An ‘outside eye’ is
crucial to creative work. This article
explores what this concept of an ‘outside eye’ is and why it is important. No good
work is created without real or imaginary feedback from a relatively impartial outsider.
This person must be one with considerable knowledge about or experience
in the field. He or she must have a critical eye and be someone who is not
personally involved in the creative process. Finally, this person must be someone
who matters to the creator, whose opinions and feedback the creator trusts and
values.
This happens in
several creative fields. For example, in the world of academia, before a PhD is
submitted for evaluation, it is repeatedly scrutinized by a supervisor. A
critical dialogue happens between the doctoral student and the supervisor, who
provides the ‘outside eye’. Through this dialogue, decisions regarding the work
are arrived at collectively before the final product reaches the public in the
form of a thesis or book. The thesis or book is still credited to the author,
but the book benefits greatly from the scrutiny of the 'outside eye'. This
isn’t a choice, but a condition for the creators to get their work into the
public sphere. Journal articles and books are routinely peer reviewed before
publication.
In the art world,
however, this appears not to be a prerequisite to the display of art work. The
absence of critical scrutiny before an art exhibition, a music concert, a play,
or a dance performance does not, on the surface, hinder the end result. A dance
performance, for example, is not withheld from public simply because the
choreographer did not have his or her work critically viewed by an informed
well-wisher before a performance. Therefore, very often, this aspect of the
creative process is left out during the creation of work in dance. It is often
believed that the choreographer knows best how to view, edit and go about
choreographing his or her work.
While this is largely
true, it does not mean that an outside eye is not important for the creation of
dance. Choreographers certainly know better than anyone what their idea and
concept is, and should be more than capable of selecting and training their
dancers. For the dance piece itself to be as complete as possible, however,
there is more skill required. Is the idea communicating through movement? Is
this communication so abstract that it doesn’t translate clearly enough, or too
literal that it leaves nothing to the imagination? To be sure about answers to
these questions, bringing in an ‘outside eye’ is tremendously beneficial.
This is not to say
that choreographers are incapable of judging whether their ideas are
communicating appropriately. But it is possible to get carried away by an idea
when working on your own. An outside eye has several advantages. First of all,
the outside eye, has not been personally and emotionally attached to the
concept or the choreography. Therefore, it provides an objective view of the
piece in a way that a choreographer perhaps cannot. Moreover, an outside eye
can provide a fresh perspective on the work and make the choreographer view his
work from a different viewpoint. Finally, it can point out things in the piece
that are or aren’t working, that the choreographer, for several reasons, may
have overlooked.
Often choreographers
realize things in retrospect. Receiving harsh critical feedback after a
performance or watching a performance video, they realize they could have done
some things differently. But in many ways, its too late. The work has already
been subjected to public scrutiny. Judgments have been made, grants or further
performance opportunities have been lost, auditions have been unsuccessful –
whatever the context.
Perhaps the use of an
‘outside eye’ could have changed negative outcomes into positive ones in some
of these situations. Because this external standpoint gives choreographers
something that they can easily lose sight of – objectivity and critique.
Moreover, it provides fresh perspectives and inputs, points out flaws which
choreographers may have overlooked. All this feedback comes from a critical eye
the choreographer values and an outside opinion that the choreographer trusts.
And crucially, the outside eye provides all this before the work goes public.
Before its too late to turn back.
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