text:
->''"I dont play accuratelyanyone can play accuratelybut I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for life."''
-->-- '''[[UpperClassWit Algernon Moncrieff]]''', ''Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest''
A contrast between a highly-skilled, perfectionist virtuoso and a less-skilled, but more inventive and original, artist. This is a plot common to stories that focus on the arts (such as painting or writing), or sports that require mixing physical ability with creativity (such as dancing or skating).
Say two people have the same hobby. One is our heroine Alice, the other is TheRival, Betty. Betty has been dancing for years. She's highly thought of in her field, her mentors find her a dream to teach, and all the male students are desperate to be her partner. She's up at the crack of dawn, spending hours in front of the mirror going over every single move, ironing out every tiny imperfection. She's so devoted to her art that she has little time for anything else - sometimes extending to issues with [[FreudianExcuse her family]], such as a [[StageMom domineering parent/coach who's trying to live vicariously through their child]]. Her dancing may be flawless but she may have a love-hate relationship with her art; secretly resenting the long hours of practice, for example, or angry that she had to give up a romantic interest because her teachers were worried that he'd distract her from dancing, or maybe she wants to be perfect, but can't meet her own standards.
Alice isn't as capable. She sleeps in. Her daydreaming drives the teacher up the wall. No matter how hard she tries, there is always one move that she can never quite pull off. Nevertheless she loves to dance, and her passion comes out in every performance. Even if she lands flat on her tail, she leaves the audience smiling. Unlike Betty, she probably has a close group of friends, a solid family background, and an optimistic outlook on life. If her [[CavalierCompetitor pastime]] stops being fun, she'll stop doing it.
As long as they're competing for marks, Betty will win every time. Put the pair in front of an audience, however, and it's a different story.
The audience doesn't know what to make of Betty. They're pretty sure she's good, but she spent the whole performance with a face like a wet weekend. She may not even have her own personal style: [[PowerCopying instead, she mimics the technique of other more successful artists]]. Alice is much more interesting. She turned a pratfall into a quirky dance move, made faces at the kid in the front row and laughed her way through the final act. Betty will likely spend most of the next episode wondering what Alice did to get a standing ovation, while all she got was a polite smattering of applause.
Betty's "mistake" is usually that she dances for an impersonal ideal that others expect of her, while Alice dances for the sheer joy of the art. Some people watching won't realize exactly what a "perfect performance" is, but they know when the cast are enjoying themselves...and even those in the audience who ''do'' know what perfection is would rather see originality and entertainment.
RedOniBlueOni rivalries where the two are rivals in the same field often feature this with the blue oni as the Technician and the red as the Performer. Since blue types are often [[LonersAreFreaks loners or social misfits]] who put a lot of importance on their one extraordinary ability, having their red counterpart outperform them (even if only in the mind of the audience) [[RivalTurnedEvil can lead to some nasty results]] or [[FreakOut a breakdown]].
If they can reconcile, DefeatMeansFriendship will take hold, and the girls will each learn from each other: Betty will learn to loosen up and rediscover the joy of her art, and Alice will try and emulate Betty's dedication and practice.
Obviously, the form that Alice's "originality" manifests itself in will depend on the art/sport she's involved in. She might be an imaginative writer who can't spell, or a painter of simplistic, cheerful paintings in an art school full of students obsessed with complexity. She may be the ice skater who zooms around the ice happily, but can't quite pull off that tricky spin, or a musician that finds sheet music boring and likes to jazz them up with their own variations (with varying degrees of success). Whatever the scenario, the individuality that makes her "imperfect" is the same individuality that endears her to anyone watching.
Generally, the narrative will be in favour of the enthusiastic performer (who sometimes has TheGift, but not always) rather than the diligent technician. This can be seen as a FamilyUnfriendlyAesop, since it means undermining the hours of practice the technician has put in to get to that level. At its best, the trope sings the praises of enjoying yourself and [[BeYourself being unique]]; at its worst, it implies that superior skill hamstrings individuality.
