i wanted to write this something like this for a long time, but it seems like the topic is like beating to a dead horse - but i would rather express my opinion about it than let it fester inside of me
although choreo and freestyle are both considered dance, i think that one judges the other by their own standards of dance - it is a likeness to judging another person based on your own personal upbringing. it is natural but at the same time very flawed and unfair.
the way that i see it (as an analogy), choreo is traditional music. i dont mean mainstream - i mean structured, planned, and revised. freestyling, fittingly, is like freestyle rap. now, a large criticism is that choreo dancers dont express because the movement is not spontaneous, or that they're doing the movements of others. for not only centuries, but millennia, musicians have been playing the music of others. do you think that millions of musicians, jascha heifetz playing the violin, yoyo ma playing the cello, etc - that these musicians are not expressing? they emulate the vision of the composer, but in no way does that detract from their expression - in fact, i daresay that heifetz plays bach's masterpiece chaconne better than bach himself (though it is only a conjecture). now compare that with freestyle rap, which, let's just establish is meaningful, expressive, impressive, etc - although both can be considered musical talent, it is like comparing apples and oranges.
freestyle obviously has it's merits, and to be honest, choreo dancers appreciate that. we might not understand it, which detracts from our appreciation, but we recognize that it is difficult and it amazes us. now here i'm going to make a gross generalization, but i truly feel that while a lot freestyle dancers claim that they can't do choreo, they don't believe it requires a similar amount of dedication and hardwork. we dont practice foundation in the same way, but we practice pieces - the same way classical musicians grow by learning different or more challenging pieces.
i understand that spontaneity channels a certain kind of rawness, but that is not the definition of dance. many things take time to develop a full picture - no masterpiece novel was written without revisions and planning. i can appreciate both the talented gypsy violinist and yet still appreciate mendelssohn. now, i dont think it is necessary for either to respect and appreciate one another, but i think as musicians it is a huge pity because they can learn from and inspire one another. and dance is the same way.
now i know i made a lot of generalizations, but i do know that this is not everyone. lots of people i respect, mark flux, brian green, katalyst, etc are extremely openminded. but in terms of the boston scene, it continues to bring me down. choreo dancers obviously receive respect from other choreo dancers, but to constantly be put down from a lack of understanding from fellow dancers is narrow-mindedness. i talked with a close bboy friend about this recently, and he said that narrow-mindedness was part of the bboy mentality, but if you really think about it, that's what racism is. (i understand that he does not represent all of bboy culture, but his view is definitely shared by many) if dance truly is your lifestyle, think of different dance styles as different human cultures. and if you truly love dance, you should be able to see past style barriers and appreciate that in the end we are trying to further our means of physical expression for the sake of art and living.
i guess this is getting too long, but last but not least, i know that there is a lot of bias here - i am providing a lot more support for one side. i do believe that the fault belongs to both sides, but my bias comes from the fact that there is a lot more negative energy directed at choreo dancers than vice versa.
this is a vent so i dont mind if it goes unnoticed, but if you do have an opinion, please talk to me about it because this topic is very important to me. on one side, as a dancer and the integrity of my art, but also partly because this conflict has seeped into my personal life and i hope that it can find peace soon.
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