Thoughts

10th May 2026

I’ve been reading The Still Moment by Edwin Denby. I don’t agree with everything he says, but I admire how deeply passionate he is about dance… almost to the point where everything else feels secondary in comparison. Maybe that’s similar to how I feel about art versus football (unless it’s Scottish football (I don’t support football but because it’s Scottish lol) then my bias appears immediately sort of like Denby).

What I’ve really taken from the book is Denby’s way of observing movement. He writes about how dancers can create entirely different visual and emotional experiences simply through the way they move on stage. He has this ability to translate the subconscious feelings we experience while watching a performance into words with remarkable precision.
One idea that’s stayed with me is his encouragement to trust your own impressions, to pay attention to what moves you and learn how to articulate it honestly. There’s something exciting about that, because it starts to connect art with your own personal life: it changes what you notice, how you look, and what you value paying attention to.
I’m going to see Romeo and Juliet alone tomorrow evening, and I’m excited to see what I take from the performance. @haroldpintertheatre