thINKingDANCE

Sunday, February 24^th at the LAB, Painted Bride Arts Center

You have the freedom to determine the audience for your critique

               Audience determines what your piece contains

                                Do you make it a historical record?

                                Mention every dancer?

                                Include the context of the event?

                                …Or not?

Criticism is an art form too

Our critique pieces serve two art forms: dance and writing

                 Ultimately, it’s important to serve the art form of criticism; it becomes impossible if
                 you try to serve every person in the piece

 If you use “I” voice well, people don’t argue with it

                 Trust that readers will know your piece is one person’s point of view

                 Don’t issue a disclaimer

Use what you know

Don’t be afraid to use your specialized knowledge

                Use your experiences and knowledge you’ve gained as an artist

Don’t be afraid to write about what you don’t know well or are confused about

                So many of the things we think of as problems and limitations are the best things
                we have

                The problems and limitations we bring often create the richest writing

Avoid too much frosting

Be aware of modifier pile-up

Don’t be too cute

Avoid relying on cute clichés to get into a work “I was transported into the work by…”

                Be cautious of the line between being deliberate and a bit precious; sometimes kids’
                questions can be evocative—sometimes not

Build an architecture in your piece

               You want to vary structure: Humor is a good way. Or facts: from dry facts, to a comment
               that is sarcastic, so there are different rhythms and textures
               Think about how a dance phrase or a lawyer’s opening arguments are structured
               Hash it out with yourself if you have varying opinions, double back, be vibrant and
               strong in the moment

Deploy ONE Sarcasm Dart

“The problem with sarcasm is that it can be easy for us to dismiss what you’re saying”

                  Instead of using a bunch of little darts, deploy one. It’s more powerful. Creates space
                  for you as a writer

Be cautious of loaded metaphors

Loaded metaphors stop a piece dead in its tracks

                Be aware of the implications of summing up a work in one sentence or metaphor

…but make sure you HAVE a clear opinion               “I’m not particularly into reading something that doesn’t have a strong opinion “

For Claudia’s take on her work with us and selections from our writing with her visit  http://theperformanceclub.org/2013/02/philly-edition/