Acting Ability and Dancing

[pygmalion]

I was looking through some dance summer camp listings today, and found one which includes acting workshops. So, since I'm a DF topic nut, I immediately thought about the connection between acting and dance. What connection, if any, do you think there is? Would acting classes or workshops help dancers? How? Why?

[Swing Kitten]

acting classes couldn't hurt anyone ... well ... I suppose they could-- but the usually don't! ;)

I would see it being a bit more benefitial for competitors/ portraying a certain persona and such. I think it could help you add a little flare but it is also important to remember that an acting class will also spend quite a lot of time on things not directly applicable to most dances.

[MadamSamba]

Oh, Jenn...acting skills are absolutely vital in dancing, especially for us gals...how else are you supposed to keep smiling when some guy's stepping on your toes for three minutes? *No, no, it didn't hurt a bit...*

Not to mention the desperate need to learn how to control your facial expressions (and fists) when some pompous guy (who isn't exactly Fred Astaire and has probably been dancing for less time than you) decides to give you a free lesson on the dancefloor. "Hey, lady, that's NOT how you perform a hockey stick...it's like this..." :roll:

You know what they say in ballroom, "head left and keep smiling"... :lol:

[twodance]

At the competitive level it's all about acting. Your trying to portray a character on the floor. One dance a sexy vamp, the next a cape. Then your in love with your partner the you hate him. You can't show that by dancing only school figures. But like someone else said, the best acting job is social dancing. L@@king like your having a good time while someone steps all over your feet. :wink:

[pygmalion]

I've been thinking about taking a basic acting class at the local community college. There's just not enough time in a day if you want to be a good dancer.

[vey]

Not to mention the desperate need to learn how to control your facial expressions (and fists) when some pompous guy (who isn't exactly Fred Astaire and has probably been dancing for less time than you) decides to give you a free lesson on the dancefloor. "Hey, lady, that's NOT how you perform a hockey stick...it's like this..." :roll:

I love your example. MadamSamba :!:
I definitely need some kind of classes (acting or, may be, anger-management ones :)) to deal with these situations

[MadamSamba]

Thanks, Vey...I was a wee bit worried that I might be taken seriously nad be flamed (or worse yet, flamed for joking about such a *serious* topic)...am glad your sarcasm detector was on! :)
Anger-management classes, eh? Oh, I like that! :)

[tinydancer]

Finallly, someone who is on the same level as me! I want to act and dance all my life...i just dont know where to begin. :? humm?!*

~Tinydancer~

[pygmalion]

Just begin, tinydancer. You can do it. 8)

[Genesius Redux]

Thought I'd bring this topic up again, since I have the acting/dancing crossover. I found the idea of acting classes at dance camp entertaining, since most dancers can't act to save their lives!

Now before everyone decides to flame me over this one, consider this--we have a whole musical on this theme. A Chorus Line.

A couple of years ago, I was doing a number of routines with a highly theatrical element to them. My first dance teacher, when she had the right kind of music, could turn it on in performance. But we did mostly light, comic routines. When I suggested we do something heavier--to "Dangerous Game" from Jekyll and Hyde, she ran into more problems. Our choreographer/coach wanted to open with her walking onto the floor like she was racked with pain from drugs--and she wound up stumbling around like a stage drunk. I got the whole thing on tape, with me singing, "Show me the way to go home" in the background.

My second teacher was better able to handle the dramatic stuff, but was out of her element when she had to be funny. We did a quickstep routine in which I wore a gorilla suit and I had to spend a lot of extra time actually coaching her through the acting sections! She managed to find it inside of her. But when we added her pro partner into the mix, we were back to square one. The idea was that they begin by dancing together, then the gorilla enters and chases the guy off and begins dancing with the girl. The guy later returns (this was my contribution to the routine), pulls out a .38 and plugs the gorilla (who later returns to life to finish the dance).

Try as I might, I couldn't get her partner to do the shooting naturally; he wanted to puff himself out, and show how tough he was shooting the gorilla, etc. He wanted to show everything. Whereas my teacher, who paradoxically had a lot less self-confidence as a dancer, was able to read herself into my direction very well. I sincerely hope her partner isn't reading this right now, but if he is--well, sorry, Baby, but don't give up your day job.

Acting and dancing complement each other--but what you do as an actor is very different from what you do as a dancer. I started out by saying that dancers just can't act--I might also point out how many actors there are who can't dance. Largely because they're too self-conscious to dance.

Dancing is about knowing your position, communicating through gesture and movement. Acting, particularly since the Stanislavsky revolution, has increasingly been about forgetting yourself and being natural. I had the hardest time when I began dancing, because I just couldn't bear to make a physical display of any sort.

I think all actors ought to have dance training, and particularly something like ballroom--because it introduces them to an older style of acting that isn't around anymore.

But dancers can get a lot from acting classes as well. First--classical acting classes, focusing on Shakespeare or Greek drama, can go a long way toward encouraging the grander attitudes that you need for a really showy performance. I've always felt that great dancers are naturals in classical drama, which is entirely rhetorical and performative in nature.

Other kinds of classes, however, can encourage more openness on the floor. You can't dance romantically, for instance, unless you're willing to open yourself romantically to your partner on the floor. Without that sense of openness, it will look simply like an empty plastic series of poses, no real feeling. Improvisational classes, also, increase your awareness of what is going on around you.

So the acting classes are never just about dramatic display. They increase your awareness of your partner, your relationship to your audience, and your emotional receptivity to your partner and to the music. And then you have the added benefit that Madam Samba has suggested--true grace under, I was going to say fire, but should I say instead, pressure?

Cheers,

Genesius

[pygmalion]

One of my former teachers called it "cross training in the arts," and made the argument that virtually any artistic endeavor can helop contribute to the others.

[brujo]

Depends if your focus is social dancing or performance.

I've taken a few improv classes and I find that they are amazing for social dancing ( salsa / bachata / merengue only ). Improv focuses a lot on finding opportunities in the other person's body movements, language and expressions and thinking on one's feet. When I am dancing, I am more atuned to what my partner and the music wants me to do simply because of this training.