Valéry Dance

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Philosophy of the DanceAuthor(s): PAUL VALÉRYSource: Salmagundi, No. 33/34, DANCE (Spring-Summer 1976), pp. 65-75Published by: Skidmore CollegeStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40546919 .

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Philosophy

f the

Dance

BY PAUL VALÉRY

Before

Mme

Argentinaaptivates

ou

nd

whirls

ou

way

nto he

sphere

of

lucid,

passionate

ife

created

by

her

art:

before

he

demonstrates

o

you

what

folk

rt,

born f an ardent

nd

sensitive

race,

an

become hen

he

ntelligence

akes old

f

t,

enetrates

t,

nd

transforms

t

nto

sovereign

eans f

xpression

nd

nvention,

ou

will

ave

o

resign ourselves

o

istening

o few bservations

nthe rt

of

thedance

by

manwho

s no dancer.

Youwillhave owait little hile or hemomentf hemiracle.ut

you

re

quite

ware,

am

sure,

hat

amno

ess

mpatient

han

ou

re

to

be carried

wayby

t.

Letme

begin

t

once

by elling ou

without

reamble

hat o

my

mind

thedance

s

not

merely

n

exercise,

n

entertainment,

n ornamental

art,

r ometimessocial

ctivity;

t

s a serious

matter

nd

n

ertainf

its

spects

most

enerable.

very poch

hat

asunderstoodhe uman

body

nd

xperienced

t

east

ome ense f ts

mystery,

ts

esources,

ts

limits,

ts combinationsf

energy

nd

sensibility,

as cultivatednd

reveredhedance.

It is a fundamental

rt,

s

is

suggested

f

notdemonstrated

y

ts

universality,

ts mmemorial

ntiquity,

he olemn

ses o which

t

has

been

ut,

he deas ndreflectionsthas

ngendered

t lltimes. or he

dance

s an

art

derived romife

tself,

ince

t

s

nothing

ore

or

ess

than

he

ction

f he

whole uman

ody;

ut n

action

ransposed

nto

a

world,

nto kind

f

pace-time,

hich

s no

onger uite

he ame s

that f

everyday

ife.

Man

perceived

hat e

possessed

more

igor,

more

uppleness,

ore

articular

nd muscular

ossibilities,

han e

needed o

satisfy

he

needs

ofhis xistence,nd hediscoveredhat ertainf hesemovements,y

their

requency,

uccession,

r

range,

ave

him

pleasurequivalent

o

kind

of

intoxication

nd sometimes

o

intense hat

only

total







56 PAUL VALÉRY

exhaustion,

n

ectasy

f

exhaustion,

s it

were,

ould

nterrupt

is

delirium,

is

frantic otor

xpenditure.

We

have,

hen,

oomuch

nergy

or

urneeds. ou can

asily

bserve

that

most,

y

ar

he

most,

f he

mpressions

ereceiverom

ur enses

are

of

no use

to

us,

that

hey

annot

e utilizednd

play

no

part

nthe

functioning

f hemechanisms

ssential

othe onservation

f

ife.We

seetoo

many

hings

nd hear

oo

many hings

hatwedo

nothing

nd

can

do

nothing

ith:

hewords f

a

lecturer,

or nstance.

The ame bservationppliesoour owersf ction:we anperform

a multitude

f

acts

that have

no chanceof

being

utilized

n

the

indispensable,

r

mportant,perations

f ife.We

can trace

circle,

give lay

o our acial

muscles,

alk

n

cadence;

ll these

ctions,

hich

made

t

possible

o

create

eometry,

he

rama,

ndthe

military

rt,

re

in

themselves

seless,

seless o our

vital

unctioning.

Thus life's nstrumentsf

relation,

ur

senses,

ur articulated

members,

he

mages

nd

signs

which ontrol

ur

actions

nd the

distribution

f our

energies,

o-ordinating

he

movementsf our

puppet,

might

e

employed

olely

orour

physiological

eeds;

hey

mightonothing ore han ttackhe nvironmentnwhich e ive r

defend s

against

t,

and then their

ole

businesswould be the

preservation

f

ourexistence.

