Aesthetics in Contemporary Art: Philosopher and Performer
thinking and observation. Valéry is aware that there are important differences between the dancer’s performance and his own abstract philosophical account. For example, he refers to the dancer as: “...This being who, from her very depths, brings forth these Beautiful transformations of her form in space; who now Moves, but without really going anywhere; now metamorphoses Herself on the spot, displaying herself in every aspect; Who sometimes skillfully modulates successive appearances? As though in controlled phases; sometimes changes herself Brusquely into a whirlwind, spinning faster and faster, Then suddenly stops’ crystallized into a statue, adorned With an alien smile.”22 Valéry contrasts the world of the philosopher, limited to descriptive words and concepts to address questions concerning the nature of dance, with the dancer’s understanding of dance as a form of expressive poetic action, opposing it to ordinary useful actions. His philosophical observations about dance, however, are presented without any effort to examine the elements of time, motion, and energy that constitute a dance. Valéry prefers to keep the discussion on a more general level.