Can theology and dance mix? I think Mia Michaels on So You Think You Can Dance may have done that very thing the other night in this dance about the conception of Jesus…amazingly beautiful and haunting, even days later. Jesse and I think that the fact that they one normal shoulder (humanity) and one angel shoulder (divinity) may have meaning…what do you think?
And, lest you think we are reading too much into it, Mia Michaels is known for putting tons of incredible thought and meaningful detail into her routines, down to every detail of the costuming. She also weeps whenever she sees her own routines performed, which is so very authentic of her.
Also, I think Will and Katee are my favorite dance couple. You watch routines like this one, and you know that there are few people in the world who can dance with this kind of graceful complexity, especially since the Pas De Deux is one of the hardest dances out there! Make sure that you wait for the amazing lift at the end.
And, I have to admit, one of the best aspects of this dance is 16 year old David Archuleta (American Idol runner up) singing…
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Christine says
Caution: after writing this, it turns out this response is long-winded and convoluted. read at your own risk 😛
Re: the Mia Michaels’ number
I agree that it is beautiful and M.M. does put in a lot of thought into her dances. It is specifically the latter that makes me think I need to spend more time (when not at work) to rewatch the video and think about y’all’s idea. When I first saw the dance last week, I was doing a couple different things at once, so maybe that distracted me, but honestly the first thing that I thought of was that they (via the costume department) looked more like down-trodden prostitutes/saloon girls – you know, like in one of those pictures/stories where they are trying to show the real anguish/loneliness behind the paint, bright costumes, and such. More like they were praying an Ave Maria (especially the second half of the prayer, see my next comment) then enacting it (I thought in dancing a prayer the girls were wonderful, and a danced prayer should bring tears…). I didn’t notice the feathers really until after the dance when Kat mentioned they were “angels”…which made me wonder if they were “fallen angels”…
[As a side note, since wondering what Mia might have been working with I looked up Celine’s “Ave Maria” lyrics out of curiosity. I’ll post them next for reference, but I think this idea works.]
All that to say, I’d like to re-approach the dance from y’all’s perspective and see those aspects as well.
Christine says
“Ave Maria,” the prayer:
Ave Maria
Gratia plena
Dominus tecum
Benedicta tu in mulieribus
Et benedictus fructus ventris
Tui, Jesus
Sancta Maria
Mater Dei
Ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Nunc et in hora mortis nostrae
Amen.
Hail Maria
Full of grace
The Lord is with thee
Blessed art thou among women
And blessed is Jesus
The fruit of thy womb
Holy Maria
Mother of God
Pray for us sinners
Now and in the hour of our death
Amen.
“Ave Maria,” Celine’s lyrics:
Ave Maria, Maiden mild
Oh, listen to a maiden’s prayer
For thou canst hear amid the wild
‘Tis thou, ’tis thou canst save amid, despair
We slumber safely till the morrow
Though we’ve by man outcast reviled
Oh, Maiden, see a maiden’s sorrow
Oh Mother, hear a suppliant child
Ave Maria
Ave maria gratia plena
Maria gratia plena
Maria gratia plena
Ave ave dominus, dominus tecum
The murky cavern’s air so heavy
Shall breathe of balm if thou hast smiled
Oh Maiden, hear a maiden pleadin’
Oh Mother, hear a suppliant child
Ave Maria
Ave Maria
(My thanks to google for links to the above information)
themrscone says
I don’t see evidence that they could be fallen angels- what makes you possibly think that they are? It wouldn’t really fit with the song or anything. As for their costumes, I think that if they were met to be sexual symbols at all, say, prostitutes, they would’ve had bolder makeup. The fact that the makeup teams went to such great lengths to make their eyes so pale (it was really evident in the real light after the dance was over) with so many shimmery whites and pale blues that it was meant to be ethereal.
themrscone says
I just watched it again.
I think I saw evidence for your theory of fallen angels 1) in the fact that they are reaching heavenward while prostrating themselves at the end and 2) that they seem to be in anguish.
However, these could also heavily support the idea of angels surrounding Mary as she anguishes at the rejection/crucifixion of her son. They seem to be lifting each other up at times and reaching heavenward even though in pain and what is going on. They seem innocent, but not child-like- as though they have lived a very long time and seen a lot.
If they were fallen angels, don’t you think there would have been some hint of darkness, whether by color, action or music? I would think some touch of red would have been appropriate if that was what was taking place.
Christine says
The only reason I thought “fallen angels” was that Kat said they were “angels” after the dance…something I hadn’t noticed at all during the dance. So yeah, it was more of a “maybe fallen angels?” disbelieving questioning thought, brought on by the fact that I saw more sadness/anguish/pain during the dance than what you typically think of with “angel.”
Regarding your comment about the costumes/sexual symbols, that was kind of my point, I don’t think they were supposed to be sexual symbols in the typical portrayal of “prostitutes.” Instead it was more of the (again) sadness/anguish/pain behind the scenes, not the “come and get it/isn’t this great” facade (think of the dicotomy shown in Moulan Rouge – but with more repentence).
I saw more of the humanity in the dance than anything etherial. (I thought the whites/pale blues were to work w/ the lighting as much as anything. The paleness of the makeup under regular white lights just lent to a natural/non-made-up look under the blue lights.) It was a cry for help/salvation from desperate anguish. I think maybe I keyed in on “prostitute” more b/c in our culture that’s an easy simble of a desperate “low” in life…it could just as easily be “a person stripped of any showy costume and pretty face” (i.e. a real, desperate person) — in which case i prefer the fact that the costume department went with an older view of “undergarments” than would be used in modern day. It keeps it from becoming a sexual symbol, which would have distracted from M.M.’s/the song’s point.
The costume, makeup, and lighting all combined to reveal natural-looking, femine (while not disctracting sexually w/ too much skin) characters striving and crying out from a deep sadness (at least that’s what blue lighting often, though not always, triggers for me).
Does that help clarify my point? What do you think? (I’m still working on digesting the etherial angel/conception of christ/anguish at His crucifixion angle. I’ll let you know when I figure it out…maybe…this weekend!!!!)