Great choreography has become a bit of an obsession in America. The sheer magnitude of the High School Musical Empire is point enough, but that would be to say nothing about Dancing With The Stars (a ratings hit in its own right) and the many other dance-based reality shows on cable and network TV. There is something about watching separate pieces move together as one that both attracts and mesmerizes us.
I recently heard a discussion about the connection between beauty and death. The example used was seeing a vase of flowers on a table in a restaurant and reaching out to touch them. If they turn out to be artificial, they immediately are not as beautiful in our mind as they were when we thought they were living. There is something about the fact that they won't die that makes them less stunning. Part of the experience of beauty is tied to its fleeting, fragile nature.
One of my new musical loves is Adele. After first hearing her wonderful, soulful voice, I happened upon her video for "Chasing Pavements." One of the singles off of her album, 19, "Chasing Pavements" is a song she wrote after breaking up with her boyfriend. (19 is the age Adele was when the album dropped.) The song does well on its own, but paired with the images in the video, it is even better.
The fragility of life gives context to simple dance moves and we see how death paints life with greater richness. Just as you get lost in the creativity of the choreography, the video ends and the fleeting nature of life bleeds backward into the dance and adds to its meaning.
As this video taps into the reality that death gives life beauty, here is something to wonder about:
If it is mortality that gives life its beauty, what about eternal things? Can they still be beautiful?
Is it that something will come to an end that gives it beauty or is it that something could come to an end?
Is it the impending end or the option of an ending?
Think about how love plays into all of this....does it have to end for it to be beautiful? Don't we celebrate unending love above all other things? Maybe it is the reality that an end could be chosen at anytime, but is not, that makes love so amazing to witness?
Chasing Pavemnet (lyrics)
by Adele
I've made up my mind,
Don't need to think it over,
If I'm wrong I am right,
Don't need to look no further,
This ain't lust,
I know this is love but,
If I tell the world,
I'll never say enough,
Cause it was not said to you,
And that's exactly what I need to do,
If I'm in love with you,
Should I give up,
Or should I just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere,
Or would it be a waste?
Even If I knew my place should I leave it there?
Should I give up,
Or should I just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere
I'd build myself up,
And fly around in circles,
Waiting as my heart drops,
And my back begins to tingle
Finally could this be it
Should I give up,
Or should I just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere,
Or would it be a waste?
Even If I knew my place should I leave it there?
Should I give up,
Or should I just keep chasing pavements?
Even if it leads nowhere
