Which is worse?

[Maria_Aya]

Goodmorning all and have a great week !!!
Many times we have discused over the subject of giving credits to a choreographer on his work.
But... sometimes maybe its worse to mention the name of him/her? I'll explain.

Some time ago, I sponsored a teacher from abroad, came to Greece and gave workshops.
We had 2 fantastic days, tought 1 drum solo, and one oriental routine.
The drum solo was just fantastic, full of detail, inspirational
(i'm not the choreo type but had to admit)

So:
Yesterday searching on youtube, i found a group dancing the specific drum solo, giving credits to the teacher, but... doing such a bad job in dancing that was if someone didnt knew the exact choreo would wonder about the teacher that was named as choreographer...
I felt angry with them, as they are ruining the teachers job (with bad teqnicks, no sync, horrible costumes etc)...
What do you thing? is it something to be done?

Maria Aya

 

[Ranya]

Oh dear now this is really hard to figure. I never really thought about this but it truly is a dilemma. I guess you cannot tell someone not to mention the choreographer because they thing that his name will make their choreo look good even if it's crap. However I agree that is does no good to the choreographer himself and unless people know him very good and are familiar with his work, they really might think he's not a good dancer/teacher/choreographer. But unfortunately I see no solution :s

 

[janaki]

Tough question indeed Maria!!!

I still think giving credit to the choreographer is a wise thing. People don't expect the same from the performers. I also think it is good on the part of the performers to mention their level of dancing eg., junior, ammature etc., so that people can judge for themselves.

 

[Aisha Azar]

Choreography

Dear Gang,
This is how I feel about the whole "teaching choreographies in workshops" issue.
I rarely do so because we simply do not have enough time in the class for people to REALLY learn it, hence there are a LOT of bad interpretations out there.
When I do, I teach a short choreography so that people actually have half a chance to learn the darn thing.
I have learned to emotionally let go of the choreography and see it as a contribution to the dance community instead of MY personal property. I feel that the students in the class have paid for the dance and it is their's every bit as much as mine, perhaps more so. I also encourage them to use the choreography as a base from which they can add their own contributions instead of thinking of following the dance to the letter. I have seen people actually improve on my work when they feel free to do so, and that is a good thing.
I also choreograph and sell dances to individuals and dance companies, and in that case, I request permission to use what belongs to them, even though I created it.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[nightdancer]

I think of it as many other forms of art. The creator is not responsible for the portrayal. There have been many many awful productions of MacBeth. (I know, I was in one), but Shakespeare is not responsible for them, and people do not love ol' Will any less because some crazy drama kids do not do justice to his work.


I totally see your point, absolutely. I'm just offering up my thoughts on it.

 

[Safran]

When I read the question Maria posed, I got a similar thought in my head as A'isha... The possible mis-presentation of the choreographer's work is a very good reason not to teach choreos. But here's an idea, object if you think I am totally off the track - when somebody is dancing someone else's choreo and mentions the choreographer, the people who do matter get the idea. Because based on the dancer's skills in general you can also roughly estimate how much a person "fills" a choreo.

 

[Aniseteph]

IMO it's rude not to credit the choreographer, even if you end up doing something dreadful. I think dancers know not to blame the choreographer, especially if it was only learnt in a workshop.

If the choreographer is worried about people not doing their work justice they will have to be selective about who they teach it to... :think: pre-workshop auditions anyone? :lol:

My conscience is clear on this one - don't think I'll ever manage to learn a choreography in a workshop well enough to take it away and murder it! Way too sloooooow...

 

[Zorba]

I keep saying it - you saw this bad interpretation on YouTUbe - the cesspool of the internet. Don't worry about what you see in a cesspool...

Give the choreographer credit - it isn't her fault someone posted a bad interpretation on a cesspool site...

 

[chryssanthi sahar]

I also think that it is right to name the choreographer, it doesn't matter how bad or good the interpretation is. If somebody sings a known song awfully, this doesn't mean that the song is bad. And I think, people who understand something about Oriental Dance will see that it is not the choreography, but the dancers who are bad.

 

[Shanazel]

I have learned to emotionally let go of the choreography and see it as a contribution to the dance community instead of MY personal property.

I absolutely agree with this, A'isha.

Still, when someone has gone to the effort of developing a choreography, it is just good manners for those who borrow it to acknowledge the source.

 

[Aisha Azar]

Credit, etc.

I absolutely agree with this, A'isha.

Still, when someone has gone to the effort of developing a choreography, it is just good manners for those who borrow it to acknowledge the source.

Dear Shanazel,
I guess that for me it is not important to get the credit for the choreography; nice if it happens, I guess, but not essential to my psychological well being. Good manners, on the other hand ARE important, so you have a point there.
Regards,
A'isha

 

[Jane]

I agree that the original choreographer should get credit and use the phrase "staged by" to acknolwedge that there have been some changes to the original.

Ex: Original choreography by Aisha Azar and staged by Jane Doe.

Some choreographers will not allow any changes to their work, so it's best to ask. I like to credit the musician/composer to help promote their work too.

 

[bellyrolle]

I think of it as many other forms of art. The creator is not responsible for the portrayal. There have been many many awful productions of MacBeth. (I know, I was in one), but Shakespeare is not responsible for them, and people do not love ol' Will any less because some crazy drama kids do not do justice to his work.


I totally see your point, absolutely. I'm just offering up my thoughts on it.

I totally agree with you:clap: