Risk can be defined as a situation that involves an exposure to danger. The term danger is very relative as it can mean something else at different moments or situations. Danger can either mean a physical harm, an emotion or even a mental harm. It truly depends on how an individual reacts to risk at that moment. It can also have a positive connation as it sometimes forces an individual to discover something about that might aid them grow as a person.
Profeta addresses that risk is a great gamble in dance as it can result to embarrassment, frustration, disruption of lives and even disapproval. Moreover, it can lead to injuries to the body. Although, Profeta believes that risk is an essential creative tool, as it forces the artist to venture out of their comfort zone and this in turn increases creativity of performances. Profeta also mentions how her job encouraged Ralph towards the space of risk. She highly commends how he was able to put himself in risky situations throughout in order to really measure what he could demonstrate with his body. She admires how he is able to dive into situations filled with risk and come out victorious. She personally finds it difficult to put herself out there as she would use her position as a choreographer to pass on the risk to her performers.
Risk describes so many things in my life. Firstly, as a performer, despite the fact that I have been performing for years, each performance always seems like a new one. All that tingly sensation in my stomach is present with every performance I have. I believe I have only learnt how to cope with this fear by making sure it does not affect my performance. People assume that having such a great background in dance makes it easier to perform on stage, but unfortunately, I don’t think it is as easy as they presume. However, with this risk, conquering it head-on brings about a great feeling of accomplishment at the end. In Greece, I believe we will be risking ourselves by going out the camps, addressing people we have never met before about what dance means to them. It will be uncomfortable at first, but this is definitely the only way for us to grow as individuals by stepping out of our comfort zone. It will certainly be a memorable experience.
Profeta, Katherine. "Interculturalism" Dramaturgy in Motion: At Work on Dance and Movement Performance. 168-209. USA: The University of Wisconsin, 2015.
Hi Waseem,
So the point of the exercise was to pull a word from a reading and explain how it operates within the text. What you did here was give you own opinion of what “risk” means – but it has a specific meaning in the dance rehearsal, for the choreographer in particular, and then again for the refugee. Also – when you first introduce a person into your essay – please write their full name (like Ralph is: Ralph Lemon).
What your post seems to be gesturing to is the different levels of risk that pertain to very different participants. Risk in a rehearsal is not equivalent to the risk a person takes when fleeing from violence – and the risk you take in going into refugee camps has another valence. How do you not flatten “risk” into equivalencies – but also understand that the effects of sometimes seemingly little risks could have great consequence for oneself and for the others who might be affected by it? When Lou just spoke to us, she was adamant that risk was not a productive term for her. Why would it be for you and how do you distinguish the risks you take as large or small – and what is the value of comparative risk?
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