Mirroring an Exposed World :: Dance Dancing Art Papers

Mirroring an Exposed WorldI recently saw a photography piece, Dancer by Irving Penn on scupper at the Whitney Museum. The striking thing about the photos was not that they were of a nude Alexandra Beller, but that hers is not what one would typically think of as a naked dancers body. Shes not tall and thin with well-defined muscles and barely developed breasts. No. Shes fat.Beller took a big risk posing nude for Penns camera. She dared raft to see her as a dancer, not just a fat woman. She dared people to see her as a sex symbol, not just a fat woman. She dared people to see her as an emotional woman- sensitive, powerful, frightened, bold, shy, loving, rebellious. She owns her body, and she challenges the audience to own their hesitation and move past it to see her exposed for the woman she truly is.The exhibit made me immediately curious about Beller and her work. Formerly dancing with Bill T. Jones company, Beller is now choreographing her own works. When I heard she would be pr esenting her latest work, Its Not You, Its Me at the Joyce Soho, I got out my umbrella and waited for over an hour in a standby line to see her perform.My friends had teased me for wanting to see Bellers show, saying Wouldnt it be weird. I mean you saw her naked, and Do you think shell dance naked too? But that was one of the reasons I wanted to see the show. I really identified with Beller in many ways. I was deeply impressed with her confidence to pose nude in the first place. Obesity, seen as repulsive, is despised at best, nevertheless politely ignored. But Beller will not be ignored. I wondered what it was that gave her this confidence in her body. And I wondered what she would express with her body in her dance works. I was compelled by the risks she had taken with Penn, and compelled to see what else she would risk.When I saw Its Not You, Its Me, particularly the last piece, 50 Ways to Find a Mate, I was bombarded by feelings of pain, sadness, confusion that trace with reje ction, insecurities that are connected with bodies and body images. I got the feeling that Beller, though a beautiful and talented dancer is still an imperfect woman who struggles with her self-confidence, especially in romantic relationships.