Grayson Perry's Art Club

 As the old saying goes "Every cloud has a silver lining". For me, one of the best silver linings of lockdown has been Grayson Perry's Art Club. Every Friday my parents and I tune in to watch it, and if you haven't had the chance yet I recommend you do the same! The premise of the show is that the artist Grayson Perry and his wife Philippa encourage the British public and various artistically inclined celebrities to have a go at creating artworks reflective of a weekly theme. Art is demonstrated as an opportunity to outlet your creativity and emotions with no technical or cultural gatekeeping. For me, this is a demonstration of art in its truest, least pretentious form. It lead me to think, how can we achieve this same level of genuine joy and inclusivity in the world of dance?

In order to find ways to be able to dance for the sake of enjoying dancing, we must first establish what is currently holding people back from this. 

  • Money- It is undeniable that money plays a large role in keeping people from pursuing dance as much as they may like. There are many wonderful things in place (eg. scholarships, sponsorships) to help less fortunate dancers out, but the truth is that the least fortunate cannot necessarily even afford £4.50 a week to begin to get involved in dance classes. On top of that, specific clothing is required, and even the most financially stable dancer can find themselves struggling to shell out at least £40 on a new pair of pointe shoes. Obviously this is a difficult issue to fix, as teachers need to paid and shoes need to be bought, but I'd like to investigate further how we could find ways around this.
  • The "Ballet Body"- The majority of people are not born with flat turnout, flexible feet, long limbs and a small frame. This traditional ideal of what dancers should look like is difficult (if not impossible) to attain for most, and many who do attain it don't necessarily do so in a healthy fashion. In my opinion, to be a dancer you should not have to be willing to force yourself into being the absolute skinniest and most flexible version of yourself when it won't always have an effect on your dancing ability. 
  • Culture- I am extremely lucky to have a supportive family who's main priority is my happiness, however many people do not experience this. Some cultures expect academic ability or how much money you make to be prioritised and do not consider performing arts to be a 'real job'. Despite these being valid considerations to make they are not what everyone wants, but yet this pressure from the people you care about most can lead people to giving up on performing dreams.
  • Tradition- This is possibly the largest barrier to true enjoyment of dance, as each other aspects tend to lead back to this. Whether it's regarding aesthetics, work ethics, attitudes towards gender identity, or just that 'this is how it's always been', there are many damaging aspects of the deep rooted traditional values in the dance world. An alarming issue that came to my attention in the midst of the BLM movement regarding traditional views of aesthetics was the amount of balletomanes who believe black ballet dancers spoil the aesthetic of the corps de ballet. This is unacceptable in my opinion, but is not nearly as controversial an opinion in ballet circles as it should be.
This is not an exhaustive list, and there are also positive impacts of some of the aspects of Tradition particularly, however they are still important to consider. If there are any other barriers you've thought of I'd love to hear what you think in the comments! There is no easy way around any of these issues, but I believe that the more we talk about them, the closer we get to returning dance to its most joyful form with less pretense. Grayson Perry has shown that it is possible, even if it's just for one hour on a Friday. 



Ahmed, A 2021, Racism in ballet: Black dancer's 'humiliation' at racist comments, BBC News, viewed 11 March 2021, < https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-55339078 >

Grayson Perry's Art Club (2020/21) Channel 4, 5 March.


Comments

  1. Sophie Burrows12 March 2021 at 04:46

    Hi Rebecca,

    I resonate with this blog, I can relate to many of the topics you have brought up either from my own experience or from peers within my dance community growing up. I think money is a massive part when it comes to the creative industries, not only just for the classes but the uniform and additional fees for shows and performances. I think that for those who are less fortunate it can be very difficult to train and become apart of the community without additional help. A lot of my school friends wanted to take dance at GCSE as they thoroughly enjoyed it, however, in their parent's eyes, it was a 'throw away' subject that wouldn't provide them anything for the future and instead they were encouraged to take more academic subjects. The perspective that being in the Arts and Creative Industries isn't a real job or a job that you would ever make any money off is a big problem for our industry. Many creative outlets are seen as hobbies and therefore are seen as acceptable or worthy jobs. These topics affect our practice and our industry every day and it was interesting to read about them.

    Thanks

    Sophie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Melissa15 March 2021 at 01:44

    Hi Rebecca, I really enjoyed reading this blog post you wrote, and it reflects my thoughts on a blog I wrote about shadow artists the other day. I relate so closely to how one's culture can act as a "barrier" to fulfilling the things one desires to achieve, as the arts is still an up and coming scene in my home country, Singapore and I would say there is still a lack of support from the society, as the community tends to value other professions over the arts. It is definitely upsetting as I myself have. seen my peers who decided to take alternative career paths because of the lack of support from society.
    The point you made about pressure of attaining "The Ballet Body" is also so significant in the dance community. I agree how degrading that mindset is and it is something that should be constantly addressed aswell.
    Thank you for this blog, and I look forward to reading more. :)
    Melissa x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ellie Owen15 March 2021 at 02:20

    Hi Rebecca,

    Great blog!

    You could relate these restrictions with the theory of participation: access. Without the ability to access; whether it be the financial access to get the required dance attire, or to attend up and coming workshops, how can we participate? Is it fair that those without financial security are unable to participate? Is their talent shadowed by their payslip? Some thoughts that came up!

    Ellie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sally Sharp24 March 2021 at 04:07

    Hi Rebecca,
    This is a great blog - and agree that creativity is just having a go, no matter how good the outcome. It's so important to connect freely with that part of our spirit. So many people are hung up on the final picture it can stop them from even trying.
    I can really relate to so many of the things you've written here and plan to discuss financial restrictions as one of my Areas of Learninig.
    Sally

    ReplyDelete

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