Did Jekyll Get it Right in Stating That Man is Not Truly One but Truly Two?

I have been in the creation process of a new work for Conversion Dance Project investigating, through dance, the duality of human nature. This has proved to be a difficult topic for me because it has caused me to confront some unpleasant qualities in my own nature, but more importantly, it has presented me with the challenge of knowing how to sufficiently tackle this complex concept through movement alone. Nevertheless, I took on the challenge and have also done a bit of research, as well as made some observations in my own life, to help inform the fundamental concept behind the work. This research and observations haven’t necessarily helped me with the physicality of the work, but it has helped me to more clearly define what my intentions are for the work.

So, the main theme of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is this notion that there are two sides of ourselves and that we all have this ability to do good or to do evil. It also suggests that we are at war within ourselves as our dual natures or “two sides” struggle for dominance. In fact, the very definition of duality, according to the merriam-webster dictionary, is “the quality of state of having two parts”. I’m big into defining things and looking at what the definition of a particular word is because it helps me to fully understand its connotations. On a side note, this is how I chose the name of my company. Through my observations in my personal and professional life, I noticed this conflicted dual side of my own personality that I seemed to have developed. Actually, I still don’t know if it recently developed, or perhaps had always been there but just lying dormant, just like Jekyll’s Hyde was always there lying beneath the surface.

I don’t consider myself to be a naturally competitive person, but I noticed that as I was building my career post graduate school, I started to become more competitive. This realization made me uncomfortable and made me ask the question of why and when did I get to be so competitive? In essence, I was really starting to observe and take an honest look at my own two parts and motives. I started to feel how my softer side and my more competitive side were constantly in conflict. Perhaps having a career in the fine arts, and especially in dance, can sometimes lead to cultivating this very competitive side of yourself. Perhaps it’s just the nature of the beast. After all, the dance world is highly competitive. For instance, in the dance world you have to compete at auditions, for grants, for job and teaching opportunities, for tenure, to get your work seen by others, to get into festivals, to get a decent review, to get choreographic accolades, for residencies, for fundraising, to just generally being noticed and not feel like a total failure to your friends and family. The list goes on and on. Taking all of this into consideration, we can sometimes get caught up in focusing too much on the competitive nature of dance which can perhaps cause us to eliminate the human aspect.  Unfortunately, this can also affect how we see each other, helping us to see each other as competitors rather than as fellow human beings who are just struggling with the same things we are in this dance life. We are all just trying to create work and opportunities for ourselves in the best way we know how. I feel by taking the time to fully realize this, it has helped me to get back in touch with my softer and more sensible side, my Jekyll side if you will. I want to make it clear that I am not totally against healthy competition, as I believe it can help foster excellence, but rather just a slight shift in focus. I think if we shifted our focus a bit as to see each other not as competitors, but rather as fellow travelers in this dance life, there might be a softening in how we relate to each other. This is the basis for my new work “Duality”. As I mentioned earlier, the challenge is to fit this total concept into physical moving bodies, but I have taken my best initial stab at it, or as I always like to jokingly say, "I gave it a good college try". “Duality” will premiere at the Beta Dance Festival on May 30th at the Phoenix Center for the Arts.

Artistic Director, Crystal Lewis