At present I am in the process of conducting my interviews and organising my workshop for my Inquiry. I believe it is important that I am constantly learning new things as I conduct this Inquiry in order to achieve the best possible results/ findings.
Part of my Inquiry focuses on whether there are other options for dancers once they have become injured. From my research and through surveys and interviews so far, many believe this to be true. Some of these people talk form experience whilst others from what they have learnt from others around them, or by reading about famous icons in the dance world.
One person I interviewed mentioned “Bob Fosse”. Although Bob Fosse never suffered from a specific injury, his body was not built/ designed to be a traditional dancer. But in a way, this is a perfect example of how if you feel a love for dance inside you, you can adapt your body to a different area of dance, besides just performing. Bob Fosse is a perfect example of this as my interviewee pointed out.
In a biography I found, it describes why it was that his body was unable to meet the demands of a dancer: “Though he was physically "wrong" as a dancer, Bob Fosse never let those limitations impede his artistic ambition.”
“Though physically small and asthmatic, Fosse was a dance prodigy; by high school, he was already an experienced hoofer in Chicago's burlesque scene.”
“With pigeon toes and slouching posture, Fosse hardly fit the dance ideal so he focused more on rhythm and style to make up for what he lacked physically.”
The Biography also indicates that he started dance lessons at age 9, it was about this time that someone may have pointed out to him that he was “physically wrong as a dancer”. This is difficult information to take in at such a young age and could have had a negative impact on his outlook on dance; however it had the opposite effect and only made him want to work harder. At present I have been discussing with fellow dancers/ teachers whether dancers should be told at a young age (particularly if they’re injured) whether there are other options out there besides performing. We had also been discussing the negative impacts something like this could have on someone so vulnerable and whether it’s worth addressing these options at an early stage or leaving such decisions till a more suitable time. If Bob Fosse had been told at age 9 that there was no point in him continuing down this path, we would have never had such shows as “Sweet Charity” or “Cabaret”, etc.
Instead of Fosse reacting in a negative way to his non-idealistic body structure, he chose to embrace it and make what he could of it. This is how he created and choreographed his movements which led to the creation of his own individual style, which in time became one of the most danced jazz styles throughout the world.
Is this something that all dancers should be made fully aware of? Not just of Fosse’s achievements in life, but how because our bodies may not represent the ideal dancer, the way your mind works still can. I remember studying Bob Fosse in my training, I wrote an essay on him and we studied his style of dance in class. I don’t remember much emphasis on how he managed to adapt his own way of moving into a different area of the dance industry.
He focused on Choreographing and Directing as his career developed as he still had the mindset of a performer. Is this the case for everyone who trained as a performer but finds later in life that they’re unable to fulfill this dream?
One of my interviewees believed this is only the case if you truly want something enough. If you truly want to continue down the dance path, you can make it happen, but you have to be prepared and willing to go down a different avenue.
I am extremely pleased with the fact that I decided to investigate Bob Fosse further purely because someone I interviewed used him as an example. What that person had to say was interesting and because I was listening I decided to take it to the next step. This is what this Inquiry process is about for me; listening to people, constantly wanting to know more and never stopping until I have found the answers this Inquiry will lead me to.
http://movies.amctv.com/person/90209/Bob-Fosse/details
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