Laws, implie the presence of a ruler. They mean no choice, enforcement, coercion, control, regulation, punishment. Rules on the other hand, are a set of agreements between free individuals who accept to follow a (changeable and evolving) set of rules within an agreed upon system. They exclude the need for a ruler and enforcement.
Laws are a prerequisite for the establishment of any centralized system, while rules allow for the emergence of a decentralized one. Whomever accepts and choses to play within a specific set of rules, can do so.
Laws are inorganic by nature. They have a low rate of adaptability and are rigid by construction and definition. Rules, since they require the on going agreement of the participants, tend to evolve, adapt, improve etc.
Laws are made to serve authority, while rules tend to serve the players.
Rule of law, means a ruler. Rules, means people agreeing to act within a codified system they chose to be part of.
Choreographic works, regardless of their external apparence, style, genre etc (all of which can be very deceptive as to the nature of the system in place), are either made in a way which points to the presence of a ruler, hence implying the use of enforcement, coercion, centralized control, regulation, punishment and in general, a state of little or no choice for dancers. Or, they are the result of a set of rules developed over time and process which everyone, dancers and choreographer, elaborate together and agree upon. It’s choreographies backed by individuals making choices.
Agreeing to play within a set of rules, is nothing like obeying the law. The first implies free choice, the second doesn’t.
Dance works emanate the way in which they were made and whether they are governed by laws or rules. Many choreographic works, who clearly are made through the enforcement of law, try to mask the fact by adopting different characteristics of rules based choreography. They artificially add behavioral, performative or other layers, as a way to reproduce the specific vibe and visual effect which emerges naturally from rules based work.
Since choreography as an art form is mostly seen, read and understood only on the surface (every depth has a surface, but not every surface has a depth…), this strategy works more often than not.
In a way, it’s a perfect mirror to our so called ‘free and democratic’ societies. A thin layer of what can be experienced as freedom, covering up a rigid and violent authoritarian structure of tyranny, oppression, control, coercion and lack of free choice.
