How Does Bebe Miller Illustrate The Human Psyche

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In “Necessary Beauty”, choreographed by Bebe Miller and performed by Angie Hauser
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6Xtu6r3MPY), Miller illustrates the human psyche and its
emotional reaction to memories through the dance’s pauses and its change in power and
energy of movements.

Bebe Miller was born in New York in 1950 (Lihs 164). With her dance company, the Bebe Miller Dance Company, she states that her “...choreographic work is rooted in exploring the human condition” and seeks to illustrate it through movement (http://bebemillercompany.org/about/bebe-miller/). Performed by a single dancer, Angie Hauser, “Necessary Beauty” is a Millennial piece choreographed in 2008. The dance tells an unconventional story by painting a physical picture …show more content…

She bounces again in a pulsing motion, aligning her spine, kicking up her right leg, and extending her right arm far in front of her and left arm far behind her in a defensive pose. She pauses here for a second before bringing her right foot down to kick her left foot up and raise her arms in a “V” above her head. She then contemplates her right foot, dangling from her bent right leg, reaches her hands down to grab it, then releases her arms in a tossing motion. She comes back to a standing position, with her right leg raised slightly so that her foot is only a few inches off of the ground. The movements expressed in these few seconds were clearly more sudden and powerful than any of those aforementioned. This section demonstrates the anger and rejection of memories. Her swift leaps and pulsations showed the audience the reactionary side of the human psyche: the pain, the rejection, and the frustration. One can only fill in the backstory when watching “the mind” (the dancer) at work: maybe there were unpleasant memories associated with the items that the narrator was talking about. Despite what the circumstances may be, the audience is undoubtedly being shown the more angry and reactionary side of the …show more content…

The tone of the dance ebbs and flows, shifting quickly from exciting to sad with just a pause in between phrases. By choosing Angie Hauser–who has a slim, flexible physique–Miller can better express the childlike and sometimes adolescent-like inner workings of the mind, as the dancer is a physical representation of the psyche. While Miller choreographed during the Modern/Millennial era, which her piece clearly fits into with its less traditional and restrictive movements, she also seems to incorporate elements from Ballet–such as the pointed toes and positions–and Dance Theatre–such as narration. She evokes the emotions felt so deeply in 21st century America: the feelings of nostalgia and the happiness, sadness, and anger that come from memories. The 2000’s were an era of reflection, as it was a new century. Her pieces reflect this collective burden: the human

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