This strikes me as a "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" discussion. ;-) The quote amounts to irony (incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result) in the form of a simile. I certainly don't think it was anyone's ambition to diss or misconstrue Dance with the statement. It was intended to provoke thought and amuse, I think. Nothing more.
Nevertheless, the sentiment is an apt comparison, I think...and you'd be hard pressed to find one who appreciates the art of dance more than I. Take the quote literally and it makes perfect sense. But one could just as accurately say that "music about writing is like architecture about dancing" or "architecture about music is like dancing about writing." Take any of the art forms (Dance, Design, Theatre, Fine Art, Music, Media Arts or Architecture) and interchange them in the expression. The song remains the same. What is "art" anyway? By the way, if you don't believe architecture can be "about" music, visit architect Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall for the Los Angeles Philharmonic while it's under construction, just a block away from where Kakki lives in downtown L.A.: "From the stainless steel curves of its striking exterior to the state-of-the-art acoustics of the hardwood-paneled main auditorium, the 3.6-acre complex embodies the unique energy and creative spirit of the city of Los Angeles and its orchestra." It occurs to me that the above illustrates writing about architecture about music. Go figure. -Julius patrick writes: >i think the original quote is "writing about music is like dancing about >architecture" and i think joni stole it (as she so often does) from >nietsche. usually she gives him credit, though. > >i hate the comment, though, whether it's from joni, jerry garcia, or >nietsche. i think, at the minimum, it displays ignorance about the >possibilities of dancing. as a visual art, dancing is actually well-suited >to be "about" architecture ...
