“The object of performing is to give life shape.” – William Shakespeare
The performing arts transcend barriers and unify our society, and to some degree or another we all take part in the art of performing. Whether it’s giving a presentation at work, teaching your children an important lesson or simply retelling a funny fib from early in the day, there is an element of performance in all of it. In short, the performing arts encompass an enormous umbrella of expression and storytelling.
So Why Is it Important?
There are many reasons why the performing arts are important, but we feel each reason can be housed under these three main principles:
- It helps us connect to the world around us.
Have you ever gone to a show and been lifted, entertained or changed because of it? Maybe not, but chances are when meaningful music is sung or the inspiring and passionate dance is witnessed, it affected you in some way. That’s because when we put stories together with music it gives us new perspective and new tools to face and fix our problems individually and collectively. - Performing on stage builds confidence.
While confidence isn’t everything, it does help us in achieving our potential. In our world of likes, shares and retweets, so much of our self-worth tends to be measured by others. And while a portion of performing does give us a sense of validation from others, when kept in check, performing is a source of affirmation for our own self-worth. - The performing arts helps us finding meaning.
The performing arts gives the participant an opportunity to find meaning in the menial and magnificent tasks in life. Performing is important to our society, because it fills a void; giving reason to confusing or complicated questions we may ask. When stories are made into music it can become something that can move us and heal us and help us live better.
Other Effects of the Performing Arts
Sadly, the performing arts also have the potential to be destructive. Some performances today have become too sensational and tend to use extreme measures to delight or entertain an audience. Part of that cause comes from the demand of audiences to produce material that is more edgy and shocking. The other part may stem from a writer’s inability to generate new ideas or just the simple fact that scaling back the morality of a production means it will get more views.
This effect has shifted the intention of much of the performing arts and made it difficult to train in an uplifting environment. But at INSPIRE, we think performing can maintain it’s integrity and still bring delight and light to the stage. It’s important for some to choose a higher road in the performing world, and that is a road we have chosen to take and a road we will stay on.
