8/11/25 – We’re going to start giving assignments because this is a little ridiculous. As an article on the National Review mentioned, America is a weird country. We cannot be inventive if we lose our eccentricities. They need to remain part of who we are. America, land of the free and the weird. We are also a large country with creative corners in many cities, including rural ones. For the young peoples: Take some road trips; bring entire CD albums to share (good time to learn about prior generations’ music); drive to some midsize or, ideally, rural cities and find their artistic or simply weird sides; take pictures with both film and digital cameras. If you want an additional challenge, develop the black and white film yourself in a darkroom. Do not go on social media. You’re documenting the trip with the cameras. Review and select the best pictures later. Hint: There are many cities in the country. You should not have a hard time finding them.
Smooth Criminal
8/5/25 – We encourage everyone to take a break from whatever BS they have going on with politics and social media and do something or watch something artistic. The choreography in Smooth Criminal is so fast and complex, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Michael Jackson pulling it off. Although his backup dancers are excellent, you can’t take your eyes off of him, and it’s not because he’s in a white suit. It’s because he’s a bit more theatrical (part actor), and he understands the music more intimately. He moves in a more improvisational way, and although still quite technical and sharp, he maintains a looseness in his moves that is distinct from their more formal style (as formally trained dancers). It’s a hard balance to strike, yet he does so with seeming ease. (Frankly, he’s also more slender, so when he moves, the lines of his body are more pronounced.)
Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal (Official Video)
8/5/25 – Here’s just one idea to help break the country out of our creative stagnation. We chose Smooth Criminal because the choreography is really inventive and brilliantly executed. It is the dance version of noir (related to literature and film). If you didn’t know this, once you have this information, you should see it in the video below.
So here is the idea: What if instead of starting with the music and adding the choreography, you start with the choreography, especially as a thematic concept but keeping it dance-able, and then create the music to fit it. Imagine you read a novel or watch a movie and then you think of dance moves that would tell the story using your body. The advantage of this approach is that music is usually accompanied by lyrics, so you’re still using words. However, this approach would force the creator to step back from the words or even sound, use the body, and then add the music to fit the choreography that is telling a story. Also, for most people in the performing arts, it would likely require more discipline and creativity. The challenge might be fruitful, as it would impose some structure and parameters to the songwriting.