We

might

ead a life

trictly

imitedo the

maintenancefour

iving

machine,

tterly

ndifferentr nsensitiveo

everything

hat

lays

no

part

n

the

cycles

f transformationhichmake

up

our

organic

functioning;

eeling

nothing

nd

doing

nothing

eyond

what s

necessary, aking

o move

that s

not a

limited

eaction,

finite

response,

o some

xternalction.

or

ouruseful

cts refinite.

hey

carry

s from ne state o

another.

Animals o not eem operceiver do anythinghat s useless.A

dog's ye

ees he

tar,

o

doubt,

ut

his

being ives

o

development

o

the

ight.

he

dog's

ear

perceives

sound hatmakes

t

prick

p

in

alarm;

ut f his

ound

he

og

ssimilates

nly

what e

needs

n

order

to

respond

ith

n mmediate

nd

uniform

ct.He

doesnot well nthe

perception.

he

cow

n

her

pastureumps

t

the

latter f he

passing

Mediterranean

xpress;

he rain

anishes;

he

oesnot

ursue

he rain

in

her

houghts;

he

goes

back oher

ender

rass,

ndher

ovelyyes

o

not ollow he

eparting

rain. he ndex

fher rain

eturns

t

once o

zero.

Yet ometimenimals eem o muse hemselves.ats bviouslylay

withmice.

Monkeys

erformantomimes.

ogs

chase each

other,

spring

t the

heads f

horses;

nd can

think

f

nothing

hat

uggests







Philosophy ftheDance 67

free,

happy play

more

fully

han

the

sporting

f

porpoises

we see off

shore,

eaping

free

of

the

water,

diving, utracing ship, swimming

under

tskeel nd

reappearing

n

the

foam,

ivelier

han hewaves mid

which

hey

listen

nd

change

olor

n

the un.

Might

we not call

this

dance?

But ll

these nimal musements

ay

be

nterpreted

s

useful

ctions,

bursts f

mpulse, pringing

rom

heneedto consume xcess

nergy,

r

to

maintain

he

organsdesigned

or

ital

offense

r defense

n

a state

f

suppleness

r

vigor.

And

I

think am

ustified

n

observing

hat hose

species,

uch as theantsand thebees,that seem to be mostexactly

constructed,

ndowed

with he

most

pecialized

nstincts,

lso seem

to

be

those

most

saving

of their ime.

Antsdo not

waste a minute.

he

spider

does

not

play

n

its

web;

it

lurks

n

wait. But

what bout

man?

Man is

the

ingular

nimal

who watches

himself

ive,

puts

value on

himself,

nd identifies

his value

withthe

importance

e attaches

o

useless

perceptions

nd

acts without

ital

physical

onsequence.

Pascal

situated

ll

our

dignity

n

thought;

ut

the

hinking

hat aises

us

in

our own

eyes

above

our

sensory

ondition

s

precisely

hekind

of hinkinghathasno useful urpose.Obviously urmeditationsbout

the

origin

f

things,

r about

death,

re of no use

to the

organism;

nd

indeed,

xalted

houghts

f this

kind end

o

be

harmful

f

not

fatal o

our

species.

Our

deepest

thoughts

are those

that are

the

most

insignificant,

he most

futile s

it

were,

from he

standpoint

f self-

preservation.

But

because

our

curiosity

as

greater

hat

t

had

any

need

to

be,

and

our

activity

more intense

than

any

vital aim

required,

both have

developed

to

the

point

of

inventing

he

arts,

the

sciences,

universal

problems,

nd of

producing

bject

forms,

ctions

hatwe could

easily

havedispensedwith.

And

moreover,

ll this

free,

ratuitous

nvention

nd

production,

ll

this

play

f

our enses nd

faculties,

radually rovided

tself ith

kind

of

necessity

nd

utility.

