"Putting the 'Art' Back in 'Cathartic'"

It's interesting just how full circle life is. Five years ago, I began writing my first blog, Adolescence in Retrograde (AIR), a collection of articles aimed to teenagers and young adults that provided advice on how to navigate their lives during this period of immense and ongoing change. The article featured personal experiences of my own as a person exiting adolescence and the work of psychologists and sociologists to  explain the happenings of puberty and demonstrate just how much of a process adolescence is whether you are 10 or 25 years old. However, the initial reason for beginning that blog was not purely altruistic. I was 3 months out of my post-baccalaureate fellowship at Knox College, working a job that was barely giving me enough money to pay my bills--which included my first car note and payments on two credit cards I maxed out to survive during the fellowship--and had nothing to do with any of my three academic foci in college--education, psychology, and dance. On the morning of August 25, 2013, I woke up remembering my senior year roommate Monica Prince's words from her 2012 published choreopoem Confessions in Living Color(ed)/Testify, "Every day I try to earn the breath I was given." With that thought, I logged on to my computer, prayed thoroughly, and began typing; the next day the first two blog posts were uploaded.

No, I would never consider myself a writer. Yes, I have always had a passion and deep respect for language and writing composition; I journal a lot, and I even wrote an entire album's worth of songs when I was 16. Through writing AIR I encountered what catharsis is, how it works, and why artists' works are cathartic experiences. If you have never heard that word before, let's take a moment to break it down. Catharsis, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the purification or purgation (intense let-out) of strong emotions that bring about spiritual renewal or release from tension. Psychiatrists use catharsis in therapy as a means to eliminate the mental complexes of patients through bringing the frustrations to consciousness and affording them expression. For the high majority of people the most effective method is purging is an artistic outlet, like writing, painting, photo journaling, role playing, or dancing. A few months prior to the AIR blog being published, I first heard the word during a open forum discussion at Knox College called "Art and Media: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Violence". Event panelist and Associate Professor of Theatre Jeff Grace made a final point to encourage all attending students to use their emotions and create something in response to this discussion. "If you all leave here and do not continue this conversation with action, this issue remains just that: words," Grace explained. "If you feel something, DO something!" Ironically, at that time I was already knee-deep in creating the first three works of the What Becomes of the Brokenhearted choreographic series, dance works that serve as thematic translations to the writings of E. Lynn Harris. (Click on this link for further details → https://www.gofundme.com/wbotb-tribute-to-e-lynn-harris.) When my post-baccalaureate fellowship began, I had just finished reading 5 of Harris’ books since I had begun in Summer 2011. Plus, choreographing for and performing in the first production of Monica’s Confessions in Living Color(ed) majorly influenced my creative process afterwards. (Click on this link for further details → https://monicaprince.com/choreopoems), I was compelled to create something that did what Harris’ books continue to do for me: detail the varying perspectives and lifestyles of Black American LGBTQ men for others to better understand and accept as reality. I am glad to say that even 5 years later all 3 pieces I have created still serve this purpose and provide an authentic learning experience for the audience, the performers, and the choreographer.

This makes dance, writing, and all other artforms seem like extremely important activities in our lives--which they are and should be supported in such a manner, just saying. However, I know through experience that constantly creating and performing in such a vulnerable state is intimidating and tiring. There have been many times as an artist and human being that I do not want to be vulnerable, exposed, and giving--especially when it seems those receiving my energy are unprepared or undeserving. At her Simply StilettoTM mini-intensive workshop in Atlanta, Kiira Harper responded to my concern regarding feeling this way as an entertainer during the “Simply Human” talkback session that follows the 3 hours of heels dance training. She replied, "But it's our job to feel… We have the gift of taking on all the emotions going on in the world and becoming that on stage so that people can see themselves in the most honest form. Yes, we have a gift, but it isn't meant for us to just receive; we also have to give it. SO GIVE IT!" As I continue my artistic endeavors, I grow more accepting of my vulnerable nature. Whether I add more articles to this column or create more works to add to the WBOTB choreographic series, I acknowledge that my desire to be a visible representation of those that share a similar identity guides my creative process; and I don't shame myself for that or allow others to compromise my conviction in that. I mean… What kind of superhero neglects her or his superpowers?

Let's open the conversation! What drives most of your artistic work or otherwise major endeavors? Do you feel that you can create art without it being a cathartic experience? Where do you see catharsis happening in the three dance career pathways--concert dance, commercial dance, and community dance? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, or e-mail me your responses to this article at averybrandon0812@gmail.com. Thank you for your time, and stay elevé-ted!

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