Sunday, August 24, 2008
Rhythmic Gymnastics and an Olympics Wrap Up
If synchronized sports borders self-parody then rhythmic sports — Olympic rhythmic gymnastics utilizing hoops and small clubs — borders nutbrain cheerleading and Cirque du Soleil gauche theatricality. But it is better. Synchronized sports evokes “huh?” while rhythmic dancing evokes “wow”. The recently aired Olympic rhythmic gymnastics competition, which Russia well-deserved to win, was amazing. The event, a combination of clever choreography, terrific timing and gymnastic flexibility — near ballerina-like — made a valid claim as an athletic event.
While synchronized sports emphasizes the robotic and mechanical, rhythmic sports have a free flowing goofiness. It is, even with the exposure to cheerleading and ironic Blue Man melodrama we get in the Western media, an unfamiliar form. What could be the rules? And if only they could get rid of that smile. Can you imagine a gymnast in the midst of the contortions of the pommel horse locking onto the camera with a big bright smile?
Rhythmic dancing is a sport that should stay female only. Although the Russian choreography was fantastic the sport could still use a final push of real sophistication. A few winter Olympics' back I remember this English policeman (bobbies) who, in his other life, choreographed ice dancing; he then performed his pieces with his partner at the Olympics. The guy was a natural, deeply ingrained with the best of dance: Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Jerome Robbins. The routines he worked out for the Olympic ice free dancing extended the sport — a high-water mark. Rhythmic gymnastics needs someone like that to extend the form.
It would have been better if there were less showboating on the part of the US basketball team in its victory over Spain. Not the celebration after, but in the midst of the game it felt like every basket was a cause for some vamping. Elite athletes don't need to do that. The Spanish team did themselves proud, playing more like a team than the US. They drove more to the basket, moved the ball around more, but just didn't have the talent of the US. They did make it a game though. The sincerity of the after win celebration will stay with you though. It really meant something to the US team and the audience could share their pleasure in the win. Kobe Bryant's genuine happiness showed a side of him I had never before seen. Made you smile.
The final ceremony with the athletes celebrating as national groups among all the competitors was probably the best vision of nationalism one can have. Pride of origin, but without rancor or challenge. Everyone smiling in the impressive circle of the stadium, waving flags.
The mixed legacy of the host Chinese, able to run without any real hitch, a huge and impressive event. Beautiful ceremonies and tremendous planning rewarded. Like the odd mix of free capitalism and dictatorial control — the Chinese have it working outwardly; but percolating beneath, the repression of dissent, the controlled society, the suppression of other groups; a Potemkin village.
This article @ WaPo has a cogent quote from a tourist,
“It's like success at any cost…They're really staging this. It's really choreographed. It's not sustainable.”