Art

nd

science,

ach

n

tsown

way,

end o

build

up

a

kind

f

utility

from

he

useless,

a

kind

of

necessity

rom

he

arbitrary.

ltimately,

artistic

reation

s not

so

much

creation

f works

s

the reation

f a

need

for

works;

forworks

re

products,

supply

presupposing

de-

mand,

a

need.

Quitea bit ofphilosophy, oumaythink . . and I admit hat 've

given

you

rather

oo

much

of

t.

But

when ne

s not

dancer;

when

ne

would be at

a loss

not

only

o

perform,

ut

even

o

explain,

he

lightest







68 PAUL VALÉRY

step;

when,

o

deal

with he miracles

wrought y

the

egs,

one has

only

the resources

f

a

head,

there's

no

help

but

in

a certain mount of

philosophy

in

other

words,

ne

approaches

hematter rom

ar

ff,

n

the

hope

that

distance

will

dispel

thedifficulties.t is much

impler

o

construct universe hanto

explain

how

a man

stands

on his feet as

Aristotle,

escartes,

Leibnitz,

nd

quite

a

few

others

will

tell

you.

However,

t

seems

perfectlyegitimate

or

philosopher

o watch

dancer

n

action,

nd

noting

hathe

takes

pleasure

n

t,

o

try

o derive

from is

pleasure

he

secondary

leasure

f

expressing

is

mpressions

in his own anguage.

But

first,

e

may

derive omefine

mages

rom

t.

Philosophers

ave

great

aste for

mages:

there s no trade

that

requires

more

of

them,

although

philosophers

ftenhide them

under

dull-gray

words.

They

have

created

amous nes:the

ave;

the

inister

iver

ou

can never ross

twice;

or

Achilles

running reathlessly

fter

tortoisehe

can never

overtake.The

parallel

mirrors,

unners

assing

on

the torch o one

another,

own

to

Nietzschewithhis

eagle,

his

serpent,

is

tight-rope

dancer.

All n

all

quite

stock f

hem,

uite

pageant

f

deas.

Think

f

the

metaphysical

allet

that

might

e

composed

with ll these

famous

symbols.

My

philosopher,

however,

does not

content himselfwith

this

performance.

hat,

n

the

presence

f

thedance and the

dancer,

an he

do

to

give

himself

he

llusion f

knowing

littlemore han

he about

something

hatshe

knows

best,

nd he not

at all? He is

compelled

o

make

up

for

his

technical

gnorance

nd

hidehis

perplexity

nder

ome

ingenious

niversal

nterpretation

f

this rt

whose

wonders

he

notes

and

experiences.

He embarks n the

task;

he

goes

about t n

his own fashion. . .

The

fashion fa

philosopher. veryone

nowshow

hisdance

begins

His

first aint tep s a question.And as befits manundertakinguseless,

arbitrary

ct,

he

throws

himselfnto

t

without

oreseeing

he

end;

he

embarks n

an

unlimited

nterrogation

n

the

nterrogative

nfinitive.

That is

his trade.

He

plays

his

game,beginning

ith

ts

usual

beginning.

ndthere

e

s,

asking

himself:

"What

then

s

the dance?"

What

then

is the

dance?

At

once he

is

perplexed,

his wits

are

paralyzed.

He

is

reminded f a famous

uestion,

famous

dilemma-

thatof St. Augustine.

St.

Augustine

onfesses ow he asked

himself ne

day

whatTime

s;

and he

owns

that

he

perfectly

ell knew

s

long

as he

did not

think

f







PhilosophyftheDance 69

asking,

ut hat e

osthimselft the rossroadsfhismind s soon s

he

applied

himselfo the

term,

s soon

as

he

isolated

t from

ny

immediate

sage

or

particular xpression.

A

very profound

observation.

. .

That s what

my

hilosopher

as come o: he

stands

esitant

n

the

forbidding

hresholdhat

eparatesquestion

romn

answer,

bsessed

by

he

memory

fSt.

