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Performance and Art

With the recent release of Lady Gaga's new album, ARTPOP and the performances she has done in order to promote that, I've been considering what role performance and art play in our lives. I've mentioned before that I have grown up surrounding myself with books and stories and the magical idea of imagination and believing - that's lead me, to a certain extent, to be able to perform in everyday life. I can assume a role a lot easier than I really thought I could. Take, for example, my blog name: practically Alice; this is a reference to the Alice that you would find meandering the pages of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, my favourite book. I have a sense of comfort when I assume a role or fall into the pages of a book.

As I've grown older, though, I've done this less and less because my confidence has grown - here at university more than ever before. I feel more comfortable being Claire and being a little less Alice than before. It is only when I consider the idea of Gaga and her performance persona that I can really see that when I dress a certain way, or wear make up, or feel like I want to dance like a loon in the kitchen, or laugh, or cry or just feel the emotions I'm feeling and let them out - that's all me. Just as Gaga with a wig is the same as Gaga without a wig, I'm Claire with her guard up or without. I can perform a role to make myself feel more comfortable and I'm still me, though I rely on it less now.

The vulnerability that losing this performance persona bring is sometimes, and now for me, needed. Because being vulnerable - and by vulnerable in the situation to which I'm referring is being more honest about myself and my feelings - is how I need to act at the moment in order to grow, move on and really experience things. I find that I'm more creative when I open up and let myself still be positive (when am I not positive?!) but also sad or angry or upset. To experience, and I mean really experience, these feelings in a more vulnerable state (as long as you are surrounded by people you trust) isn't always a bad thing.

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." - Lewis Carroll; believe and dream and hope and perform and love art, and best of all, though, experience things (and eat jam tarts, they're good too.)

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