Differs slightly from (but is related to) HardWorkHardlyWorks. In this trope, there is no denying that the Technician is usually ''better'' at what they do, but the Performer is more fun to watch, while HardWorkHardlyWorks adds insult to injury by giving a cheerful slacker superior ''skill'' than those around them who actually practice. Also similar to WeakButSkilled; similar in that there is a better trained performer against a stronger or more talented rival, but different in that the one with the best training wins, usually through cleverness and skill. If paired with SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining, then the FamilyUnfriendlyAesop can get worse as it implies not only is hard work foolish, but harmful.
Contrast the VillainyFreeVillain and OpposingSportsTeam.
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* ''BattleAngelAlita'': Discussed when Alita plays motorball; she's a skilled fighter and wins a lot of races, but (she is told) she doesn't belong with the true motorballers, who value causing spectacle and drawing in audiences above winning or even surviving.
* Anime/DragonBallZ: In a way Vegeta is the Technician to Goku's performer. Vegeta trains and fights to be the strongest fighter in the universe, he also never spars, pushes himself waaaay too hard and his pride won't allow him to ask for help. Goku trains and fights because he loves it and is willing to learn from and train with others. In the end Goku is the better fighter despite not taking his training as seriously as Vegeta.
** A better example may be Piccolo (post HeelFaceTurn anyway) and Goku... Or, frankly, anyone else in the series that isn't a normal little human. While preternaturally strong, he usually ends up registering about a 7 or 8 while others spike at 10-15. But he's just so damn ''good'' and knows so many techniques (when it doesn't just come down to a planet-busting BeamOWar) that he can hold his own with the best of them. [[TheWorfEffect Unless he's the one that gets picked on to prove "how much a threat" the new villain is.]]
** The best example, however, has to be Tien. Serious, introducing new and effective techniques every time he gets to fight, and, despite becoming unable to catch up in the arc following his introduction, he just doesn't stop training. When a mere human manages to hold Cell in place, or deflect one of Super Buu's attacks, you know his technique just doesn't compare.
* ''KaleidoStar'': Sora is the Performer; Leon and May are mainly Technicians. Layla, however, has both traits despite her DefrostingIceQueen persona. Marion lampshades this when she comments on Sora's incompetence as part of the reason she's such a crowd pleaser: knowing that she might screw up keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. Unlike Leon (too racked with guilt and angst to enjoy what he does) and May (too intent on winning to care about the audience), Sora loves her job and plays to the crowd... and sometimes too hard.
** Heavily lampshaded later, when Katie chewed Leon and May out during the ''RomeoAndJuliet'' rehearsals. She basically tells them "A selfish Romeo who only cares about his own splendor? A cowardly Juliet who seems scared and diminished? Don't make me laugh you guys, you epically SUCK!"
** Of note: a good part of May's CharacterDevelopment comes from her training to become more of a Performer, dropping the flaws that her Technician side brings her. This offers parallels with her going from a self-absorbed JerkAss to a more selfless but still HotBlooded {{Tsundere}}.
** Don't forget Rosetta versus Sora early in season one. Rosetta starts as a stellar technician whose act looks like a "Diavolo machine". According to Kalos, she looks so cold and mechanical when performing, that the audience gets bored despite all the skill she develops; therefore, he teams her up with Sora so Rosetta can learn how to enjoy herself more so she'll win the audience's love. When she ''does'' becomes more of a performer thanks to Sora's help, he lampshades this by saying "Rosetta has finally become a performer".
