White Nights is a 1985 film set sometime after the start of the Cold War. It stars Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Helen Mirren and Isabella Rossellini. Nikolai Rodchenko, played by Baryshnikov, is a Russian dancer who leaves the Soviet Union and flees to the United States. On a flight to Japan, his plane malfunctions and makes an emergency landing in a Russian military airbase. There, Nikolai is recognized and is stopped from returning to America by the KGB, the Russian secret police. Raymond Greenwood, played by Gregory Hines, an African-American tap dancer who, on the contrary, defected to the Soviet Union. The KGB tasks Greenwood with the job of convincing Nikolai to stay in Russia. Eventually, both men decide to flee the Soviet Union and return to America.
The film touches on many social, political and cultural issues faced during the Cold War period, and highlights the factors that influenced dance at that time, and how danced influenced the world in return. This essay will discuss the types of dances seen in the film, the oppression of freedom and expression and will also cover important issues, such as why the KGB refused to allow Nikolai safe passage back to the United States. The first half of this paper will touch on the more technical aspects of the film, while the later half will touch more on the emotional, social and cultural aspects of the film, in relation to dance.
It is important to understand the social and political conditions in Russia during the time when the film was set. The Cold War ensued as the world was recovering from the damages of the Second World War. Joseph Stalin ruled communist Russia during the first few years of the cold war, until his death in 1953. Nikita Khrushchev succeeded him. Even though Khrushchev was more liberal with regards to the arts, anything that was offensive (and many things were deemed offensive still) was purged. On the contrary, America was moving in the opposite direction. Democracy was emerging and the freedom of expression was being explored more and more. This sets the base of the analysis of this film, and how these different political and cultural stands affected dance will be elaborated on later.
The opening scene is that of Nikolai performing in the United States. The modern dance piece involved a great mixture of influences from many different dancers and dances. In Nikolai's performance, ballet was mixed up with more unconventional dance movements, such as flinging a chair in frustration and hanging himself. It was a brilliant display of technicality and of emotion. Influential dancers during the mid-20th Century include Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey. Humphrey's "fall and recovery" technique, for example, is clearly depicted in this opening scene, as Nikolai hurled himself to the ground and got up, and got kicked down again. The dance was a relatively grounded reflection of the dances performed at that time in America. An interesting point to note would be the air of "selfishness", as quoted from the film, that Nikolai had. He wanted to dance what he himself wanted to dance, which is typically why he left communist Russia in the first place. This is an uncanny reflection of the film's choreographer, Twyla Tharp, who felt that dance should be done for the sake of dance, and disregarded the audience and external criticisms.
The next dance scene featured Greenwood doing a tap dance. He sings in English and dances, entertaining a small crowd in a Russian theatre. Tap dancing was initially meant to be a mockery of early African-American slavery. [1] It was a dance popular among the blacks in America, as Greenwood said later on when he was talking to Nikolai. Tap dancing is characterized by the tapping sound that is made by metal plates that are attached to the ball and heel of the dancer's shoes. [2] Even though the world was supposedly opening up, there was still an air of hostility between the whites and the blacks in America.
A comparison between Baryshnikov's and Hines' dancing capabilities can be made when they are seen in the later parts of the movie, when they dance together. Baryshnikov's posture is upright and tall with his chin up, typical of ballet dancers. His arms and legs extend and move gracefully. Hines on the other hand is almost always hunched when he is dancing, with his arms flailing about. Baryshnikov wears a much more refined and professional look while Hines falls into the category of being slightly more laid back. Both are nevertheless still amazing dancers.
Nikolai's modern dances and Greenwood's tap dancing are the two main distinctive styles of dancing featured in the film. However, a proper analysis of dance in this film goes much deeper than just these technical aspects. The rest of this paper will discuss certain plot points that reflect dance during this mid-20th Century period.
