War ballets
This article about US Marine and Iraq war veteran and ballet dancer Roman Baca, who has choreographed ballets based on themes connected with the war, its veterans, and their families, reminds me of the fact that although there have been a number of ballets attempting to depict war and the military, they just don’t seem to work very well.
That’s hardly surprising. “War ballet” would seem to be the ultimate oxymoron. On the other hand, there have been extremely successful poems, novels, and paintings about war, so why not dances?
The answer is that dance just doesn’t seem to be the right medium. It’s too light, too pretty, too abstract, too something—or maybe not something enough. But every now and then someone gives it a try, quite a few of which I’ve had the dubious pleasure of seeing.
Perhaps the most successful war ballet is Kurt Jooss’ “The Green Table,” an expressionist German work choreographed in 1932 between the two World Wars. Saying it’s the most successful war ballet doesn’t mean it entirely succeeds; perhaps I should say it’s the least unsuccessful. Like the other war ballets I’ve seen, it’s heavy-handed and static and portentous and yet still offers only a caricature of war. Here’s a video of the first few minutes; it starts with the diplomats’ negotiations (the entire thing is on YouTube in five parts, if you’re interested):
As heavyhanded as that is, the following is worse: the Chinese Communists’ bizarre “Red Detachment of Women.” I’ll let it speak for itself:
Far more successful—because it’s really not a “war ballet,” it’s more about the atmosphere and era in the USA around the Second World War—is “Company B” by Paul Taylor, set to music by the Andrews Sisters and featuring some of the swingiest costumes ever:
Unfortunately, the available “Company B” video is so short it fails to give the full flavor of the work, and emphasizes its lighter aspects. And there’s no doubt it has a lot of joy and flair, as well as nostalgia. But as in Paul Taylor’s best work, there’s darkness there too, although here it’s kept in the background (literally) by having the “war” part of the dance conveyed at the back of the stage as a sort of counterpoint to the bittersweet gaiety up front.
What about War Dances, as opposed to dances about war? I think that would also include sword dances, knife throwing dances, and such other displays of fighting skills and celebration of same.
My youngest son, recently married, is coping with several issues after 2 tours in Afghanistan and 1 in Iraq. (He’s a civilian now after 9 yrs in the Army.) He suffers from tinnitus, a common problem for vets, which makes sleep difficult at times. He sometimes feels remorse about surviving while friends were badly injured or died in the field. He’s coping well all things considered. He has support from other vets, plus his new wife is an incredible person who supports him with a heart of gold.
He too has turned to art as a form of therapy. He writes poems and paints in his free time. He completed a masters degree in May and is now a counselor at a VA hospital. He is committed to becoming solid and whole and helping other vets. I am so proud of him. He tells me he will never be able to forget his experiences but he is going to be a productive and satisfied person, and he promises me that there will be even more grandchildren. (Grandchildren are my gold standard.) By all means, support vets and support their art, in whatever form it may manifest.
Parker, thanks for sharing your son’s story. And thanks to him for serving.
Survivor’s guilt is one of the components of PTSD that is often not appreciated. I was suffering from it after Vietnam, but just stuffed it down and went on. It took 13 years before things got so bad for me that I knew something was wrong and needed to get help. I learned that the best way to deal with it is just as your son is doing. Get in touch with the guilt, do the grieving that needs to be done, understand that the best thing a survivor can do is to live your life in a way that would make your lost comrades proud, and find positive ways to deal with the anger that has its roots in the losses suffered. It is a journey with ups and downs. As time goes on there are more ups, less downs. I wish him well on that journey and am very glad to hear he is on top of it.