My Journey Through Awe

When I started this class, I had no idea what it was going to entail. Throughout the semester, I feel like I've gone on this journey that has helped me truly understand what awe is.
The first thing that I did that helped me understand what brings me awe, was the list of 10 books that bring me awe. You can find it here. From there, I had to move beyond what brings me awe, into how awe can function and work. So I chose to write a post about The Yellow Wallpaper. A short story that has caused me to feel many different things over the course of my scholarly life, it finally helped me understand one of the many different ways that awe can work.
From here, I'm not really sure what happened. But something inspired me to start thinking about the awe of dance, and how that functions in literature and digital media. So I started to baby my idea, and grow it in different ways. Then I did my picture story thing. And that really helped me clarify my ideas, and figure out what I really wanted to talk about for my final project.
A few days later we did the digital media awe list, and that was really cool for me, to be able to explore a slightly different idea but still find ways in which it related to dance as well. One of my favorite awe inspiring example of digital media that relates to dance is still Thought of You, which is at the end of my list.
After this, my journey becomes pretty focused on my paper and prototype. I developed my creative side of my research first, and as a result, I had my prototype up before I had even started my paper, but my prototype helped me refine my ideas further, so it all worked out. And then I started researching for my paper. My list of sources came first, followed by what I had so far (but still nowhere near finished). My final draft is something that I'm quite pleased with (although it still wasn't finished), and since then, my paper has gotten even better.
My journey through awe has been unique and interesting. I have learned more about dance than I already knew, and I think that is what surprised me more than anything. It's been a wonderful journey. And at the end of my journey, I came out with a paper that I'm proud of.

What I Have So Far

The Language of Dance

            “Some people believe they have an intuitive understanding of dance. Lay people, social scientists, and even dancers often use the term dance with the vague and uncritical connotations of ordinary speech” (Hanna 17). After having danced for almost twenty years, I have an intuitive understanding of dance, but it’s nearly impossible for me to articulate that understanding into a definition. Because of this difficulty, most people are unaware of the complexity of dance. What most don’t understand about dance is that it is a language that is just as complex as French or German. It has different levels and aspects to it; they’re just different than those you would find in a spoken language. There are many different parts surrounding the art form of dance as a whole. However, to understand how dance functions as a language and the powerful appeal that it holds, it is important to first have an understanding of how dance is defined. “So varied are the forms of dance…that it is difficult to offer a single definition or description that encompasses all forms” (Kraus 3).  However, after extensive analysis of the different forms and motivations behind these forms of dance, Kraus comes to this definition of dance:

“Dance is an art performed by individuals or groups of human beings, existing in time and space, in which the human body is the instrument and movement is the medium. The movement is stylized, and the entire dance work is characterized by form and structure. Dance is commonly performed to musical or other rhythmic accompaniment, and has as a primary purpose the expression of inner feelings and emotions, although it is often performed for social, ritual, entertainment, or other purposes” (Kraus 13).

Dance is a difficult thing to define, if only because it’s such a fluid and complicated form of expression. The definition that Kraus gives is the most accurate that I have come across in my research, albeit a bit more clinical than some. However, my point doesn’t lie in the definition; it lies in the truth that whether or not we, as individuals, are able to express our emotions through the movement of our body, “there is an innate, creative impulse toward expressive movement in each of us human beings” (Taylor 5). It is because of this creative impulse that resides in each of us as human beings, that the language of dance is able to instill awe in audience and dancers alike.

            Mary Wigman states that “The dance is a living language which speaks of man—an artistic message soaring above the ground of reality in order to speak, on a higher level, in images and allegories of man’s innermost emotions and need for communication” (10). Certainly a large part of the language of the dance is the movement used. Movement is what gives meaning and significance to the gestures of dance. “When the emotion of the dancing man frees the impulse to make visible his yet invisible images, then it is through bodily movement that these images manifest themselves in their first stages” (Wigman 10). The movements that the dancers employ to convey meaning is deepened by the emotion and understanding that the dancer has of their own body. In order for the movement of the dancer to be effective in conveying meaning, the dancer must be able to understand what his or her body can do. While body movement alone is not what makes dance a complete language, “…it is the elemental and incontestable basis without which there would be no dance” (Wigman 10). In my research on the languages of dance, I found that expert Judith Lynn Hanna adds to the evidence that movement is essential to the art form of dance by saying that “Meaning in dance is thus found internally, in the stylistic and structural manipulation of the elements of space, rhythm, and dynamics, and the human body’s physical control. In the embodied meaning of dance, one aspect of dance points to another rather than to what exists beyond the dance performance” (Hanna 24).