* ''Anime/MazingerZ'' and its sequel, ''Anime/GreatMazinger'': Koji Kabuto and Tetsuya Tsurugi have distinct ways to pilot their respective HumongousMecha. Kouji is the Technician, who uses his weapons in a normal way -such as Mazinger's Photon-powered EyeBeam as a long range weapon-, combining them with pure brute force and CombatPragmatism. Tetsuya is the performer who combines his own CombatPragmatism by using Great's wide arsenal of weapons in an unorthodox way -such as shooting Thunder Break with both weapons or using it to turning his swords into Lightning rods, his surprisingly weird way of handling swords, or covering Great with [[ChestBlaster Breast Burn]] heat energy (a movement which later would be adapted in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsAlpha'' and turned into ''{{Mazinkaiser}}s'' Kaiser Nova).
* Duck, in ''Anime/PrincessTutu'', is so inherently clumsy that not even her passion for ballet can land her a leading role, but her performance does inspire a melancholy yet brilliant ballerina to find her own style rather than mimicking others.
* Briefly mentioned in ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', where Winry and Cheska debate over whether cooking is a science or an art.
* The ''{{Swan}}'' manga takes a different approach to this - heroine Masumi's originality and enthusiasm take her a long way, true...but it doesn't always triumph against her rivals, who often have superior skill on ''top'' of originality.
* Played in ''Manga/SkipBeat'' with Kyoko and Kanae. While in the beginning it seemed that both were going to develop a Performer/Technician rivalry, soon it's revealed that Kanae, while more of a Technician actress than Kyoko, is able to pull Performer-like stunts when needed... and for a while, is ''Kanae'' who loves more her selected career (Kyoko was there more for the fame-making potential she needed for her revenge, until she grows). Besides, ''both'' girls are in the Love Me team, a division for people who, while very talented, still lacks a certain quality who drives the public to likes them.
* ''NodameCantabile'' initially seems to set up this kind of conflict between uptight perfectionist Chiaki and quirky free spirit Nodame, particularly when their mentor Stresemann criticizes Chiaki's performance of Rachmanioff for lacking "sexiness." The conflict never materializes, however; Chiaki, despite his more technician-like approach to his art, regularly stuns audiences with the quality of his performances, and his technical skill is accompanied by a genuine love of and passion for music. Meanwhile, although Nodame also loves music and has a natural talent which Chiaki recognizes immediately, the fact that she takes it much less seriously and lacks Chiaki's drive proves to be a problem which hinders her performances.
** The trope is deconstructed in ''NodameCantabile'', in that neither pure technician nor pure performer is right or better for classical music. A classical musician should have the mix of both. It is also implied that there is no right mix either. Chiaki and Kuroki are more towards the technician part, while Nodame and Jean Donnadieu are more towards the performer part. All of them are celebrated, but just in different ways, and it's difficult to say who is better.
* This trope is brought up in the ''Manga/BattleRoyale'' Manga, when the character Toshinori Oda remembers the time that he and the protaganist, Shuya, performed music for the class; Oda's reserved violin recital received only polite applause, while Shuya's over the top guitar playing had the whole class cheering for him. Oda sees this as proof that his classmates are "uncultured"; Kazuo later thinks to himself (after killing Oda) that it was because Oda was too arrogant and "put himself between the listener and the music".
** Also when Kazuo fights against Hiroki. [[{{Determinator}} Hiroki]] is fighting with passion to save [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl a girl]], while [[EmptyShell Kazuo]] simply fights with pure skill with no motivation, or drive.
* Used beautifully in ''Anime/{{BECK}}'': In the "Grateful Sound" arc, the band breaks up thanks to internal tensions set off by Ryuske's Deal with the Devil. The rival band, Bell Ame, is set to totally eclipse BECK's set. Refusing to back down, Koyuki, followed by Saku on drums, grabs a acoustic and plays a stunning and spirited cover of [[strike:the Beatles's "I've Got a Feeling"]] in-universe band The Dying Breed's song "Fifty Cent Wisdom". The result? The factory-produced sugar-pop rival's set actually bleeds off its audience!
