Profile Post

This past week I dove into the blogger Judith Mackrell. She is a celebrated dance critic who has written on a wide variety of international dance occurrences including famous works, inner drama, and shifts in the microcosm that is the dance world. Formerly at the Independent, she is now an independent online blogger for the Guardian. She studied English literature at University and has even done biographical studies including one on Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova.

Her blogs date back to two thousand thirteen and cover a wide variety of topics under the umbrella of dance. She is incredibly articulate and is able to saliently connect dance to topics such as politics and other forms of art. She uses entertaining syntax and punctuation, and is able to implement a light tone without being outwardly funny. Her impressive array of vocabulary creates a sense of reliability from the blogger without being too academic or boring. She also includes videos in her blogs and explains historical context relevant to this information for the reader so that not only dancers can enjoy this blog, but everyday individuals. Her vocabulary covers lots of descriptions that relate to the senses of the reader, which makes the blog extensively more interesting. She uses credible examples of performances and cites important people and companies, which improves her reliability as a writer.

Mackrell’s blogs receive various comments but not an inordinate amount of them. Some of the more interesting ones, like the director of the Bolshoi ballet getting acid thrown in his face, have received thirty comments, when others have only received two. She has blogged for five years now on this blog and it is sporadic. She doesn’t blog monthly, but rather will go a month or two without blogging, then will write many at one time.

In Mackrell’s review of the Batsheva Ensemble performing at Sadler’s Wells in London (a famous and highly regarded performance venue for theatre, dance, and performance art), she explains the unique nature of Gaga, where the dancers “stand out for their technical skills and for the free, exhilarating range of their movement- a particular trademark of Naharin’s choreography”. She also explains that the touring Israeli Dance Company has experienced discrimination when traveling to perform in different countries. During their tour there was much anti- Israeli demonstrations outside and inside the venues, but the performers persisted through. When at Sadler’s Wells, the audience supported the Company and Naharin who is a “liberal Israeli who has criticized the government policy towards Palestine.” She explains how it is rare for Brits to see this collide between politics and art.

Something I particularly enjoy about this blog is that Mackrell breaks down the subject matter enough for a wide range of audiences to understand without making it sound, for lack of a better word, dumb. This is something I strive to do in my own blog. I also am interested how Mackrell investigates the connection between politics and art that is to deeply embedded into Naharin’s choreography. This is something I strive to unveil and study further throughout the timeline of my blogging. I also align with her light tone, supplying ample information but not letting it become boring. I like how this blogger discusses various kinds of international dance, some of the most sought after concert choreographers and companies, to folk dance originating from miniscule depths of Europe. These topics are very niche, but can culture the reader in quite profound ways.

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