Deconstructing Dance: My Prototype

Okay, so for my prototype, I've been playing with the idea that knowing more about a subject can help you find more awe in your experience with that subject. Does knowing more about something increase the level of awe? Or does it take away from the spectacle and illusion of the subject?
I've decided to focus my efforts on Ballet, since that's the form of dance that I know the most about, and hopefully my knowledge will allow you to experience more awe when you watch this segment at the end of this prototype.

Just follow the links! (also, most of the webcam videos are truly terrible quality, but you can see my face and hear me, so just know that the quality would be much better on the finished product)

Intro to Prototype

Swan Lake - Only watch to about minute 3:30.

Hands and Arms

Swan Lake (Hands and Arms) - Watch to minute 4 (This is the same clip as the first video)

Legs and Feet

Swan Lake (Legs and Feet) - Watch to minute 4 (This is the same clip as the first video)

Head and Neck

Swan Lake (Head and Neck) - Watch to minute 6ish (Same video, just further along)

Facial Expressions

Swan Lake (Facial Expressions) - Watch to minute 7

Interaction with Partner

Swan Lake (Interaction with Partner) - Watch to end

Conclusion

Swan Lake (Last Viewing) - Watch to end

And that's it! Sorry that you have to follow so many links, but it was the easiest way for me to do things. Let me know what you thought!

Lyrics for Miles

As I've been thinking of ways in which the digital media awes me, I've realized that lyric videos are capable of producing an element of awe for me. While most of these videos are unrelated to my final project, there is a video that I will share at the top of my list that connects to my final project, and I'll explain it there.

So without futher ado:

10. Ke$sha's lyric video for her song C'mon is absolutely ridiculous. And it doesn't do for me what some of the other videos do, but what I love about a lot of lyric videos is that they show you a glimpse of the artists mind, and how they view the song. In the case of this video, I don't think it really does that, but it's still fun to watch a bunch of kittens dance across a screen.

9. Honestly by Hot Chelle Rae

I liked the way that they used several different mediums within the video. The messaging from the iPhone, the neon colors to show partying, the design elements that expressed the feeling a little bit more, are all things that really add a mixed element of awe to this song. I just didn't think it was as clever or expressive as it could have been.


8. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift

What I really liked about this video was that it was done almost entirely through stop-motion. There were so many creative and unique moments in this video. There are many things that fans would recognize as being specific to Taylor and her style, such as her use of the color red, her love for vintage records, and the number 13 to name a few. Very creative and clever.


7. Payphone by Maroon 5
*Disclaimer: this is the unedited version, so there is a lot of swearing. I hate that part, but the rest is pretty awesome*

I love the elements of Graphic novels/comics. It was a really cool and unique element.


6. Roar by Katy Perry

I love the use of emoticons in this video. It is really clever, especially in this day and age when so much of what we do is smartphone related.


5. Daylight by Maroon 5

This project took videos from people all over the world talking about the things that they hate, the people that they love, and the things that they wish they could change. It's a touching and inspiring video. I think the awe-inspiring element of this video is realizing that as humans, we all experience similar pain, and that we aren't alone.


4. Still Into You by Paramore

Clever. The typefaces used are eye-catching and exciting, and the text does a good job of acting out the lyrics. Also, I just love the shadow puppets. That really wowed me, as it was an element that I hadn't seen anywhere else.


3. Lions Roar by The Hush Sound

This video was shown to me in my Graphic Design class while we were discussing the power of typefaces, and how they can be used to convey a concept quite clearly. What I find to be particularly impressive about this video is the way in which that is accomplished. It's beautifully designed, and I feel like it adds a lot to the song.


2. Wide Awake by Katy Perry

I love the way in which this lyric video combines the lyrics into a Facebook format. I really enjoyed the way in which she combined so many different elements into this video. On a deeper level, I experienced a moment of awe when I realized that all of the Facebook posts shown were of highlights from her career up until the release of Wide Awake, which talks about falling from cloud nine. Did you find anything awe-inspiring about that?


1. This is the one video that has to do with my final project. Dr. Burton has already shared this on Google+, but I love it so much, and I find it so awe-inspiring that it really just comes in first on my list. I love the way that dance is incorporated with graphic design, how authentic the movements of the dancers are, and how there is more emotion that is expressed because the drawn dancers can do things that might not be possible in the real world. It's a stunning work of art.

The Truth of Dance