Should You Watch Dance Documentaries? Only if you want to be inspired and informed about the dance world

Abstract

Should you watch dance documentaries? Only if you want to be inspired and informed about the dance world As you graze through the good, the bad, and the ugly dance clips on YouTube, consider the benefits of watching Paul Taylor’s company in Dancemaker—it’s one of the ways you find out about the past and your possible future by Savannah Reach Should dance documentaries be required for dance majors to watch? Some students say that documentaries are useful in learning about choreographers and leading figures in the dance field. Others think they are boring and a waste of time when there are numerous “popular” choreographers available on YouTube. After considering it, I strongly believe that documentaries should be required for dance majors to watch. In particular, I am advocating for Dancemaker, which is a tribute to Paul Taylor. One of the prominent artists of the 20 th and 21 st Centuries, Taylor has choreographed over 140 dances and helped shape the art of modern dance in America. Taylor is an important figure in the dance world, and Dancemaker gives a unique insight into his significance. Documentaries can be long and students might not understand how they relate to what they want to do in the future. They would rather spend hours on YouTube watching the coolest competition kids or the newest tricks to achieve over-splits. These students struggle to find the reasons documentaries are required in class and lack motivation to watch them. What they don’t understand is that dance documentaries can provide a deeper understanding of choreographers, such as Paul Taylor, Martha Graham, and Pina Bausch. By watching their choreography, students can learn what has been successful in the past and compare it to their own work. Even though YouTube provides a vast amount of options for the dance student, the quality of videos on YouTube is often bad, with amateurs posting as many dance videos as professionals. It can take hours searching through mediocre dancing to find an inspirational video. Plus, there are annoying ads on YouTube and multiple distractions of other videos popping up on the side. Documentaries provide a well-developed story with potential to catch the eye of aspiring professional dancers for long enough to follow the narrative arc. It creates an outlet for students to understand another dance culture, follow a dance company on tour, or see a dance style they have never heard of before. These perspectives are important for the dancers to become well-rounded individuals in the art of dance so they can not only dance, but can also have meaningful, intelligent conversations about their field. For serious dancers, Dancemaker shows what makes Paul Taylor the recipient of nearly every honor and award given to artists in the United States. The details are shown throughout the documentary, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. If students are interested in creating dance for film, this documentary is a perfect source to learn about techniques such as transitions, camera angles, and interview methods. The documentary also gives students insight on what is required to be in a dance company or to run one. It follows rehearsals, traveling on tour, auditions, and the choreographic process. Taylor’s money management team is also filmed to give an idea of the funding fluctuations that affect dance productions and salaries.