more and more plainly on one boring night, as a group of us sat on the steps in front of our friend’s Chelsea home and watched Richie show us his routine. Obviously, it was extremely provocative and inviting, to say the least. Exactly how he was going to pull it off with a group of five and six year old boys and girls was going to be ridiculous and incredibly funny. About a month ago, I found myself sitting under the bar stand, peeking in on one of the rehearsals. The moves that many would consider trashy were made cute by these little kids. They didn’t have their costumes (which I later found out to be black and gray sequined bodysuits/skirts with a thick sequined headband) and so they were dressed in long warm pants and sweaters. This is an afterschool thing, so no frill necessary. They imitated Richie’s moves in their adorable pastel sweats. Another observation I made is how kids stick their tongues out when they concentrate, not really out, but out of the corner, as if trying to lick their ears. The entire dance lost its oversexed edge which was neutralized by an eager innocent attempt to copy without understanding it. This made me think about how we classify, criticize, and censor our exposure to art, or art itself. In cutting out a detail because of vulgarity, we are actually ashamed because we are conditioned to see and name it vulgarity in ourselves. Most kids didn’t understand the promiscuity of the song and treated it like any other, while older generations, criticized, basing their allegations on nothing more than personal experience.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 9:21 pm and is filed under