Zadie Smith: dance lessons for writers

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/29/zadie-smith-what-beyonce-taught-me

by tintinnabula • 10 years ago

47 11 10 years ago

dominotw3• 10 years ago

Didn't Beyonce give dance lessons to Gaddafi too? How do these people turn into feminist icons while at the same time cozying up to monsters with grotesque harems. What a strange world to live in.

wojcech• 10 years ago

Don't know how much that applies here, but there is no inherent moral or egalitarian negative to a "harem" (or "unicorn" arrangements if I remember my polyamory lingo correctly) if everyone involved is actively and consciously consenting. But Gandhi is probably not in that camp

munificent• 10 years ago

Gaddafi != Gandhi

dominotw3• 10 years ago

But Gandhi is probably not in that camp

Yes I definitely not. This book stayed on my mind of months after I read it. Just insane. https://www.amazon.com/Gaddafis-Harem-Annick-Cojean/dp/08021...

pjc50• 10 years ago

Odd comment for this article. A lot of people have ended up playing for dictators because their agents booked it and took the money without asking the star.

Only occasionally do we get movements like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artists_United_Against_Aparthe...

dominotw3• 10 years ago

because their agents booked it and took the money without asking the star.

Seriously? Some agent forced her to dance for dictator famous for parading his harem all over the world.

Atleast Mariah Carey had the decency to admit that she made a mistake instead of some ridiculous 'agent made me do it' excuse.

yesbabyyes• 10 years ago

"Sure, [Fred Astaire] was great, but don't forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did, ...backwards and in high heels."

http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Ginger/images9/ginger_...

WalterBright2• 10 years ago

I know the famous quote. But I also know many professional ballroom dancers, and how good a couple looks is mostly determined by the man. The man drives the dance. It's his job to make his partner look good, and that means adjusting things to the skill level of his partner. A very good woman will have a much harder time making her man look good if he isn't, because she cannot backlead.

Ginger Rogers was a very good dancer. But she just isn't as good as Astaire. If you watch closely, for example, he is always perfectly positioned, Ginger, not so.

Astaire also developed the dances in parternship with Hermes Pan, who would play the female. They'd work it all out to perfection, and then bring Ginger in to teach it to her.

Also, stepping backwards is not a problem for professional dancers, and women ballroom dancers spend thousands of hours dancing in heels, so those present no special difficulty, either.

ahh• 10 years ago

Anyone who says this has not seen an Astaire movie. Here are two routines I found in literally five seconds:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfnNwXxJeIY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac6o8PXthzQ

WalterBright2• 10 years ago

People will be dancing like Michael Jackson until the end of time.

There's a curious quality to MJ's dance. His moves look simple, and are endlessly copied, by amateurs and pros alike. But none of them come off looking like MJ. All I can say is it's that last 2% of the move that makes it work, and nobody has been able to copy that. I know his poses and moves are all very carefully laid out and practiced, but they look so natural on him, they look like they are him.

gandolfinmyhead• 10 years ago

man ... how is this on hacker news?

Zadie Smith: dance lessons for writers

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