Augustine,reaming

n

his

penumbra

f

he

reat

saint's

erplexity:

"What s Time? utwhat s the

dancer

But,hetells imself,hedance fter ll smerelyform f ime,he

creation

fa kind f

ime,

r of

very

istinctnd

singular

pecies

f

time.

Already

e is lessworried:

e has wedded wodifficulties

o each

other.

ach

one,

taken

eparately,

eft

him

perplexed

nd

without

resources;

utnow

hey

re

inked

ogether.erhaps

heir nion

will

e

fertile.

erhaps

ome

deas

may

e born

f

t,

nd

hat s

ust

what e s

after

hisvice nd his

plaything.

Now

he watches hedancer

with he

xtraordinary,

ltralucid

yes

that ransformverythinghey

ee nto

prey

f he

bstract

ind.He

considershe

pectacle

nd

deciphers

t nhisownway.

It

seems

o

him

hat

his

erson

ho

s

dancing

ncloses

erselfs it

were

n time hat he

ngenders,

time

onsistingntirely

f

mmediate

energy,

f

nothing

hat an last.

She

is the unstable

lement,

he

squanders

nstability,

he

goesbeyond

he

mpossible

nd

overdoes

he

improbable;

nd

bydenying

he

rdinary

tate f

hings,

he reates

n

men's

minds

he

dea of

another,

xceptional

tate a state

hat

s

all

action,

permanence

uilt

p

and

consolidated

y

n incessant

ffort,

comparable

o thevibrant

ose

of bumblebeer

moth

xploring

he

calyxof a flower,hargedwithmotor nergy,ustainednvirtual

immobilityy

he

ncredibly

wift eatof ts

wings.

Or our

philosopher

ayust

s well

ompare

he ancer

o flame

r,

for

hat

matter,

o

any

phenomenon

hat s

visibly

ustained

y

the

intense

onsumption

fa

superior

nergy.

He

also

notes

hat,

n

the

ance,

ll

the

ensations

f he

ody,

which

is

bothmover

nd

moved,

re

connected

n

a certain rder

that

hey

call nd

respond

o each

other,

s

though

ebounding

r

being

eflected

from

he nvisible

all of

a

sphere

f

energy

ithin

he

iving

eing.

Forgive

me

hat

utrageously

old

xpression,

can

find o other.

ut

youknew efore ou amehere hat amanobscurendcomplicated

writer..

.

Confronted

y

he

ance,

my hilosopher

or mind fflicted

ith

mania

for

nterrogation,

f

you prefer

asks his usual

questions.

e







70 PAUL VALÉRY

brings

n his

whys

nd

hows,

he

ustomary

nstrumentsf

lucidation,

which

rethe

pparatus

f

his

own

rt;

nd he

tries,

s

you

have

ust

perceived,

o

replace

he mmediate

nd

xpedient

xpression

f

hings

by

rather dd formulas hich nable

him

to relate he

graceful

phenomenon

f hedance

o thewhole f

what e

knows,

r

hinks e

knows.

He

attempts

o fathom he

mystery

f

a

body

which

uddenly,

s

though y

he ffectf n nternal

hock,

ntersnto kind f ife hats

at once

strangely

nstable

and

strangely egulated, trangely

spontaneous,ut tthe ame ime trangelyontrivednd, ssuredly,

planned.

The

body

eems ohave roken

ree rom

ts sual tates fbalance. t

seems

o be

trying

o outwit

I

should

ay

outrace its wn

weight,

t

every

moment

vading

ts

pull,

not o

say

ts

anction.

In

general,

t

assumes

fairly

impleperiodicity

hat

eems

o

maintain tself

utomatically;

t

seems endowedwith

superior

elasticity

hich

etrieves

he

mpulse

f

every

movementnd at

once

renews

t.One

s remindedf

top,

tanding

n

ts

oint

nd

reacting

o

sensitively

o the

lightest

hock.

