Why "Take 21"?
As many of you know, I recently filmed a music video for my song "Take 21," the tough-girl anthem that kicks off Pass It On (http://hearalma.bandcamp.com). The decision to merge the song with dance wasn't an arbitrary one—even before the song was fully written, it was almost inseparable from the body movements I saw in my mind's eye. I want to share a little bit about what the song means to me & why involving dancers was important.
I often explain "Take 21" in a brief, provocative way: I don't believe in good people.
(Please be aware that, like everything I post, this is my opinion! I'd like to hear what you think, especially if you disagree.)
I love people, myself included. I think that people are capable of doing good things. But the notion that there's a sort of good-person-o-meter out there—a set of characteristics/behaviors that separates the sheep & the goats—is something I can't embrace. Even more of a stretch for me is the thought that we can rank each other on this meter stick, usually by way of a simple checklist: do you cheat? …steal? …kill? I've heard the Connecticut shooter called a "terrible person;" why? Because the consequences of his actions were heavier than that of a guy fudging his taxes? Both people are doing wrong.
Weighing the deaths of 20 children against a faulty IRS form seems ludicrous, and I understand that. What fails to enter the conversation is that the same motivations behind "bad person" behaviors (murder, cheating on your partner, corporate fraud) come into play in the lives of "good people" too. They surface more subtly, to be sure, but they do surface, probably just as frequently. Think about the impatient tone of voice you used with your mom last week. Think about how you avoided conversation with that weird kid at work. The amount of plagiarized ideas in your history essay. The way you played up your outfit to get more attention from guys. The bitterness you harbored against your best friend because he/she seemed happier or more successful…the list could go on. Each of these very real attitudes & choices (I know they're real because they're mine) are vectors of the same evil that drives murderers, adulterers & thieves: I come first. I deserve the best. My comfort is priority, so anything that makes me uncomfortable should be ignored or done away with.
The message of "Take 21" is simple: the standard is perfection. You're either perfect or you're imperfect.
"Hey, stop—look both ways Before crossing your heart at the end of the day. It's not that we don't know that crime pays, It's that someone else is cast as the criminal." —Take 21
So why dancers?
I grew up dancing ballet, later dabbling in hip hop & joining a ballroom dance team in college. I was never a pro at any of them, but because I spent so much time moving to music I now find it harder not to. So when I began to flesh out the strong, uncomplicated beat of "Take 21," I couldn't not move to it when I played it back. Plus, there's a chorus in a popular song that stuck with me over the years:
"Open up the doors & let the music play; Let the streets resound with singing. Songs that sing Your hope, songs that sing Your joy, Dancers who dance upon injustice." —Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble?
I want so badly to be part of the movement that the above song mentions, bringing all types of people, genres, media, & visions forward to break evil—the true heart of evil, not just the evils that fit our "bad person" checklist. Incorporating dancers into "Take 21" is me saying yes to that movement.
Alma