The first key plot point would be that of the Russian KGB refusing to allow Nikolai to return to America, and then not executing or charging him for being a traitor, but asking him to dance in Russia instead. This says a lot about the way the Russians viewed dance at that time. Ever since Tsarist rule in Russia, dance, ballet in particular, was always seen as a high society activity. As in France, ballet in Russia was seen to reflect affluence, superiority and purity. There are many good reasons as to why the Soviets would want to keep Nikolai alive and dancing as compared to just executing him for being a traitor. For one, the fact that he defected to the United States, Russia's biggest rival during the Cold War, was a huge slap in the face for the Soviets. Having a famous dancer back with them would show that the Soviets were pulling ahead culturally as artists were leaving America for Russia. During the Soviet rule, many Russian citizens, although quiet because of their fear of the KGB, were unhappy with the communist regime. It was a time of great political struggle between the Americans and the communist and having a great dancer joining them would show cultural superiority.
The next scene to be mentioned is the emotionally charged one between Nikolai and Galina Ivanova, played by Helen Mirren. In this scene, Galina is sitting on stage in an empty theatre, humming along to Vladimir Vysotsky's "The Horses". According to the dialogue that ensues between Nikolai and Galina, they had wanted to dance to the song in a performance for the last 10 years. Nikolai had gone on and performed to the song in America, while Galina, stayed on in Russia and still had not gotten a chance to perform to it. Nikolai's dance, though amazingly splendid, is not the focus here. It is the crying Galina, that reflects the sad state of artists and affairs in the Soviet Union. It can be said that her tears were a mixture of joy and sadness, as she wept for the state her motherland was in, while rejoicing over the fact that her ex-lover was dancing what she had always wanted to dance, but never could. The brilliant dance by Nikolai reflects how an artist can pursue perfection and brilliance when he is not bounded in a box like Galina was. The purges and the fear of the Soviet KGB meant that artists could not pursue their dreams and were not free to develop any style other than the ones that were taught to them. On the contrary, America's democratic government and freedom of expression stands meant that art (and dance) could develop in a very quick and changing individualistic pace. However despite all the praise about America, America itself was not completely free from oppression. The last part of this analysis will focus on Greenwood.
Greenwood left America because tap dancing was not patronized by the rich, and he was unable to earn a living doing what he loved to do. He was angry with America and , as quoted, left for somewhere "where if pays". In communist Russia, Greenwood was able to earn a living tapping. The point to take note of here is how democracy does not guarantee that everyone gets fed, especially artists, who's works though outstanding, because of prejudices, are not acknowledged for their accomplishments. After meeting Nikolai, Greenwood was exposed to some of the music that he had not gotten to hear because of the Soviet's closed society. In the second half of the show, there is a scene where Greenwood puts on one of Nikolai's cassettes and tries tapping to the music. A style of music that he has been away from for a very long time. He starts tapping, a little awkwardly at first to the music but soon he follows along. He dances with so much joy and energy, that its hard to imagine a grown man dancing like that. From sliding across the piano, to running around the dance hall, to climbing up and onto a bench, this scene showed off how much art, and in this case dance, means to an artist, and how it is a form of expression, and of releasing all one's feelings, be it joy, sadness or anger. This scene, where Greenwood dances to Nikolai's music was a stark contrast to Greenwood's previous dance scene, in which he was isolated to a small stage and walkway with music that was uninspiring. Ultimately, Greenwood chose to take a chance and return to America, where he would be free. Free from the Soviet's closed society and free to perform what he wanted, with whatever music he wanted.
Apart from the visible technical brilliance of Baryshnikov and Hines, it can also be seen that art (dance) will never be at its best when there are boundaries imposed. The film has reflected this so powerfully, from the emotionally charged dances of Nikolai and Greenwood. It is a strong reminder for artists to not limit themselves to what they are taught, because there is so much more that can be attained if they strive for it. Dance unified two men pursuing their dreams, and the film has shown how highly regarded dance was in a cultural point of view. This film has strongly depicted the power of dance and how dance can change lives.