Buthere s an

mportant

bservation

hat omes

o themind four

philosopher,

ho

might

o better o

enjoy

himself

o

thefull nd

abandon

himself

o what

he sees.He

observes

hat

he

dancing

ody

seems naware

f

ts

urroundings.

t

seems

o be concerned

nly

with

itselfnd oneother

bject,

very

mportant

ne,

rom

hich

t

breaks

free,

o which

t

returns,

ut

nly

o

gather

hewherewithalor nother

flight.

. .

That

object

s the

arth,

he

ground,

he olid

place,

he

plane

on

which

veryday

ife

plodsalong,

he

plane

of

walking,

he

prose

f

humanmovement.

Yes,

the

dancing

ody

eems naware f

verything

lse,

t

seems

o

know

othing

f

ts

urroundings.

t

seems

o hearkeno tselfnd

only

to

tself,

o

see

nothing,

s

though

ts

yes

were

ewels,

nknown

ewels

like those of which

Baudelaire

peaks, ights

hat

erve

no useful

purpose.

For thedancer

s

in

another

orld;

o

longer

he

world

hat

akes

color rom ur

gaze,

but nethat heweaves

with er

teps

ndbuilds

with

er

estures.

nd

n

that

world cts

haveno outward

im;

heres

no

object

o

grasp,

o

attain,

o

repulse

r run

wayfrom,

o

objectwhich

uts

precise

nd to an action ndgivesmovementsirst n

outwarddirection

nd

co-ordination,

hen a clear and definite

conclusion.







Philosophy fthe Dance 73

while hefive

ingers

f

theother eem o be

trying

uttheir

aces

at

the

other

nd of the

racecourse f

vory

nd

ebony.

You

begin

o

surmise

that

all

this followscertain

aws,

that

the whole ballet

s

regulated,

determined.

.

.

Let us note

n

passing

hat

f

you

hear

nothing

nd are unfamiliar

ith

the music

being

played,

you

have no

way

of

knowing

what

point

n his

piece

the

performer

as come to. What

you

see

gives

you

no indication

of

the

pianist'sprogress;

yet you

are

quite

certain

hat

the action

n

which

he s

engaged

s at

every

moment

ubject

o some

rather

omplex

system.

. .

With

littlemore ttention

ou

would discover

hat

his

ystem uts

certain

estrictionsn

the

freedom

fmovement

f hese

ctive

hands

s

they

fly

over

the

keyboard.

Whatever

hey

do,

they

seem

to have

undertaken

o

respect

some

sort

of continuous

order.

Cadence,

measure,

hythm

akethemselves

elt.

do notwish

o enter

nto

hese

questions

which,

t

seems

o

me,

hough

amiliar

nd

without

ifficulty

in

practice,

ave

hitherto

acked

any atisfactory

heory;

ut

hen hat

s

true

f all

questions

n which

ime s

directly

nvolved.

We are

brought

backto theremarks f St. Augustine.

But

t s

easy

o

note hat

ll automatic

movements

orresponding

o a

state

f

being,

nd not

to a

prefigured

ocalized

aim,

take

on a

periodic

character;

his s true

of the

walker;

of the absent-minded

ellow

who

swings

is

footor drums

n a

windowpane;

fthe

hinker

ho strokes

his

chin,

tc.

If

you

will

bear

with

me

for

few

minutes

more,

we shall

carry

ur

thought

little urther:

little urther

eyond

he

ustomary,

mmediate

idea

of

the

dance.

I was

ustsaying

hat ll the rts

re

extremely

aried

forms faction

and maybe analyzed n terms f action. Consider n artist t work,

eliminate

he brief ntervals

when

he sets

t

aside;

watch

him

ct,

stop

still,

nd

briskly

tart

n

again.

Assume

thathe is

so

well

trained,

o

sure

of

his

technique

hat while

you

are

observing

im he is a

pure

executant

whose successive

operations

tend

to take

place

in

commensurable

apses

of

time,

hat s to

say,

with

certain

hythm.

Then

you

willbe able to conceive

hat he xecution

f work f

rt,

f

work f

painting

r

sculpture,

s itself

workof rt nd

that ts

material

object,

he

product

f he rtist's

ingers,

s

only

pretext,

stage prop"

or,

as

it were the

subject

of

the ballet.

