Runaway is our latest Music On Pointe collaboration project. Apart from hosting occasional benefit events internationally, we are also committed to encourage collaborations across various art forms and disciplines.
Runaway is a song by Keba (@kebamusic). After spontaneously improvising to another of Keba’s songs, “Queen,” which is a re-write of Kanye West’s “I love it,” our director and founder, Reshma Anwar, decided to create a concept or music video to “Runaway.” “Something about Keba’s energy that I received through her audios inspired me. I didn’t even know her personally at first,” Reshma says.
Going back to Keba’s re-write of “I love it,” it makes us think about the music industry and how many male musicians feel free to underestimate and sexualize women and their bodies. Truth is, women do play into that and this is how we give them the power. As a millennial, we spend a pretty big part of our lives on social media platforms, such as Instagram. We scroll through the app a million times per day, unconsciously or even consciously comparing ourselves to others, to the “ideal” body or look. The media, including a big part of the music industry, encourages this behavior through advertisements and song lyrics. This video, that we are collectively about to release, hopefully inspires you about the worth of a woman’s and generally each individual’s body. Both dancers in this video are speaking their truth about their bodies, their past struggles because of diseases, such as Lupus and Eczema. Both of them are dancers and models and are making it by seeing their within beauty, their smart brains and their inner light that shines through their eyes. It is indeed all a process and a learning curve. But this video shows the strength that lays within each woman.
The next question, we would like to briefly discuss and get you thinking about, is how come these musicians with song lyrics, that name women things that we don’t even like to say out loud, are more accessible than art forms like dance. Dance is mostly a live performance art. In today’s society of instant gratification, it is harder and harder for society to put down their phones for an hour to watch a dance performance and let themselves get transformed. Now this also involves vulnerability, which today, we are told to be strong and bold… But honestly, vulnerability is a beautiful thing. It makes us human, it makes us honest, it makes us truthful.
Another related topic that we would like to address, is why dance artists are constantly underpaid. Again, if the music industry is booming and dancers are needed for shows, why are dance artists still struggling to be taken seriously and to be fairly compensated for their work. The Rolling Stone recently published an article that is worth checking out:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/dancers-music-video-935447/
Finally, we would like to put light on our project. A collaborative work that intends to put some light on the above mentioned issues and hopefully makes you aware of these trends.
We wish for everyone that real-life connections and real-life humans are valued more than social media opinions.
Sending peace and love to all.
xoxo Music On Pointe