An Image of the Role: The Role of Imaging
"I do not believe it!" At the turn of the 20th century, Konstantin Stanislavsky's thundering condemnation crashed down upon any actor whose performance lacked authenticity. Nowadays this call to "go beyond technique" is echoed in countless ballet studios worldwide. But what does "go beyond technique" mean to the bewildered student or the dancer without a coach to lead the way? How is interpretation achieved? What makes it authentic?
"Skillfully executed technical feats in Western ballet and other dance media inspire wonderment. But 'electric' performances involving emotion beyond the ordinary, such as those given by technically accomplished Rudolph Nureyev and Natalia Makarova, arouse strong emotion, a visceral engagement, in the spectator" (from the article "Dance and Emotion" by Judith Lynne Hanna, in Encyclopedia of Human Emotion, Macmillan Reference, 1999).
In a 1983 study Hanna found that emotion may be expressed through dance in various ways. Artistic Director Valery Panov, acclaimed as one of the great dancers of his era and whose many roles were marked by their poignant characterizations, agrees. He explains that emotions can be invoked by the steps themselves and also emerge when the dancer brings thoughts and memories to act as triggers. "In 'Petroushka' for example, the puppet's head lolls to one side, shoulders hunch and legs turn in with knocking knees. Immediately the audience senses pathos. And as soon as I struck that first 'pathetic' pose I sensed it too. All Petroushka's misery would flood over me. But there were also my own thoughts and feelings. I found melancholy feelings in myself like Petroushka's and I brought them in. Sometimes I hardly knew if I was expressing him or he was expressing me! All this made up my image of the role--and I believe art comes from an inner vision."
A vision, or image, is comprised of both the movements and the emotional content of a dance role. This image provides the dancer with a mental template from which to work.
In her recent book, Dancing for Health: Conquering & Preventing Stress, Hanna explains mental visual imagery, also known as visualization: "Imaging a dance action initiates electrical impulses along certain neurological pathways to the musculature involved in the movement, thus activating it and inhibiting impulses to other muscles. There are two kinds of imagery. Internal imagery is your imagination of the kinesthetic experience of the correct performance of a movement. External imagery is the visualization of yourself performing the movement."
Dancers often use mental visual imagery in class and rehearsals when learning an enchaînement or dance sequence. Imaging a role involves the same process to which emotions are introduced.
Royal Ballet First Soloist Sara Lamb stresses the value of such techniques: "Oftentimes I will visualize what I want to do. It is very powerful for me. I remember when I was about seventeen, a friend, a Ukrainian girl who had done a competition, was advising me. She said, 'The most important thing to do is think about it and imagine it. Do it in your head.' It all sort of twirls up there, it's kind of like creating a waking dream."
Ballerina-turned-teacher Galina Panova maintains that the image should take shape initially from the essence of the piece itself. "The dancer must reach to the core of the role. That's where you find its motivation and then later its emotion. Ask yourself what it is about and how it gets the meaning across. You have to look at everything it is made up of: the music, the intention, the dance quality, the choreographer's choice of steps and movements."
Panova advises, "Your interpretation will resonate with originality if you approach the role with respect, curiosity and emotional honesty." Lamb agrees, "If you are not honest, people are going to see that on stage. Maybe not the entire audience but there will be some people who will be able to see that. You don't ever want to see someone who's not being honest. The only thing we have to give them is the honesty of emotion and line and purity. If we are faking that and if we are not wholly believing that for ourselves, it's going to be discovered."
"I think it is emotional honesty when something of ourselves goes into the image of the role we are playing," says Valery Panov.
An image of a role is best created once the steps have been memorized but before dancing the part full out in the studio. First of all, the dance action should be worked out optimally. Dancers in rehearsals make many technical and artistic mistakes. They are then corrected and try again. Next time, one or two of the mistakes might be ironed out while several others remain. Effectively they may have practiced several mistakes and often end up repeating the same ones many times thus building them into their memory. The secret of greater accuracy lies in thoroughly learning a piece before rehearsing full out. Use your mind first and save your muscles from unnecessary exhaustion.
While the dancer is working out the best way of moving, the interpretation -- the way of expressing the role -- begins to reveal itself. Panova suggests a strategy, "Begin by thinking about the story if there is one, or the atmosphere of the piece if there isn't. Imagine the costume and décor. Get a feel for the setting where the dance will take place. Try to image the role you will be playing and see if you can identify aspects of the character in yourself. If it isn't yours try it on for size. Put your imagination to work and have fun! Even if a part is very abstract there will be something in the mood or the message that you can relate to."
Panova recommends dissecting the role into component parts such as the steps, port-de-bras, emotion/acting, musicality. Imagery is used to "rehearse" each aspect mentally without actually dancing. "Don't think about emotions or technique while you are working on musical phrasing or port de bras, for example. Give all your attention to one thing at a time."
Personally I have always found that searching the music for its relation to the dance helps in absorbing and understanding a choreography. The procedure is straightforward. Listen to the music a few times. Then listen again focusing only on the melody. After this, focus on the rhythm. Listen now to the phrasing as a whole and follow the patterns of rise and fall. Next use internal imagery to "feel" the movement and its connection with the music. Do this by concentrating on the dynamic -- not the steps or the music separately. In your mind let the music be the force that drives your movement forward, but keep the focus on the feeling of the dynamic rather than the technique of the steps.
Now comes what I call, "Cleaning out the garbage between steps." Here it is helpful to switch to external imagery. Imagine that you are watching yourself dancing. Applying external imagery means that the dance will be remembered in a form ready for the audience to see. Analyze each phrase and every tiny movement considering the dynamic, the angle and the trajectory. Know where every part of the body, including the eyes, will be in every single moment.
Panova stresses the importance of slow-motion imagery, "The last phase before dancing the piece full out in the studio is to put all of it together. Everything is there now, the correct movement, the musicality, the dynamic and the expression. Practice it in your mind and imagine [internal imagery] yourself dancing but not yet at full tempo. Go through it very slowly at first and build up to normal speed gradually after many repetitions."
The dancer creates a role by following what the piece itself demands and then allowing it to emerge from the innermost center of her or his being. The work lies in dissecting, absorbing and exposition. The art lies in taking the piece in and then infusing it with the dancer's unique and genuine response. This then is the work of art!
*Judith Lynne Hanna's assistance and valuable input is most gratefully acknowledged.
Terry Sivashinsky danced and taught ballet for many years in England
and Europe. She now lives in
Tel-Aviv, Israel.