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The Guardian article: Dance lessons for writers – mentions Prince https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/29/zadie-smith-what-beyonce-taught-me But both men were excellent dancers. Putting aside the difference in height, physically they had many similarities. Terribly slight, long necked, thin-legged, powered from the torso rather than the backside, which in both cases was improbably small. And in terms of influence they were of course equally indebted to James Brown. The splits, the rise from the splits, the spin, the glide, the knee bend, the jerk of the head – all stolen from the same source. Yet Prince and Jackson are nothing alike when they dance, and it’s very hard to bring to mind Prince dancing, whereas it is practically impossible to forget Jackson. It sounds irrational, but try it for yourself. Prince’s moves, no matter how many times you may have observed them, have no firm inscription in memory; they never seem quite fixed or preserved. If someone asks you to dance like Prince, what will you do? Spin, possibly, and do the splits, if you’re able. But there won’t appear to be anything especially Prince-like about that. It’s mysterious. How can you dance and dance, in front of millions of people, for years, and still seem like a secret only I know? (And isn’t it the case that to be a Prince fan is to feel that Prince was your secret alone?)
I never went to see Michael Jackson, but I saw Prince half a dozen times. I saw him in stadiums with thousands of people, so have a rational understanding that he was in no sense my secret, that he was in fact a superstar. But I still say his shows were illegible, private, like the performance of a man in the middle of a room at a house party. It was the greatest thing you ever saw and yet its greatness was confined to the moment in which it was happening.
Jackson was exactly the opposite. Every move he made was absolutely legible, public, endlessly copied and copyable, like a meme before the word existed. He thought in images, and across time. He deliberately outlined and then marked once more the edges around each move, like a cop drawing a chalk line round a body. Stuck his neck forward if he was moving backwards. Cut his trousers short so you could read his ankles. Grabbed his groin so you could better understand its gyrations. Gloved one hand so you might attend to its rhythmic genius, the way it punctuated everything, like an exclamation mark. Towards the end, his curious stagewear became increasingly tasked with this job of outline and distinction. It looked like a form of armour, the purpose of which was to define each element of his body so no movement of it would pass unnoted. His arms and legs multiply strapped – a literal visualisation of his flexible joints – and a metallic sash running left to right across his breastplate, accentuating the shift of his shoulders along this diagonal. A heavyweight’s belt accentuated slender hips and divided the torso from the legs, so you noticed when the top and bottom half of the body pulled in opposite directions. Finally a silver thong, rendering his eloquent groin as clear as if it were in ALL CAPS. It wasn’t subtle, there was no subtext, but it was clearly legible. People will be dancing like Michael Jackson until the end of time. But Prince, precious, elusive Prince, well, there lays one whose name was writ in water. And from Prince a writer might take the lesson that elusiveness can possess a deeper beauty than the legible. In the world of words, we have Keats to remind us of this, and to demonstrate what a long afterlife an elusive artist can have, even when placed beside as clearly drawn a figure as Lord Byron. Prince represents the inspiration of the moment, like an ode composed to capture a passing sensation. And when the mood changes, he changes with it: another good lesson. There’s no freedom in being a monument. Better to be the guy still jamming in the wee hours of the house party, and though everybody films it on their phones no one proves quite able to capture the essence of it. And now he’s gone, having escaped us one more time. I don’t claim Prince’s image won’t last as long as Jackson’s. I only say that in our minds it will never be as distinct.”
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That was a good read...
and YES to this....
I don’t claim Prince’s image won’t last as long as Jackson’s. I only say that in our minds it will never be as distinct.”
Makes me feel melancholy but so true...
He is unforgettable and hard to imitate. | |
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Gosh...That made me well up (and I haven't in a while)...What a beautifully poignant piece of writing - and so true...Prince is, and always will be, the most perfect enigma. | |
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I like this bit the best: But Prince, precious, elusive Prince, well, there lays one whose name was writ in water. And from Prince a writer might take the lesson that elusiveness can possess a deeper beauty than the legible. In the world of words, we have Keats to remind us of this, and to demonstrate what a long afterlife an elusive artist can have, even when placed beside as clearly drawn a figure as Lord Byron. Prince represents the inspiration of the moment, like an ode composed to capture a passing sensation. And when the mood changes, he changes with it. Baby, you're a star.
Meet me in another world, space and joy | |
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Dibblekins said: Gosh...That made me well up (and I haven't in a while)...What a beautifully poignant piece of writing - and so true...Prince is, and always will be, the most perfect enigma. He was not only multi talented but his personality which we saw reflected in his music also had many dimensions. I read somewhere today that "Prince shared his soul with us", that is one of the reasons I think his fans feel so bereft. What an interesting soul it was. . [Edited 10/30/16 6:06am] Baby, you're a star.
Meet me in another world, space and joy | |
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Well thought-out, well-written piece.
But the Guardian deserves clicks for this - the whole article should not have been posted here. [Edited 10/30/16 7:54am] |
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Great article. Would love to read more about Prince as a dancer. [Edited 10/30/16 9:30am] | |
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I posted a small part of the article so I'm not sure what you mean. Yes, the whole piece is worth reading. | |
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One of the 5 best things Ive ever read about Prince (and MJ). | |
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That was a good article, thanks for posting. Love is God, God is love, girls and boys love God above~
The only Love there is, is the Love We Make~ Prince4Ever | |
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I was under the impression that you posted the entire Prince/Michael Jackson section. |
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Such a beautiful article. Erin Smith | |
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Prince was simply a beautiful dancer . Not in 78 but by the early 80s you could see he had honed his talents. Sign o the times is stunning. If I was your girlfriend in silhouette is magnificent I would rather watch him dance over mj any day. Prince actually dances n shares. MJ is a choreographed spectacle and for me it bores me witless. Watching prince is like sharing a private moment. But I think the article is correct..because his moves are si specific you obviously associate mj with dance, however tedious it us and however much it is for the plebs | |
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My point is, these days newspapers need our support more than ever. And clicks are the way to do that online. I didn't even realise there were other sections to the article until I copied and pasted the link - and everything that was pertinent to prince.org I had already read on here, so they may have lost a few hundred page views.
It's just good online etiquette, that's all. I'm happy you brought the article to our attention. |
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Elusive, personal in a stadium of thousands. The writer describes the soulful attraction Prince created from the air around him. Lovely piece. "Hold on to your souls y'all. We got a long way to go. Thank you! We love y'all!" | |
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