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Gaspar NoesClimax, which goes wide this week, is yet another chaotic orgy of dance-related horrors.
WatchingClimax, I began to wonder: Why are there so many movies like this?
What is it about dancers that inspires filmmakers to depict them in various forms of total destruction?
And, most importantly, how closely do these films hew to real life?
In other words, are all dancers really just horny, deranged murderers?
No, said Taj.
People get fits of giggles that cant be stopped in rehearsal.
Its never tipped into wild accusations or screaming matches.
No witchcraft … yet.
Kovarsky was more open-minded about the possibility that his peers were supernatural masterminds.
There is some weird spiritualism that goes on among New York dancers.
A lot of them are vegan hippies, he said.
But Kovarsky and Taj disagreed on whether this is a realistic portrayal of the dance community.
It feels like a deep trespass of the bond, said Taj.
(She was right: All of the movies listed above were directed by men.)
These guys are around each other 24/7, on all the drugs, all the steroids.
In my eyes, its a complete dystopia.
[Dancers] are manipulated by their own egos and physical displays of perfection.
Is dancing on drugs a thing?Does a beer count?
Yeah, of course.
Duh, Kovarsky said.
I was running around the club puking, shivering, trying to find somebody to help.
He paused for a moment.
Also, sometimes I perform and smoke weed, and thats like playing a video game.
Adrenaline and accelerated heart rates do something to your body.
Does it make me feel insane?
Only in a good way, said Taj.
Not without drugs, said Kovarsky.
But Ive seen others go insane.
They let themselves go past a psychological threshold.
Its high energy through three minutes.
Maybe after a dance, added Kovarsky.
I need to go to the bathroom and down a hot dog.
There are things where Im like,Damn, I might die right now from exhaustion.
Both considered the question thoughtfully.
Im being totally honest.
That being said, of course there are tensions that arise in any creative process.
But for me, that intense physical connection and fluid communication doesnt tip into violence.
They dont deserve death from me.
And if I even tried to kill them, it would end up being about them and not me.
They would steal the attention.
A passageway to a demonic presence, he said.
I guess thats a form of catharsis, but its not for everyone.
As for which movies utterly failed?
Taj dislikedBlack Swan: As a queer-identified human, the gratuitous lesbianism thats also mother-hating was tough for me.
It feels like the wrong use of woman-on-woman love, which is very common.
Basketball dancing should not be a thing.