Perhaps

thisview seemsbold to

you.

But rememberhatfor

many

great

rtists work s never

inished;

erhaps

what

hey

egard

s

desire

for

perfection

s

simply

form

f

the

nner

ife have been

peaking

f,







74 PAUL VALÉRY

which

onsists

ntirely

f

energy

nd

sensibility

n

a

reciprocal

nd,

one

might ay,

reversible

xchange.

Or

think,

n the ther

and,

f hose

difices hat he ncients

uilt,

o

the

rhythm

f the flute

ommanding

he

movements f the files

of

laborers nd masons.

I

might

ave told

you

the curious

tory

elated

n

the

Journal

f

the

Goncourt

rothers,

bout the

Japanesepainter

who,

n

a visit

o

Paris,

was asked

by

themto

execute

a few

works

n

the

presence

f a

little

gathering

f art

overs.*

But it is

high

ime o concludethis

dance of ideas roundthe

iving

dance.

I

wanted o show

you

how this

rt,

ar rom

eing

futile

musement,

farfrom

eing

specialty

onfined

o

putting

n a shownow

and then

for he musement

fthe

yes

hat

ontemplate

t

or thebodies hat ake

part

n

it,

s

quite

simply poetry

hat

ncompasses

he ction

of

iving

creatures n its

entirety,

t isolates and

develops, distinguishes

nd

deploys

the

essential

characteristics f this

action,

and

makes the

dancer's

body

into

an

object

whose

transformationsnd

successive

aspects,whose trivingoattain he imits hat ach nstant ets ponthe

powers

f

being, nevitably

emind s

of

he

ask he

poet

mposes

n his

mind,

he

difficultiese

sets before

t,

the

metamorphoses

e obtains

from

it,

the

flights

he

expects

of

it

flights

which remove

him,

sometimes oo

far,

from

he

ground,

from

reason,

from he

average

notionof

ogic

and common

ense.

What s a

metaphor

f

not

a

kindof

pirouette

erformed y

n

idea,

enabling

us to

assemble ts diversenamesor

images?

And

what re all

the

figures

e

employ,

ll

those

nstruments,

uch s

rhyme,

nversion,

antithesis,

f

not an

exercise f all

the

possibilities

f

anguage,

which

removes s from hepracticalworldand shapes,forus too,a private

universe,

privileged

bode of the

ntellectual

ance?

And

now etme

giveyou

over,

weary

f words

but ll the

more

ager

for

sensuous enchantmentnd

effortless

leasure,

o art

tself,

o

the

flame,

o

the ardent nd subtle ction

of Mme

Argentina.

You

knowwhat

prodigies

f

comprehension

nd invention

his

great

artist

as

achieved,

what she

has done for

panish

dancing.

As for

me,

who has

spoken

to

you only

of

the dance

in the

abstract

and too

abundantly

t that

I

cannot

ell

you

how much

admire

he

abor of

intelligence

ith

which

Argentina,

n

a noble and

deeply

tudied

tyle,

has revived type ffolkdancethathasbeen o much heapenedately,

especially

utsideof

Spain.

*

Valéry

ells

the

story

n

"Reflections n

Art."







Philosophy ftheDance 75

I

think he has

achieved

her

aim,

a

magnificent

im,

since

t

meant

saving

n

art orm nd

regenerating

ts

nobility

nd

egitimate ower,

y

an

infinitely

ubtle

nalysis

oth

ofthe

resources fthis

ype

f

art,

nd

of her

own resources. hat s

something ery

lose to

me,

hat oncerns

me

passionately.

am a

man

who has never een

a

contradiction

indeed,

cannot onceive f one

between

ntelligence

nd

sensibility,

conscious

reflectionnd its raw

material,

nd

I

salute

Argentina,

s

a

man

who is

precisely

s

pleased

withher as he would

like to

be with

himself.

Valéry Dance

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