So, the House of Fraser Christmas ad is a tad pretentious and feels a bit like an awkward leap into the world of cool from wherever they were before. Yet I prefer that 1 minute and 36 seconds of contemporary dance to all 13 series of 'Strictly's' competitive dancing by numbers approach to what ought to be a beautiful and original art form. I particularly liked the way the ad turned a festive dinner into a piece of dramatic choreography.
Ironically the philosophy of the House of Fraser ad; "Your Christmas, Your Rules" is more in keeping with Baz Luhrmann's original film, 'Strictly Ballroom' than 'Strictly Come Dancing' (which owes part of its name to the movie). 'Strictly Ballroom' champions passion for dance & 'new steps' over winning & the rules of competition. It does it with humour and irony, but at the heart of the movie is a passion for creativity for its own sake and a deep critique of when creativity becomes ransomed to competition, narrow thinking and the rules that come with such thinking. Yet Luhrmann's sense of creativity is not without rules, nor is it simply 'your rules'. Strictly Ballroom
shows respect for deeper, richer traditions of dance. I suspect that his is because their rules are rooted in a passion for the art and how it interacts with story and culture rather than power struggles and competition. Strictly Ballroom roots much of its humour and its drama in the contrast between the rich Spanish culture of the Paso Doble with the 2D pantomime world of competition ballroom dancing.
I have to confess that sometimes Church life seems to take on that 2D Pantomime feel. We follow the rules of tradition in that same blinkered way instead of allowing the rich tapestry of our many traditions to tell our story. We also become wrapped up in our own internal power struggles and create rules that are more about keeping control than encouraging the development of people.
So, this Christmas, stop trying to win and dance your steps your way! Let the fun of creativity, whether it be music, dance or tree decorating, be rooted in the joy of creativity itself and the story it has to tell, not in the power struggles or the winning and the losing.
