I honestly thought no-one would want to hear my thoughts about this drawing of mine but @sneez changed my mind so thank you because I have a lot to say :)
This idea started with me wanting to make costumes for the cast, however I was unsure whether to take a more historical approach or make it something symbolic, maybe mix the two. I knew I wanted to take inspiration from the play I recently went to as I loved the costuming. (Which is kind of funny because I still have not decided on any clothing ideas and instead made something completely different by accident.) As I was sketching the ideas, (starting with Nastasya) I decided to basically steal the costume design from the play, except making her skirt into a tutu. This is how the whole concept began.
Now before I go on to explain why I decided on what, I'd like to state what these mean to me; in my head these dances are very symbolic and I'm not trying to claim the characters would actually be ever in a situation to these dances. I feel like the dances show the relationship between the characters' own self and others. This whole thing is like an impossible to execute theatre performance, mostly without any clear storyline/timeline.
Nastasya Fillipovna - As I stated previously this started it all. Ballet is one of the most well known performance dances, it's known to be beautiful on stage however melancholy for the dancers themselves. The sport is known to cause a lot of harm to the ballerinas, most of them suffering eating disorders and having some deformities in their feet and sometimes other limbs. Which is where I draw the parallel between it, and NF, as she's said to be beautiful yet endured a great sorrow. Another thing is that ballerinas almost always start their career very young, as did Nastasya's suffering, with her loss of parents and later "mistreatment" from Totsky.
I'm not very well versed in dance as I've never, until now, taken interest in it, I wanted to look up if maybe some specific choreography or ballerina wouldn't pique my interest. One specific woman stood out to me; Svetlana Zakharova. I first noticed her playing the black swan, and when I saw her, I felt as if I had understood what Myshkin himself felt upon gazing at NF's photograph. She was so beautiful and elegant, but her shoulders and arms were so thin I was almost afraid she would break apart in the midst of dance. She and Nastasya are forever connected in my head. I've also found some, contemporary choreography that Zakharova performed, which reminded me of NF as she was close to her death.
Rogozhin x Nastasya - After I thought up the ballet, I almost instinctually decided on the tango would be the topic for this pairing. It is the obvious choice however I feel that nothing else could be more fitting. When the dance first started developing, it caused a culture shock due to the sexual undertones and wasn't accepted anywhere except the specific areas it was brought up in. This mirrors how everyone chastises Rogozhin's and Nastasya's relationship; it's too intense, it's nature isn't "pure" like her's and Myshkin's, together they have this flaming passion for one another, its on edge with hatred but even so they're inseparable. So is the dance, the partners are not always required to stay close to one another, however I think it's clear these two would be pressed on one another as if nobody else existed in the world.
I think the main discourse in the dance would be, who's the lead? Stereotypically the man is the one who leads the woman on, on the other hand, historically there were movements of protests which caused this to change. I think the specific case of our pair would be a sort of battle for dominance, changing who's the lead in the midst of dance. Afterall Rogozhin is very submissive to NF at first, giving her a 100 thousand roubles as if it was nothing and calling her his "queen" later he changes his stance, (if only for a short moment) beating her till she's "black and blue" then immediately regretting it afterwards. And obviously in the end, her demise.
Last note would be about the outfit, even though I said it isn't final, I feel this one is especially fitting, I took inspiration from one of the first videos I could find. I'm almost embarrassed admitting that I took interest in the first thing I searched, however I truly made an effort to find something else, but this specific piece left me speechless and I couldn't pass on the opportunity.
Ganya x Nastasya - Before wandering off to Myshkin, I wanted to make a quick detour to Ganya as I felt this was a nice addition. This pair would be standard of the standards; the waltz. The waltz originally a symbol of deep love and passion, for it's "intimacy" now seems to be presented in a different light in our time. While it is a truly enchanting dance, I can't help but feel like it is impersonal, there's just enough energy so it doesn't seem stale, yet not enough to seem passionate. Reminds me of how Ganya feigns loving Nastasya, guarding her (or at least attempting to guard her) from his family's wrath, so he can get what he's truly passionate for; the 75 thousand.
Mentioning the standard aspect was very much intentional as it just cuts deeper on Myshkin's statement that Ganya is a very ordinary person.
