"Dancing the Dream" at the National Portrait Gallery

This past Sunday's issue of The Washington Post featured an article on the front page of the Arts section about a new exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery.  The "Dancing the Dream" exhibit features still frames of iconic and famous dancers throughout the years.  The article says that the exhibit starts with a portrait of Loie Fuller, an early pioneer of modern dance, and ends with Lady Gaga, a pioneer of "modern" in a different sense.

This article made me think of the brilliance of some of these iconic dancers and the way that they are still able to create movement even though it is a still photo.  There is a sense of honesty, love, and absolute passion for dance.  Their facial expressions and body movements show how much care they put into dance and the arts.  I think this is what makes a dancer "iconic."  Their ability to portray stories and feelings sets them aside from others and makes them historical, and, most importantly, memorable.

The flair of Liza Minelli, the strength of Mikhail Baryshikov, the grace of Judith Jamison, the fierceness of Beyoncé Knowles and the edginess of Lady Gaga are all different styles, but something that they have in common is the ability to use dance to awaken the soul and lift the spirit.  They are able to dance joy and pain, make others believe it.

The exhibit starts on October 4th at the National Portrait Gallery. Spend an afternoon there and appreciate the dancers who have paved the way for us.

 

 by: Miss Tess
 tessc@balletpetite.com