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Ballet: Not A Riddle To Decipher
Our compassionate 'Mover,' Justin Leaf wrote an article for the Minnesota Playlist which shares his thoughts on the many ways one can interpret a piece of classical or contemporary ballet choreography. It reads:
Over the centuries, “ballet” as classical genre of dance has expanded from romantic story ballets to include neoclassical abstract works and contemporary movement pieces. Story ballets remain the style closest to other forms of popular art (literature, films, music, theater), as they incorporate an easily understood narrative. Dance, however, also uses movement as its language, which leaves plenty of room for interpretation. The more abstract the movement, the less identifiable the intent. (READ ON)
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Justin Leaf is shedding light on yet another form of discrimination, "Don't Ask Don't Tell," by transforming it into a riveting contemporary ballet performance. He takes a journey from his uniform of isolation to freedoms which life should certainly provide.
In her popular blog LEFTFACE, Brittney (The Army Wife) says of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," "But what about the con’s about repealing DADT? The biggest argument has been to not mess with the military — to do a “social experiment” — in the time of two wars. Isn’t that just an excuse, though? Aren’t we ALWAYS in some sort of conflict? The United States Army is essentially the police of the world, and we are always somewhere, doing something. So if not now, then when? Iraq is in the process of being phased out, and Afghanistan — well, we don’t really know when that is going to be over. There will never be a “good” time. So why not now?" She is absolutely right. This kind of argument is simply trying to protect bigotry and keep homosexuality taboo, misunderstood and isolated.
While some of us may feel strongly opposed to war and military, if we want to have equality we need to address it across the board and not just in places where we feel comfortable. It may be hard to relate to people serving in the military but as a gay man I recall how frightened I was to simply come out in my High School environment for fear that I would be bullied, exiled from my friends and ridiculed by my religious upbringing. So I waited until I lived in San Francisco for over a year and built a community that embraced my personality. This only has made me a better member of society. I am less confused, more informed and confident in what choices are my own. What I have shared with my family is this statement, "Do you think I chose this? A life where my body chemistry is opposed to my family's beliefs, friends' beliefs, and half of the country's beliefs. Who wants to be discharged for being honest! NO, I didn't choose this and I certainly didn't want to live in fear that I would be." I am proud to be a gay man and have no interest in forcing my sexuality on anyone else but until you allow us the right to honesty I will continue to fight. That is the problem here. We don't want to be dishonest, we have tried to change our sexuality, we have had doctors tell you that it isn't a disease, we have proof that it doesn't affect our work ethic, so what do you want? They want me to be dishonest so they can live a lie.
The most heart wrenching issue here is that these government laws are only set to protect bigotry. Might I remind you of other statements that have come in the past:
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"I don’t want to serve with women. I don’t want to serve with Muslims. I don’t want to serve with blacks. I don’t want to serve with hispanics. I don’t want to serve with Asians. I don’t want to serve with Native Americans. I don’t want to serve with Jews. I don’t want to serve with gays." (source)
There is no difference here.
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Justin is being honest and vulnerable in this performance about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." In 2009 he was awarded a McKnight Fellowship for Dancers. As part of the Fellowship program, the Southern Theater commissioned a choreographer of his choice to create a solo expressly for him as part of their SOLO Commissioning Program funded by the McKnight Foundation. He chose to work with performance artist John Kelly. The performance is entitled "Cohesion" and was premiered at the Southern Theater in July of 2010 as part of SOLO, which featured six McKnight fellows in new dances. Now catch his performance at FORM + CONTENT Gallery in February, curated by Camille J. Cage.
Justin says, "I prefer to tell a story with dance. It isn’t always a popular direction but by telling this story you offer someone an opportunity to feel something, digest it and develop an opinion."
Photos by Paul Virtucio
Movers Turning A New Leaf
In 2001, Justin Leaf graduated from the Juilliard School with a BFA in Dance Performance. He has studied ballet pedagogy with master teachers Andra and Ernesta Corvino (www.corvinoballet.org). As a teacher, Justin draws from his extensive experience as a professional dancer for James Sewell Ballet (2002-08) and for Minnesota Dance Theatre (2008-present). He has served as a guest instructor for The Dance Institute, James Sewell Ballet, The Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts, Summit Dance Shoppe, and Larkin Dance Studio. Currently, Justin offers private lessons and an open ballet class at The Fixx Workout Studio in South Minneapolis.
Justin is also an accomplished choreographer and has been commissioned to create works for Minnesota Dance Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Metropolitan Ballet, and the Saint Paul Conservatory for the Performing Arts, Normandale Lutheran Church, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Plymouth Congregational Church, as well as for his own performance company, Junkyard Theater. For his choreographic work, he has received the Zaraspe Prize (2001) and a Minnesota SAGE Award (2007). Justin is also a recipient of a 2009 McKnight Fellowship for Dancers, funded by the McKnight Foundation and administered by the Southern Theater.
"I want to do as much as possible to honor my values--that is, educating others on the animals' plight."