i would never do ballet naked.im a guy and no way.

djb - I admit there is a double standard when it comes to how men view nudity. I think maybe it's because men are more visually oriented than women, and can't understand why what arouses them doesn't arouse their girlfriends, wives, etc. I can appreciate the male physique in dance, just not on a sexual level. Having said that, and knowing you'll disagree with this, I do think female nudity looks better in dance. Maybe it's just a matter of taste: I've always thought male nudes were better for sculpture, and female nudes were better for paintings. For dance, both can be good, but I think female nudity fits better with dance, especially classical ballet - modern dance may be a different story.

Sirene - one more question: what did your daughter's father think of her seeing this? You haven't mentioned him and I don't want to touch on a sore spot, but I would like to know if his thinking differed from yours at all. And if the dancer had been female instead of male, would you have been more or less willing to take your daughter to see the performance?

Moving from another thread:

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okgo
Member
Member# 3410

posted 22 January 2004 11:51 PM
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i read in a thread that their is nudity in some dance/and or ballet.well im not trying to be perveted but who would do dance naked.idont think i could do it.i would be extremely nervous.i mean i feel that private and should only be for your soul mate(wife/husband.i really could not do it.(mods im not tying to be perveted im just asking a question seeing how different people think.

okgo, as we all know, individuals have a wide range of feelings about nudity in public, whether it be onstage or at the beach. It doesn't bother me, but I am bothered when there's a double standard. I know so many women who think male bodies (nude or otherwise) are beautiful in dance, that I'm amazed that MW knows so many who don't. If a choreographer has the women and not the men be nude just because s/he knows that women generally are less sexually stimulated by the visual, that seems to indicate that the only reason for the nudity was sexual stimulation. What about appreciating beauty of form for its own sake?

djb thanks for responding.

<small>[ 23 January 2004, 10:32 AM: Message edited by: okgo ]</small>

djb - I thought I have made it clear in my earlier posts that I agree women enjoy looking at male bodies. However, I think men are more visually stimulated when it comes to sexuality. That's not to say that nudity is, or should be, only included for the purposes of titillation. However, sexuality and eroticism are legit themes of some wonderful dances from ballet to jazz to modern. There's nothing wrong with using nudity in a sexual context, as long as it isn't the ONLY use for nudity.

I agree with you entirely on this point: nudity is legitimate and tasteful even if done only for the purposes of admiring the human form, both male and female. It can, and, in my opinion, should be done more often.

My point on the male/female difference is that in terms of dress, whether in dance or society, female fashion tends to reveal more skin than males. I've paid a lot of attention to this since we started this discussion, and I have noticed females have more form-fitting and skin-revealing attire than males in settings ranging from the theatre stage, to the sidewalk, to the beach, and even to church. It's simply more socially acceptable for women to accentuate and reveal their bodies more than men, and I agree with Toni Bentley's rationale for this: men enjoy looking at women, and women enjoy being looked at. That's not to say I believe there should be more female nudity in dance (although I think there are practical reasons female nudity works better), but I do believe society is more accepting of nude women in dance than nude men.

Those women don't appear to enjoy looking at men's bodies when they’re nude (which is an option I included in my comment). Or maybe I've misinterpreted what you meant. Perhaps you meant they'd enjoy looking at nude men, but would find the g-string silly. (I used the example of men in g-strings as an attempt to find an equivalent to the women's costumes in Folies-Berger-type shows, i.e., not totally nude.) I’m willing to accept that you believe women enjoy looking at nude (or nearly nude) male bodies in dance, but not that I should have realized this from what you’ve written.

Finally, djb, I think we understand each other! Most women I know think g-strings are silly, but they also enjoy looking at nude men. I guess if the man isn't going to be nude, they'd prefer pants to g-string.

On the subect of nudity, has anyone seen Maureen Fleming's "Decay of the Angel?" Apparently it's a solo work incorporating traditional Japanese movements. I haven't seen her perform, but from what I understand it is an excellent example of what djb and I would refer to as nudity for the sake of showing the beauty of the human form...

I think nudity sometimes is usefull for dance, but ofcourse it isn'nt nessesary.

<small>Tamara Rojo and Jonathan Cope in the Royal Ballet's "Ondine"</small>

This beautiful image certainly caught my eye when I first saw it on the Underground.

You can buy the poster too:

http://www.rohshop.org/acatalog/ROH_Shop_Ondine_9.html

--Andre

And you can buy this cover featuring Paul Taylor's Silvia Nevjinsky from Time Magazine:



Here's the link to barewalls.com.

Romeo & Juliet will take it off Down Under!