** Belle Ame aren't helped by the fact that their special guest, the {{bishounen}} [[SoapOpera soup star]] (and love rival of Kouyuki) they have performing with them can't actually sing.
* ''IronWokJan'' twists this trope with Kiriko Gobancho and Jan Akiyama. Jan, the JerkAss AntiHero, is an inverted Performer in that he cooks to deliberately earn the hatred and disgust of the audience -- to make the victory of his cuisine all the sweeter. And yet he admits that he cooks mostly because it's all that his grandfather [[TrainingFromHell taught him how to do]] before dying, and mostly seems to feel a professional pride about what he went through hell to learn. Kiriko's ideals are that "cooking is about heart"; although she's the HeirToTheDojo, she only became a cook because she wanted to, she taught herself most of what she knows, and she always tries to keep the customers and their desires in mind when she cooks. However, she is definitely a much more deliberate, no-nonsense chef than Jan. The two are both portrayed as equals in skill -- if only because Kiriko is [[TheRival the only thing keeping Jan from being a]] JerkSue.
* Inverted in ''CaptainTsubasa'', Hyuga Koujirou is a Performer who uses raw power and hot blood as he plays, whereas Ohzora Tsubasa is a devoted Technician who focuses on his skills. They clash as a result, but later Hyuga finds himself landing in trouble when he plays abroads and sees that his Performer traits are a hindrance on his playing style...
** It could be argued that Hyuga is the technician and Tsubasa the performer in the sense that Hyuga only plays to be the best, to get noticed so to land a contract in a major club to provide his family with money, and spends countless hours in training from hell while Tsubasa plays mainly for fun, is enthusiastic and charismatic enough to have everyone behind him and seems innately gifted.
** Tsubasa as a performer (albeit a very talented one) pit against technicians happens on a regular basis. It starts with Wakabayashi in their first encounter (thus beating the best goal keeper of all Japan for whom soccer was serious business), Misugi, Hyuga and later Santana.
*** For example, we have Tsubasa and Carlos Santana in Brazil, with Tsubasa being the performer and Santana the technician. The latter is called the "Socccer God's son" but also the "Soccer Cyborg", playing soccer at perfection but with no soul anymore [[spoiler: due to his TrainingFromHell involving a huge dose of BreakTheCutie]]. On the other hand there is Tsubasa, who always considered the soccer ball as his friend and is playing for fun. Even though Santana is clearly superior to Tsubasa, being able to even reproduce perfectly and actually improve on the way Tsubasa just scored a goal to try to humiliate him, in the end it's Tsubasa who wins the duel [[note]](matches in the show usually relay mainly on two men with the rest of the team being near to useless unless the plot requires it)[[/note]] through his creativity and "I'll never quit" attitude, because it is too much fun to give one's best 'til the end for him. When they meet again much later, [[DefrostingIceQueen Santana's]] [[CharacterDevelopment emotional damage has begun to mend]], and thus while he's still mostly a technician, he has dropped a part of his arrogance and plays both to enjoying himself ''and'' to win.
* ''GlassMask'' has heroine Maya Kitajima as a Performer who pours her soul and spirit when she acts, with her rival Ayumi Himekawa as a practically perfect Technician. Lampshaded when Maya says she envies Ayumi's technical skills and grace, but Ayumi thinks Maya can reach emotional depths that she simply ''never'' will equal.
* The [[LongRunner many many episodes of]] ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' did this a few times, once with two rival restaurants, one where the chef was a Mr. Mime and the other where the chef was a Sneasel. The Mr. Mime cook put a lot of flash into his cooking, turning even the cooking itself into a performance of sorts with his psychic abilities, and the presentation of the meal could not have been nicer...[[LethalChef but the food itself was virtually inedible, as the flavor was nightmarish]]. The Sneasel, by comparison, was an unimpressive minimalist, cooking in the backroom and bringing out extremely ordinary-looking, even ugly-looking dishes...[[SupremeChef that turned out to be mouthgasmically delicious]]. After a CookingDuel, the two rival restaurants teamed up, with Mr. Mime teaching Sneasel about presentation and Sneasel teaching Mr. Mime about how to make food your patrons can actually eat.
