Focusing on the Arts-- ODYSSEY!

Looking back on the past two days, some classes that I got put into for Odyssey really put me into a different atmosphere. One class that left me skeptical before entering was Dancing Wheels. At Dancing Wheels, two girls were permanently confined to a wheelchair, while another girl and boy danced on their feet. At times the tricks they did were neat, but overall it left me thinking why they were asked back. That was because the environment I happened to be sitting in was surrounding by other people who had heard this performance wasn't at all entertaining. Since it was located in the field house, where they sat us in uncomfortable bleachers- it definitely influenced the way I perceived the dance. Since my back was already hurting me, I knew I wouldn't focus on the performers. Many people didn't take it seriously because seeing something so unusual stuck them as odd. People in such a society as the one we live in today, have a mind set about what looks normal to them. As every performer does at the end of their act, they ask the audience if anyone has a question. But, this time no one raised their hands. Usually if that happens the performance is over. In the case of the dancers of Dancing Wheels, they preceded to ask questions within each other while the audience just listened. I felt that it created a very awkward atmosphere. By being faced with something that I normally don't see everyday made me laugh. Our society has grown up learning that when asked a question to respond. Similar to the analogy about saliva turning into spit being gross. In a way, by watching something unfamiliar to our society it left us questioning ourselves with a sociological mind.