In spite of the world of performing arts is audiovisual, performers work in separated scenic areas (music, dance, theater and cinema ), creating works where one of these arts is highlighted among the others. In theater and cinema, you can include some dance scenes; in dance, live music; in musical concerts, dancers or performances. But…what happens when we combine all without emphasizing one over the other ? We create a work of integrated art.

It is true that there are economic reasons that limit the creative freedom of artists, especially in live performance, but for some budgets this is not a problem. Although economic reasons weigh (very much), artists have been always characterized by overcoming the lack of financial resources with imagination. Exploring beyond the limits of our artistic territory is challenging.

Lindsey Stirling: much more than music

A perfect example of an integrative artist is the violinist Lindsey Stirling. Although we cannot consider this eclectic artist as a rock-metal musician and dancer, her videos are an example of this type of integrated art for any musical genre.
Roundtable Rival, for example, includes choreographic sequences and theatrical and movie scenes, even fighting scenes. All of them while she plays always her violin . Her work is completed with steampunk costumes adapted to western theme.

Dance for instrumentalists

Another of her important contributions is the idea that your instrument , although it can limit your mobility, does not stop it. Her videos are highly recommended for artists of instruments such as guitarists, bassists and, of course, violinists who want to expand their movements during a concert. Lindsey´s YouTube channel has 80 very inspiring videos that are perfect for anyone who wants to learn how to move on stage while playing music. Her more than 8,5 million of subscribers and her clips, some of which exceed 150 million of views, support the artistic proposal of this great violinist.

Here we can see the previous song in concert , which combines improvised steps with choreographic sequences. Two dancers were also required in some parts of the show.

A rock star violinist?

For rock-metal lovers, it is true that the work of Lindsey Stirling, as I said before, does not offer us many possibilities within the genre. We can, for example, find some version of songs like My Immortal (Evanescence):

For rock-metal dancers who like the concept of rock & violin, I recommend the music of the Spanish violinist Judith Mateo. The title of her latest work makes it very clear: “Rock is my life”. Some mythical songs that can be found in her extensive work are Thunder (AC/DC), Smoke on the water (Deep Purple), Sympathy for the Devil (Guns&Roses), Bring me to life (Evanescence), We will rock you (Queen), Nothing else matters (Metallica) and much more. I will dedicate a long article to Judith Mateo´s work soon, explaining also the differences between dancing to rock-metal songs performed by instruments other than the traditional set of voice-guitar-bass-drums.