** This also happens a lot with Ash in Pokemon battles. Ash is a Performer whose Pokemon are ultimate because of the PowerOfLove, and often gets paired up with Technician opponents who go for type advantages and such and aren't as inspiring to their Pokemon.
*** Ash does have a certain amount of Technician, especially in Sinnoh (taking Dawn's Spin Dodge and Ice Aqua Jet ideas, meant for contests, and turning them into valid Battle techniques, for example), though how much strategy he'll get to use varies DependingOnTheWriter.
** One other episode features a Hitmontop trainer who relies too much on being a Performer and has to tone it down and balance it with being a Technician. [[IncrediblyLamePun Yes]], Hitmontop is one of several mons that ''can'' have Technician as an ability.
** Being a Co-ordinator requires a higher amount of Performer than being a regular Trainer, as points are lost if either your performance isn't flashy enough or your opponent's performance is flashier.
* Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas of ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds}}'' fit this trope perfectly. Whilst Yusei is a master of gadgetry and engineering and calm and calculated as a result, Jack on the other hand appears to have no technical skill but is a hugely talented entertainer, and arguably a better duelist than Yusei with his only two loses capable of being chalked up to overconfidence in the first case and an obsessive desire to defeat Yusei by conquering the card combo he lost to in their last match during their rematch.
** Not necessarily. Those were losses in his professional career. And Jack's specialty, akin to Kaiba in the original, is that he favors beatdown. Yusei counters this with strategies often centered around weaker monsters with protective abilities.
** And take into account the definition of 'technician' in [[TheVerse the Yugiverse]]:For example: Yusei's combos for summoning Stardust Dragon, his level 8 Ace {{Mons}}ter, are truly numerous, with some marvels as Junk Warrior(5)+Junk Synchron(3), Debris Dragon(4)+Bolt Hedgehog(2)+Speed Warrior(2), and Junk Synchron+Bolt Hedgehog+Speed Warrior+Tuning Supporter(1). As for Jack and his {{Mon}}ster of equal level, Red Demon's Dragon, his usual is a Vice Dragon(5)+ Dark Resonator(3), and very few times does he deviate. In terms of combo and strategy creation, Yusei is the Performer and Jack is the Technician, because the former uses every card's effect to its fullest in near unheard of ways whilst he latter uses mainly tried and tested methods which tends to bore the audience, TruthInTelevision when looking at the StopHavingFunGuys who look down on those not using Top-Tier Decks. Can be an {{Irony}} judging by the metagame. Yusei's flashy, interesting and complex combo is the basis on one of the most sucessful deck at the time, yet while decks that uses simpler tried and tested combo while sucessful(such example being Six Samurai and Dragunity) never manage to be as sucessful as the former.
* ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'' has an interesting version of this, making the Technician(s) the protagonist, yet also putting both sides on equal ground. The main characters, Takagi and Mashiro, are clearly the technicians, being praised for their calculating intelligence and technical skill at writing manga together, yet get bogged when trying to write something mainstream because they can't come up with an exceptionally interesting premise. Their main rival, Niizuma Eiji is presented as a natural genius who simply draws whatever he feels like and cranks out hits, yet is also criticized for the lack of depth in his work. Then it turns out that the Performer is a totally fanboy of the Technicians' work, and later on both parties end up improving from the influence of the other.
** The trope is still mostly played straight, since Eiji's work (especially Crow) consistently outperforms every other named character's manga, including the main pair's. But they're much closer to Eiji's level than most instances of this trope.
*** Lately in manga Eiji also came closer to Technician side, especially with [[spoiler: his new series, "Zombie Gun"]], that is far more plotted than previous.
