Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Exploring a modern Dafne

While creating our own version of Apollo and Dafne (that age old myth from the Greeks), the question arises "Who is the modern Dafne?" The original one lived in a simple world - a woman's choice was chastity or losing one's virginity. The mythological Dafne chose to die chaste by gathering all her force (and the forces of nature) to transform herself into a laurel tree when Apollo tried to rape her. This choice was made under duress, of course; she would have remained a happy wood nymph if Apollo had not threatened her.

Ideally the modern Dafne faces a different set of choices and they include saying yes to one man and no to another as well as saying yes to a man one day and no to the same man on another day. This modern set of choices has created a society that blames women for all sorts of ills including attacks on them because of their attire, or because they venture out into the world alone, or because their smiles get misinterpreted. (Aren't these women "asking for it'?) These scenarios involve the idea that women are powerless in public and therefore have to "watch" their behavior.

How can we put forth images of women who are as powerful as Dafne yet have more choices in their lives? When Fly-by-Night rehearses, I see dancers (men and women) who fly under their own power, pull themselves up from the ground, or simply hold their own weight in mid-air. I find these images encouraging and it means it is important to share this with the public, especially females (of all ages).

So bring your female posse to see our next show. Make a date with a colleague, a friend, your daughter or niece. The message is there - we all recognize a strong woman when we see one. Watching our modern Dafne as she navigates her choices can transform us all.

Get tickets to see both Dafne's HERE

4 comments:

  1. I hope by watching Dafne make her decisions, modern woman can realize that they/we have the power of choice in our lives. Dafne did not have as many choices as we do today but she never took being taken advantage of as an option. Be your own kind of woman, not what other people think women should be.

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  2. Correction: *modern women

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  3. These are such important issues that women face on a daily basis, and I love seeing them explored through movement and dance. To literally see these power struggles played out before us is so moving!

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  4. It is so important for men and women to engage in a dialogue of the issues that effect us on a daily basis. I feel constantly engaged in the exploration/discussion of these issues through movement in our rehearsals. It is not always a comfortable subject to discuss, but then again holding up a mirror on society never is.

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