True Art in Dancing

As a whole, I believe the entertainment industry has lost its appreciation of art. Art, as said by Pope John Paul II, is "nothing less than the upliftment of the human spirit". Art is to leave you with a sense of wonder, transcending this world by a depiction of reality that leaves you wanting more than what is real. Since it should leave you with wonder and excitement, it should therefore be extraordinarily good, as opposed to mediocre.

Too often mediocrity is celebrated in "artists": music, movies, whatever. People who can't act, sing, produce, sculpt, design or do anything artistically well, are famous. Granted, there are a chunk of people who truly are talented. But true art isn't valued the same way it used to be.

As a artist myself (I draw and write), I love to see things that are beautiful in a new, creative, and artistic way. For example, I love to watch dancing. Trained dancers give God glory by movements that use the full potential of one of man's greatest gifts, the human body, to create masterpieces. It is a splendid combination of athletic ability and artistic qualities that blend together to leave you in awe that a  human being can create something so beautiful. Dancing can tell stories, give a whirlwind of emotions, and showcase the body's sheer beauty in a non-objectifying way. The body, in dancing, is glorified in similar Michelangelo's artwork.

One of my favorite shows to watch is So You Think You Can Dance for the very reasons I mentioned above. The dancers on the show have a reverence both for dancing and for art. It combines true art in the choreography by telling an emotional story, electrifying you in either a touching or energizing way. The dancers bodies are beautiful, and their movements breathtaking. It's reminiscent of John Paul II's Theology of the Body, as it shows you how good and beautiful the body is.

It wonderful that as humans, we can use our bodies for God's glory in making something beautiful for others to see, leaving them wanting something higher.