I danced to the top and ignored feigned social graces.
I brushed barriers aside and broke away from the dark places.
I was dancer by nature and definition and thus did I shape my mind and body.
The wheel of time spun its frantically lazy pirouette; with its revolutions came realization that there was no place in the world for a drop-forged dancer... at least none that I could morally accept or intellectually bear.
So I changed scenes.
I am still a dancer.
I am no longer a child, but I am still dancer.
Maybe not the dancer I once was, but I am still a dancer.
I just express the dance differently... sometimes in writing, sometimes in music; but in full truth and truthfully in all that I do.
I am dancer carried by the music of life, as such the rhythm is always
easier to find.
Come! Dance with me.
Spun off from a comment 03.06.2010 09020920
Sylvie Guillem
Brilliant, Alesa. I love the use of dance as a metaphor here, it's so apt and it was so evocative! I love the sense of evolution and change in the piece too.
ReplyDeleteThe only weak spot, I think, was in using the phrase "drop-forged dancer". I don't know if I'm just thick/ignorant, but I genuinely have no idea what that means. :) The hyphenated words don't really conjure up a possible meaning or idea for me, either. So would it work better with a different phrase, maybe? I just found that that line made me feel like I'd hit a stumbling block!
Kuairi Sangu!
ReplyDeleteDrop forging is a forging technique in which heated metal is cast and hammered into into mold or die that compresses it into the desired shape, thereby increasing the strength of the metal.
That's very interesting!
I would have thought that to be common knowledge, but I asked my resident reader who didn't know what it was either...
I'll rewrite it if other people feel that way, provided I get other comments. Because drop-forged dancer was exactly what I meant to say, so I only want to change it if I absolutely must. ; j
I know exactly what you mean when you say it felt like a stumbling block for you.
Since you think dance was a metaphor, what did you think dance was a metaphor for?
As ever, thanks for your pointed and excellent comment. : D
i am a dancer too. it is a pure joy.
ReplyDeleteTo 'dance among hate filled faces' takes courage. To dance against the pressure to stay still or to be silent is an act of defiance against all manner of conventions that demand conformity.
ReplyDeleteDance on, Alesa. This is an emotionally resonant poem that hits upon several layers of meaning and draws me in.
Thanks.
Having had it explained, I think it's a perfectly apt phrase and I understand why you'd be reluctant to change it. I don't think you have to, given how well it works; the only problem might be others like me who can't quite make sense of the meaning at first read!
ReplyDeleteI think, to me, the metaphor felt like dance was being related to living, to being yourself. That's why I liked the sense of change, because you do change as you grow older (so the dance changes) but it was lovely that you highlighted that the dance goes on (which meant, in my interpretation, that you stay true to yourself).
Obviously, I don't know if that's actually what you were getting at, but I loved that it was open to interpretation :)
Ha, I was just about to recomment on how I think you were right... I asked a handful of other people about the term and couple knew it had to do with forging, but most had no idea what it was about...
ReplyDeleteBut then... Waffle, waffle... I need syrup with my waffling.
Ok, done! I'm leaving it as is and inserting an imaginary footnote for the readers to come.
Your interpretation is great, thanks for sharing it... It's fascinating to see how a relatively abstract piece gets interpreted.
I was doing my usual thing of disguising fact with fiction... For a person who defines their self by what they do, there is little difference between the thing they do and their lives. Of course I'm not saying if there is a specific thing or what that specific thing would be for me. Mwahaha! ;j
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Aloha Maggie May. I salute you sister dancer!
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Heya Elisabeth. I'm not surprised this piece works for you, it seems to me from your writing that you face and have faced a number of these issues. Thank you for stopping by. : j
I love the analogy between writing and dancing. I'll join.
ReplyDeleteMy seven-year-old daughter takes dancing lessons and she enjoys it so much that she's willing to drop soccer in the fall in order to dance two days per week instead of just one. And our high school has a dance program, which is inspiring her to keep it up. I envy her dedication and the joy she gets out of it. I wasn't allowed to take dance lessons.
But I do write.
I'm sure she'll appreciate the opportunity you've given her!
ReplyDeleteMy parents gave me languages and they serve me very well. I owe them for that amongst many other things. : j
Heheh... I'll let you in on a secret, my thing was neither writing nor dancing. : j Both things I've taken up to varying degrees after "changing scenes".
the cool thing about dancing is that it's never too late to start!
So once you start raking in wealth and lucre with your novel, you can take it up. ; j And your daughter will be in a position to give you pointers!
I don't know if I'll ever properly dance. When we were in Ireland, my daughter somehow knew how to step dance. I think she's got the gift.
ReplyDeleteDancing through life is the way to live.
ReplyDeleteI sure will happily dance with you.
Lovely contemplative piece,
xo
@Theresa: A tango dancer I knew always said, as long as you can walk and as long as you love music, you can Tango. I suspect this holds true for other dances... And sure some people are predisposed for it. Like in anything else, some individuals have a head start. : 7
ReplyDelete@Zuzana: Thanks, I've got you written down on my dance card. : j
Hi
ReplyDeleteI've seen you round Titus' and elsewhere. I have a dancing thing too...it's here. I wouldn't formally be so forward...just thought you might like it.
x
Informal or formal, here it is normal for words well formed to be welcomed with open arms.
ReplyDeleteYou know, on the one hand I feel like saying that your dance took place amidst friendly faces, and what a lovely experience that must have been... but I know you meant that your piece was about dancing, and a slamming good piece it was too.
If you were "more on edge" than usual reading "Are you askin'", I think it might have added to your performance. And wow, "Not tonight, Radiohead"... Well done indeed!
I hope you won't be offended if I say that your poetry, what little I've seen of it so far, sounds familiar. Not in the specifics, of course, but in the way it echoes within. I don't usually get home sick (for lack of a home country no doubt) when I travel, but these two poems gave me a start of recognition, as I would have in a foreign country upon hearing a familiar voice speak a familiar tongue, and look to find the face of a stranger.
Hello stranger, nice to meet you! Thanks you for speaking aloud, and giving me a chance to hear you in the crowd.
And there's a bounty of treasure on your website! Lovely lovely!
ReplyDeleteGood grief! "All together"? I can't believe how well you pulled that off! That wouldn't work with every crowd, or perhaps it's a special skill of yours. Wow.
ReplyDelete