Technique v.s. Emotion - The Purpose of Art

How do you choose your favourites? your favourite song? your favourite film? your favourite play?

Is it because you loved the technique? Or is it because it made you feel great at some point in your life?

Most likely, you’ve chosen your favourites because you enjoy going back to them or reminiscing about the day you encountered them. It isn’t because of the intricacies and complexities that you got drawn to it in the first place—it was how it made you feel. It may also have an impact in your life.

In this episode of The Kevin Clifton Show, Kevin dives deep in the purpose of art. Is it the technique or the emotions? This has always been a debate, so Kevin gives a light on how different and how the two things actually go hand in hand in creating and consuming art. According to him, it’s always about the emotions we invoke from the audience. Kevin’s advice is to learn everything so you can create a different magic within every individual.

Start tuning in as he explains more on it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” - Maya Angelou
• For Kevin, it’s emotions that art creates that matter, not the technique. We can forget the lines, the dance steps, the cinematography, but we can never how we felt after we consumed it. Did we enjoy it? Did it make you nostalgic of something? Did you hate it?
• If you’re asked right now how do you choose your favourite song, most likely you’ll say because you like it. You can dive deep into the technicalities of the song; but, for something to draw your attention and maybe let it linger in your mind, it has to be something special that made you feel great.
• They might include some arts in the Greatest of All Time/Most Influential/Top Grossing/etc. lists, but does it mean that they’re less valuable? It doesn’t. That particular art has its own audience, even the critics hate it.
• As performers, we always aim to give the best performance—we want the audience to feel elated, amazed, and satisfied when they exit the doors of the theatre. Techniques are great tools to invoke these kinds of feelings in the audience.
• Dance techniques have been evolving as they get passed from one generation to another, and they have also created new styles of dances. Techniques, styles, tempo, choreography, etc. will be unique in each performance, and at the same time, the feelings the audience have towards each performance will be different. So, it’s not new that performers want to be consistently great at every little thing.

BEST MOMENTS

• “The thing that stays is how you were made to feel when the person was performing.”
• “Art is about feeling and how it makes you feel.”
• “Everyone loves different things when it comes to art because you bring your own context to it.”
• “The technique is a tool to produce the result.”
• “I don’t see the point in technically-gifted performance that inspires nothing on anyone.”
• “Don’t display the technique. Use the technique to create something that creates emotion.”

VALUABLE RESOURCES

• The Kevin Clifton Show – Lucas Rush: Conversation with Lonny from the Rock of Ages | Apple | Spotify | Omny
• Listen to Feel by Robbie Williams on Spotify and Deezer

ABOUT THE HOST

Kevin Clifton is a professional dancer who has been performing & competing at the highest level for over a decade. Kevin has worked on shows like 'Burn the floor' & 'Rock of Ages' to 'Strictly Come Dancing' one of the biggest TV shows in the UK which Kevin won in 2018.

CONTACT METHOD

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