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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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,
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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."
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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.