* One episode of ''FushigiBoshiNoFutagoHime'' illustrates this trope using Altezza, who practiced hard before each Princess Party, but had yet to win one, thanks to interference from the main characters' MagicalGirl powers. When the twins found out how hard she worked, they got depressed about their own laid-back, "just have fun" approach to the parties and being princesses in general. Bright, Altezza's older brother, tells the girls that they have something Altezza doesn't, but is cut off before he can tell them what it is.
* This is oddly inverted in ''TheCherryProject'', a pre-Manga/SailorMoon Creator/NaokoTakeuchi manga. The protagonist and newcomer figure skater Chieri learns everything she knows by copying others' technical moves, but doesn't have the "artistic grace" that semi-pro Canty has.
* ''Manga/PianoNoMori'' exemplifies this trope in the relation between friends and competing pianists Shuhei (the technician) and Kai (the performer).
* Played with in ''HikaruNoGo'', with Hikaru (Performer) and Akira (Technician). The twist is that while Akira thinks Hikaru is good enough to play at his level from the start, that's actually not true, and it takes Hikaru years to reach a level where he can compete with him. Even then [[spoiler: Akira is always seen as the better Go player, and Hikaru never beats him, though he comes close.]]
* ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'' has Hayato Kazami (performer) and Naoki Shinjyo (technician). While Hayato races with the help of an AI computer, Shinjyo has been racing for years. In the latter half of the TV series, Randoll plays the technician to Hayato's performer. Asuka lampshades this when she has a conversation with him.
* ''MacrossPlus'' features a literal chart graphing the performances of test pilots Guld (the Technician) and Isamu (the Performer), with Isamu's wildly inconstant numbers nonetheless surpassing (most of) Guld's steady and even progression.
* ''SamuraiChamploo'' features Mugen the performer, and Jin the technician. Mugen's style is entirely self-taught, and relies on creativity and unpredictability, while Jin's style is disciplined, relying on traditional moves. Played with a bit as Mugen and Jin both learn from each other. Most evident in their respective final fights.
** Mugen, after easily being defeated by Kariya for "relying on his instincts too much", logically works out how to beat Umanosuke's unique weapon, overcoming his weakness of never really thinking about how to fight an opponent.
** Likewise, Jin overcomes Kariya (who had, at this point, easily beaten Mugen and Jin in a 2-on-1 battle) by abandoning the orthodox style Kariya was better at, and using a highly unorthodox (suicidal) technique to fell him.
* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' has the Negi and Kotaro. Negi is the technician, Kotaro is the performer. Several of Negi's teachers try to show him the value of being a performer.
* Barnaby and Kotetsu in ''TigerAndBunny.'' Barnaby is the Technician who calculates his actions to win him the most points and garner the most fame. Kotetsu is the Performer who just goes by his instincts and puts his all into being a [[{{superhero}} Hero]] because [[ChronicHeroSyndrome he wants to help people.]] [[spoiler:In the second half of the series, Barnaby admits that he admires Kotetsu's sincerity and dedication to the job, though he wouldn't necessarily adopt Kotetsu's methods as his own.]]
* The partnership between [[{{Keet}} Eiji Kikumaru]] and [[NiceGuy Shuuichiro Oishi]] in ThePrinceOfTennis is this through and through. Eiji is the Performer: crowd-pleasing, flashy, acrobatic, charismatic. Meanwhile, Oishi is the Technician: reliable, methodic, rational, with NervesOfSteel. Lampshaded in the manga where, in their first year, Eiji challenged Oishi to a duel since he thought he was a boring player... and was curb stomped ''thrice'', thus deciding to become his partner instead. It's also seen the Hyoutei matches: when Eiji has to team up with [[BoisterousBruiser Momoshirou]] due to Oishi being injured, he's [[HeroicBSOD in such an emotional turmoil]] since they've never played without each other that it takes him a while to recover his spirits and be able to synch better with Momoshirou.
