Malina Rauschenfels

Why does everyone like going to movies? Why does a majority of the population watch music videos but not attend classical music concerts? What do popular art and popular music have that make them so easily accessible and readily likeable to so many? Is it just content? Is "high art" only understandable by a select few? I don't think so. Perhaps a great part of the appeal of pop culture is that it engages far more than just the ear.

In this day of modern technology, we can sit at home and order note-perfect CDs of our favorite pieces, performed by our favorite musicians and orchestras, directed by our favorite conductors, without leaving our chairs. So how do we keep enticing audiences to live performances? I believe that one answer is by offering collaborative art or so-called performance art. These are forms of art that are not so easily bought and brought home, and that involve a number of senses. Hence, they must be attended to be appreciated.

Here at Juilliard we have some of the best emerging artists in dance, music, and drama—as well as the ultimate chance both to learn from each other and to create with each other, making new and different kinds of works. I think learning from each other, enabling us to stretch beyond our own tiny boxes (i.e. practice rooms), is critical. Dancers already understand that a greater knowledge of music leads to better interpretation of choreography and helps with the creation of their own dance pieces. Actors seem to understand that music can teach them something about voice inflection and rhythm, leading to more effective recitation of lines. They also know that being comfortable with movement and their bodies is essential for good acting.

In my experience at the School, dance students have access to classes in music and drama, and actors have access to dance and music classes—but musicians are seldom encouraged to step outside of their area. I have heard more than one dancer or actor say that they can tell if a musician will perform well and convincingly just by watching them walk onstage. From their observations and comments, it would seem that being truly comfortable within one's body may go a long way toward a better performance. I also wonder how many injuries would be prevented if musicians knew their bodies better, and availed themselves of some of the movement classes that dancers and actors consider essential to their craft.

Certainly one of the easiest ways to begin learning from other art areas is to collaborate with people in them. Undergraduate dancers have projects in which they team up with musicians and choreograph a piece. My own experience with this taught me so much, simply by watching how the dancers interpreted something I had been playing for years. Think how much a musician could learn about the pieces they were playing or composing, by spending some time moving to them! My involvement in the Composers and Choreographers class last year was inspiring and opened my eyes to how differently one can look at rhythm, pulse, phrase structure, articulation, and the act of composition itself.

Which teachers have had the most impact on me here at Juilliard? At this point, I would have to say that the dance teachers and students have been my most important teachers. The lessons I have learned talking to dancers and watching them work have been most influential in my life and will hopefully extend into my career. I have the rest of my life to work with other musicians—but the fact that Juilliard has three art areas contained in one building means that one should take advantage of the unique opportunity here to make these connections with dancers and actors. Through the support and encouragement of faculty and administration, these opportunities could become realities. I would choose to remain at Juilliard for these possibilities alone.

Malina Rauschenfels is a master's degree candidate in cello.

Voice Box is a student opinion column appearing regularly in The Juilliard Journal. To submit a column for consideration, please e-mail it to journal@juilliard.edu with “Voice Box” in the subject heading, and include a phone number where you can be reached. Columns should cover topics of interest to the Juilliard community, and be about 500 words.