by Colette Davidson, About.com Paris Travel Contributor
Stepping into the labyrinth of the "Danser sa vie" exhibit at the Centre Georges Pompidou, it becomes apparent from first glance that this is going to be three hours and 13 euros well spent. As a tropical storm crackles overhead by way of Daria Martin's video project, "In the Palace", a man writhes poetically on the floor in tortuously slow movements. But no need to panic: Tino Sehgal's performance installation is part of the exhibition, and just one of the many ways for real human interaction here.
The show, which runs through April 2nd, spans the 20th and 21st centuries and focuses on links between visual art, dance and the era's burgeoning modernity. It breaks into three themes: "dance as self-expression," "the abstraction of bodily movement," and "the dialogue between performance and dance." The exhibit's 450 works are split between video projects, live performances, paintings and other still pieces. A quote at the door by dance icon Isadora Duncan captures the spirit of the artists featured here, who lived their lives through movement: "My art is just an effort to express the truth of my being in gesture and movement. From the first, I have only danced my life."
As each of the more than dozen rooms offers a nuanced aspect of dance's history, visitors can enjoy Picasso's twisted figures, Emil Nolde's vibrantly colored strokes and Rodin's bronzed dancers in myriad elegant positions. The still art makes for a calming complement to the hefty selection of videos - Isadora Duncan whirling in a garden, Thierry de May's topless but not overtly sexual dancers spinning on a grassy patch, William Forsyth's tutorial on the geometrics of dance, Josephine Baker smiling radiantly as her body skips to electro dub, and Jan Fabre's envelope-pushing "When the Leading Man is a Woman," showing a naked woman slathered in oil and unsuccessfully dancing her way to a stand.
Perhaps the highlight of the video pieces is a near-full length showing of choreography great Pina Bausch's "The Rite of Spring" (1978). Dancers outfitted in sheer, nude dresses throw their bodies explosively for a completely physical and raw experience that leaves them covered in sweat and dirt, and to electrifying effect.
Closing out the exhibition, Andy Warhol's "Dance Diagram" (1962) teaches the Charleston, while headphones are provided in a nearby corner to practice your new steps, if you dare. Allan Kaprow's "Rearrangeable Panels" (1957-59) uses scraps of mirrors, wood, apples and paint, to break up the overwhelming dance content. And the final video piece by Jerome Bel, "The Show Must Go On" (2001) is so surprisingly silly that if it doesn't send you out the door with a smile on your face, you might want to check your pulse.
Exhibit: Danser sa vie: Dance and Visual Arts in the 20th and 21st centuries
Dates: November 23, 2011-April 2, 2012
Centre Georges Pompidou
Image: Emil Nolde, "Dancer with purple violin", 1920-1925.