Margie Gillis: sometimes actions speak louder than words

I can say this from experience: dance is one of the hardest art forms to write or speak about. It expresses itself through something deeper and more ephemeral than words.

And that makes defending it to the uninitiated—or as the case may be, the aggressively ignorant—even more difficult.

Given the circumstances, Canadian dance icon Margie Gillis defended her art form and herself with grace under the rabid, mocking attack of Sun TV's Krista Erickson.

That certainly seems to be the view of the supporters whose regards are flooding into Gillis's Facebook page this week. (Many of them are local dancers, by the way.)

As Gillis recently responded to them there: "Dear Friends, Your messages of love and support are pouring in, in unbelievable tidal waves! I’m so deeply touched and already in the studio grappling with understanding this in dance, in motion, in Nature. Thank you again for your support. Love, Margie."

What's lost in the controversy over funding, as always, is the art. Here, then, is a little snippet to show people a bit about the artist in question, and why she's a legend—in the language she speaks best. And I'll take it over Erickson's arm-waving any day.