It is shameful that dancing should renounce the empire it might assert over the mind and only endeavor to please the sight.
Interpretation
Dance should engage the mind as well as please the eyes.
In this quote, Noverre critiques the superficial approach to dance that focuses only on visual beauty, suggesting that dance should also stimulate thought and emotion. He advocates for a deeper connection between the dancer and the audience, emphasizing that the true power of dance lies in its ability to convey complex ideas and feelings, rather than merely being a visual spectacle.
In practice
During a speech about the importance of art in education, this quote can highlight the multi-dimensional nature of dance.
The defect in wisdom and taste which exists among the majority of dancers is due to the bad education which they generally receive. They apply themselves only to the material side of their art, they learn to jump more or less high, they strive mechanically to execute a number of steps, and like children, who utter a great many words devoid of sense and relation, they execute many phrases of steps devoid of taste and grace.
The things that affect you most deeply - the things that will destroy you if you don't sing about them - are the things that you often end up singing about. It's really just about saying those things that everybody thinks but no one will say and making a connection by uncovering these diamonds that are inside of all of us that no one wants to tell each other about.
I've done movies I'm very proud of, but there's always a sense of: 'Come see this shiny new car!' The question I hate the most is: 'Why should people see it?'
Art is the work of a human, an individual seeking to make a statement, to cause a reaction, to connect. Art is something new, every time, and art might not work, precisely because it's new, because it's human and because it seeks to connect.
As an actor, you are always looking for roles that will challenge you, and when I came upon Aung San Suu Kyi, it wasn't just about that but also about stepping into the shoes of someone who means so much to millions of people.
Artists are taught to be humble about their impact, especially in folk music. It's so ingrained that I have a hard time even thinking I had any impact other than what a normal hit song would have.
Of course, my interests and my focus change and become more diverse, more worldly. At the same time, I am interested in the simple basics, which is I love to dance and I love to make people dance.
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