** Actually, almost all partnerships have elements of this (though [[InSeriesnickname the Golden Pair]] is the most blatant example). [[{{Samurai}} Sanada]] and [[MagnificentBastard Atobe]] are good examples as well: Sanada is the Technician through and through, Atobe is both Performer ''and'' Technician, and it takes them a while to work well together.
* Discussed in CandyCandy's Hospital arc. Candy, Frannie and the other prospect nurses are discussing nursing techniques and behavior towards patients: Candy shows Performer traits as she believes that you gotta approach the patients and help them feel good, while Frannie goes Technician and points out that the most popular nurse isn't automatically the best one and that they must be pragmatic as well.
* Rei Ryugazaki from ''Anime/{{Free}}'' has the demeanor of a Technician, but has an appreciation for the aesthetic values of a Performer, which he wishes to incorporate into his style. He joins the swim club primarily because he sees just how much of the Performer is in them (especially Haruka), and hopes he can learn from them.
* ''Film/{{Drumline}}''. Played with, as the only reason the main character and TheRival manage to work together is through a compromise of styles.
* ''Center Stage'': Maureen is the technician, Jodie the performer. The movie also adds a third element with Eva, who has TheGift like Jodie but also the technical potential of Maureen, but is hampered by her rebellious attitude. [[spoiler: Eva is the only one of the three main girls to find success in the American Ballet Company--Maureen realizes she's destroying herself and quits, Jodie goes to a new company that values her performance skills over her ability to technically conform.]]
* This will often be part of the dynamic of a BuddyCop duo. One's uptight and [[ByTheBookCop goes by the rules]], skilled and knowledgeable. The other is passionate and vigorous, but either doesn't know the rules as well or [[CowboyCop just disregards the ones he considers stupid]]. Coming to a theater near you this July.
* ''BladesOfGlory'' has rival figure skaters, John Heder's Technician and Will Ferrell's Performer, forced to skate together in the pairs event.
* If one extends this to teams, any movie with a RagtagBunchOfMisfits versus an OpposingSportsTeam with a DrillSergeantNasty coach qualifies.
* ''Rollbounce''
* In ''{{Amadeus}}'', Salieri interprets his nemesis's (who is Wolfgang frickin' Mozart) personal style and thus believes he is a performer while Mozart is both.
* In ''Film/ThePrestige'', Angier is the showman in love with the audience and Borden is the technician in love with the gadgets needed to perform a trick. This is also apparent in their stage names: "The Great Danton" and "The Professor", respectively. Unique in that in this case, both the technician and the performer have their sympathetic moments. [[spoiler: The Borden twins follow along this line as well in a more subtle way: the one who dies is a performer and the one who lives is a technician. Trope is subverted in that Angier's illusion relies on technology but Borden's is pure performance.]]
* In ChariotsOfFire Harold is more a technician and Eric more a performer.
* The film ''Strictly Ballroom'' is all about the conflict between highly technical rulesy dancing and "crowd-pleasing" moves. Differs somewhat from the pure form of the trope in that it hints that the technical rules are don't really represent dancing skill but rather a conspiracy to keep the person who makes the rules in the money and also in that the main character is excellent at the technical style but choses to do "crowd pleasing" because he likes it.
* ''StickIt'', about gymnastics, deals with the dichotomy of focusing on perfection and "sticking" everything versus going all out and "flooring it" and doing things that are more impressive even if you can't guarantee you'll nail the technical elements perfectly. The end message seems to be that it's not about what you know, but who you know, so if you don't know the right people you may as well say screw the rules and have fun with it.
* ''SisterAct 2'' has Sister Mary Clarence's RagtagBunchOfMisfits (perfomer) against a choir that's won the championship for 3 years running (technician). To illustrate the effect, both choirs sing "Joyful Joyful". The other choir sings it with military precision, while the misfit class puts in raps and riffs on Janet Jackson. One guess as to which choir wins.
