http://www.aboutrickyharris.com/choreography/column.html

Monthly Column: July 2004

ABOUT BEING UNIQUE

Have you ever passed a row of buildings where each one looks exactly
like the other? There is the same wood or concrete, shape of the
roof, landscaping, window placement, color, etc. What goes through
your mind when you observe this? I experience a feeling of monotony,
boredom and the greatest temptation to use my limited
painting "talents" to individualize each building.

Many people find a sense of security in looking, acting and moving
like others around them. Perhaps some of this stems from the fear of
being singled out and judged on a personal, individual basis. You are
always running a risk when you dare to be different. The risk is in
being criticized. But how then can one develop uniqueness in style,
movement and appearance if one does not experiment? What is
experimenting?

To truly experiment you have to be willing to try things in many
different ways, even at the risk of looking strange at times. It is
like going through a trashcan and at the bottom finding a perfect
rose. That does not mean that all experimenting is trashy." No, far
from it. Most of the time it is exciting and stimulating. What I am
saying is that by experimenting with different ideas and movements,
you will go through some that you may not want to perform, but
through the process of going through these forms, something will be
created that is unique to your body and program. It may be the one
thing for which everyone eventually will remember you.

Years ago I had my hair cut into what people referred to as a "punk
hairdo." I had a wonderful exhilarating time with it. It was
marvelous to watch the faces of people seeing me for the first time
with this hairstyle. They had extreme reactions to it. They either
liked it a lot, or thought it was terrible. But no one looked at it
and felt nothing! That is what art is all about. The intention of art
is to provoke thought and feelings. Just because something
is "different" does not make it bad.

I can remember when I first came back into the skating world in
1972; I was ridiculed and scorned for using "modern" arms and moves
in conjunction with the basic ballet moves. Today, skating has
progressed and is going parallel with the dance world in its search
for unique ideas and movements on skates.

Each one of you is completely different from everyone else in the
world. You can even be different from yourself, and as a skater, be
completely unique in the way you move on skates.

(Click on "Books" for information on choreography books for skaters
and coaches.)

http://www.aboutrickyharris.com/choreography/column.html