Presence
As a performer I ask myself what is presence? How is it that some people command a room and others just blend in? What is it that attracts an audience to some dancers/performers and not others?
There is a power in presence. There are performers who when I see them just attract my attention. Sometimes it’s their physicality, sometimes it’s their expression, but it is always their presence in the moment and the vitality that they exude that makes me want to watch them.
I remember as a child watching older, retired dancers perform pantomime and being absolutely enthralled. Their stagecraft was amazing, perfected through years of experience and passion, and an innate sense of expression. The performance was riveting and I was on the edge of my seat hanging off every moment. One of the dancers, Colin Peasley, taught me on occasion and he was possibly the first teacher who focused on performance rather than pure technique. The wisdom that stood out was, “every movement has a text, saying or story. Make up a text for yourself and say it as you perform!” Wise words from a true performer!
I also remember seeing some male dancers enter the stage and lighting up the auditorium with their presence. Steven Heathcote springs to mind. This type of performance is still the most inspiring moments I've had watching dance. There is something electric about the moment that is switched on and alive. A passion expressed fully and authentically. An energy filling up the room and demanding attention. As an observer, in the moment there was no thought of technique or form, just an excitement about what they were going to do next.
Sadly presence is often missing in todays performances. I have many theories as to why. Perhaps it is not just one reason but a complex series of reasons. Or maybe it is just my perception!
There is an extreme focus on technique and as I have learned and experienced myself both as a dancer and a teacher, focusing too much on the form leaves us with no mental capacity to focus on the feeling of a movement - where expression and presence lie.
In schools and training, there is a perception that presence is a natural thing that you either have or don’t. “Natural performer” is such a throwaway line that says perhaps more about the teacher than the student. I believe in a growth mindset that anything can be taught / learned. It is perhaps less quantifiable - presence and expression than form and therefore difficult to measure. Also perhaps each individual has their own individual approach or need meaning that there are many ways to get there, but not all students need the same information or take the same path to improve.
Dance has changed immensely and continues to evolve as an art form. Back 30 years ago it was much more of a presentation with direct focus to the audience. Now the philosophy is one of observation where the audience is in the room and the performer is being observed. It is presentation vs embodiment as expression. In presentation one could direct a dancer to smile, look out into the audience and capture peoples attention through their focus. Nowadays performance as embodiment means the dancer needs to feel the emotion and intensify it to bring the audience into their world. Sucking an audience in rather than reaching out.
I’m trying to theorise as to what it is that creates presence. As the word states, it is being present in the moment and alive when entering the stage. By being here in the now we enter a state of flow and fully connected with the role that is being performed. That requires awareness of the present moment and full engagement with its feel. There is also something to be said about filling up the stage with ones presence, projecting energy into the room and expanding to be passively aware of the audience.
By focusing on the feeling or text of what one is trying to express it changes the dynamic of the movement being performed. The greater the intensity, the greater the expression.
There is also a form of spontaneity to presence. It’s being there in the moment, flexible, engaging with the energy of the space and being able to react. Actually this all can be summarised broadly as play. Presence is the ability to play with the moment and movement, experiment and keeping it alive.