Expert Contributor Helena Berggren From the Top Dance
Long Live the Performing Arts! The performing arts — including music, drama and dance — are at everyone’s fingertips these days. It’s not just the work of performing arts professionals that consumes us. On TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, we watch anything from babies to grandparents and everyone in between as they move their bodies as well as they can to the beat of the music; they sing a famous tune; or act out a false scenario to trick a loved one. We watch them all, the great ones and the amateurs, as we get pulled into a world of feel-good emotions. We laugh and cry with them. That is the world of the performing arts. It includes everyone and excludes no one! What’s great about participating in the performing arts? In many sports, there’s a wait-your-turn approach: wait to bat, tumble or make the starting line-up. In the performing arts, everyone
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performs together. Multiple disciplines of the arts can be combined into a singular compelling performance. Singers, dancers, and actors can all share the stage at the same time. We love to see a stage play or a movie musical. Expression through the performing arts has never been as powerful and easily accessible as it is today. Even during the pandemic, artists still find a way to practice and showcase their respective art forms. In Gia Kourlas’ New York Times article, “Best Dance of 2020,” she writes: “While there’s no denying that this is an incredibly difficult time for dance and dance artists, it’s also been a privilege to witness such imagination and resilience.” Performers do what performers have always done: Perform, regardless of a pandemic! The arts continue to create unity, friendships and a chance to step away from the pressure of regular life. Additionally, the arts also provide long-lasting effects of emotional well-being for participants and observers. Let’s be honest: We are all performers, even if it’s just in the mirror when no one else is watching. We have always relied on the performing arts to connect with each other. The earliest recorded writings of early humans on cave walls depict celebrations of dance. Past, present and future, we are no different! We sing happy birthday on a loved one’s special day. We do a little happy dance to celebrate something good. We all get up and dance at weddings. And we act out stories, trying to retell that funny thing that happened to us yesterday. The technology changes, styles evolve and the public taste shifts. What doesn’t change? All of it brings people joy. So let’s never ever stop! NS
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