Dancing Apparitions: The Fiction of Being in Virginia Woolf's "The Waves"

Abstract

"The body never lies," Betty Jones once said when asked why people dance. In view of Virginia Woolf's "The Waves," Betty's explanation seems quite apt. Having studied with Betty for as long as I have been a modern dancer - three years - I think I know one main idea that was implicit in her reply. I believe that ultimately she was discussing a truth about dance as an art form. For a dance, like all art, including works of literature, presents a truth in itself that is unique to itself. It does not necessarily represent something else or mean anything.