Myshkin x Nastaya - This was way more difficult than the other three, which came to me somewhat by itself. And at first I honestly thought I could pass this as the waltz, but then Ganya came to mind and I was back to square one. My final decision seems a bit ridiculous, however I think my reasoning justifies it. The polka is a poor-folk dance, it's speculated to have developed from waltz and it had spread widely across europe during the romantic era as poverty was romanticised. This very much reminds me of how Myshkin offered himself to NF even if it meant they would have nothing. The dance is very equal on both the male and female counterpart, with barely any difference in choreography, which I think mirrors that Myshkin truly sees Nastasya as his equal. The dresses are very modest unlike in ballet or the tango, in the waltz they are modest as well but I think the difference between Ganya and Myshkin here is that; Ganya doesn't care to see her body, Myshkin loves her whether she's showing off her body or not.
The dance is generally energetic and cheerful, scarcely instead of dresses folk costume is worn instead. Which I think could be a fun addition to the whole thing, even if I specifically didn't go this route. The idiot does focus on Russian patriotism and Myshkin's unusual relationship with it and the land itself.
For the drawing I took inspiration from a Romany polka, mostly because it seemed most equal between the two partners, but also it occurred to me how Nastasya shouted something along the lines of "I'll dance among the gypsies!" at the birthday party.
Myshkin x Algaya - Another pairing I struggled with, I read the Wikipedia on ballroom dance left and right and still couldn't think of anything. But one name kept popping up between all the fuzz. "Foxtrot" simply from it's name I felt a sort of incline towards it. The dance is also a form of waltz, it's unique with the way the dance changes intensity. There's slow moments of closeness of the two parties, then quick swaying motions, then calm once more.... This reminds me of the back and forth Aglaya and Myshkin have. For whatever reason this dance evoked some melancholy feelings in me. The slower portions of the choreography almost remind me of a person who's passing out. The flowing motions are very ethereal and beautiful, but fleeting. Which is pretty on point considering Aglaya's and Myshkin's bitter end.
Myshkin - This is where my ideas start to get truly obscure. I chose a sport for Myshkin, that I feel is almost an alternative to ballet; figure skating. I'm unsure whether the similarities are truly as blatant as they are in my head, however I'm just going to take it as fact. Figure skating is interestingly not just a dance, but a sport. (Well I mean most dances technically are, but figure skating is a part of the Olympics so...) I think this could symbolize how Myshkin's illness makes his life more difficult than all others mentioned previously. How he tries extra hard, just to exist, to be equally as beautiful as everyone else standing on the ground, while on the slippery ice. With two blades attached, that could cripple him any time if he's not careful.
Figure skating is one of the scarce (if not only) performances where men aren't just dressed in a tuxedo or a suit. It's a truly effeminate sport, the men are dressed in sparkling colorful bodysuits trying to achieve elegance. While I don't believe the prince is in any way distinctly feminine, I think this would symbolize him being the kind soul he is, out of place in the harsh Russian climate. Speaking of climate, I think it's the perfect irony that the prince, beginning the novel freezing in the winter, would represent a winter sport. If anything this could show his self sacrificing nature.
Last note, I spoke of sparkly body suits, I've already mentioned this in the post about the theatre play, but I'll repeat it here. I believe all sort of glitter/sparkly clothing on all characters imply that they're dangerous to Myshkin. And who's more dangerous to Myshkin than he himself?
Rogozhin x Myshkin - Last, and most out there comparison that I've made up. I really struggled thinking of something including these two, mostly because I couldn't imagine Rogozhin dancing with anyone else other than nastasya. Then somehow fencing came to mind. out of curiosity I searched up if there isn't some sort of choreographed fencing, and behold, there is, though unsurprisingly its not very common. In the performance in my head that I imagine, Rogozhin would be the one taking an offensive stand, while Myshkin trying his best to deflect Parfyon's attacks. Funnily enough I saw a couple articles about how ballet and fencing share some positions and stances. Which created a beautiful picture in my mind, of Rogozhin and Myshkin dueling (or moreso Rogozhin dueling and Myshkin running away) while nastasya dances around in her ballet gear, dodging their rapiers... kind of in the sense of the "cutting edge waltz" but in reverse. Or well, maybe that would be the irony, because in the performance it'd be reversed, but thematically it would stay the same.
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