* In ''Film/TopGun'', Iceman and Maverick. Iceman takes the trophy at Top Gun, but when it comes down to the wire Maverick is the one who saves the day.
-->(on Iceman) ''"It's the way he flies. Ice cold, no mistakes. He wears you out 'til you do something stupid, then he's got you."''
-->(on Maverick) ''"You are dangerous. I don't like you because every time you fly you're unsafe."'' (later) ''"You are still dangerous.'' ({{Beat}}) ''You can be my wingman anytime."''
* Deconstructed in ''Film/BlackSwan'', which asserts that the White Swan character must be a technician, while the Black Swan must be a performer. The director wants to cast the same dancer in both roles. The main character is a technician, and struggles greatly to embody the easy confidance of a performer while playing the Black Swan. Her rival is a performer, whose dancing is not flawless, but who displays natural confidence in her dancing and in life.
* Referenced and played out somewhat in ''{{Inception}}'' while making the actual inception plan. Arthur is the technician and Eames is the performer.
* In ''Film/TheLegendOfBaggerVance'', the two rival golfers competing with the main character are portrayed as a technician and a performer.
* Bethany Hamilton is definitely a performer in SoulSurfer. Her rival's technician qualities are not made explicit, but she does carry that vibe.
* ''Film/CoolRunnings'' has the plucky, performer Jamaican team and the crypto-Nazi East German technicians.
* ''Film/{{Warrior}}'' shows both of its protagonist MMA fighters work their asses off in training, but still has a notable difference between the naturally talented Tommy who overwhelms his opponents with pure, devastating power and Brendan, his more patient and methodical brother who wins by enduring his opponent's punishment until he can implement his extensive knowledge of submission holds, which he knows because he spent much of his early life trying to teach himself to be as good as Tommy [[WellDoneSonGuy in order to impress their father.]] It is worth noting that before he started MMA fighting to support his family, [[TheSmartGuy Brendan was a physics teacher]], which is about as technical as you can get. The eventual victor of their confrontation is [[spoiler: Brendan, but only because he is enough of a {{Determinator}} to survive Tommy's initial onslaught, and because Tommy himself had been cracking up under the strain of his own conflicted feelings and had devolved from TranquilFury at the start of the tournament to a pure [[TheBerserker Berserker]] by the end.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/MonstersUniversity'', Mike is the Technician to Sulley's Performer. Mike is incredibly knowledgeable about scare tactics but doesn't have the appearance to be a good scarer. Sulley's natural abilities impress the teachers and others at first but he barely studies and lacks the technical aspects of scaring children.
* In ''Film/PitchPerfect'' you've got Aubrey vs. Beca. Aubrey is very uptight and inflexible, insisting on only singing traditional songs and is ThePerfectionist. Beca prefers to sing for fun and likes remixing songs.
* ''Film/MyWeekWithMarilyn'' portrays the TroubledProduction of Creator/LaurenceOlivier's ''Film/ThePrinceAndTheShowgirl'' and how his leading lady Creator/MarilynMonroe drove him utterly batshit over her flakiness and mental breakdowns during the shooting, only for him to acknowledge that when she worked she was the greatest thing that had ever been seen on a screen. Summed up with the quote:
-->''He is the worlds greatest actor who wants to become a movie star. You are the worlds greatest movie star who wants to become an actor. And this movie isn't going to help either of you.''
* In ''[[{{Rush2013}} Rush]]'', this is combined with elements of AllWorkVsAllPlay. Niki Lauda is almost clinical in his approach to driving, a master at setting up a race car and one of the first drivers to put in long hours studying the tracks. James Hunt is instinctive, able to simply hop in a car and set blistering times. Unusually for this trope, both approaches work equally well.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOMovie'', this is the main conflict between [[spoiler:Finn and his father. Finn is an imaginative child who simply wants to have fun building [=LEGOs=] and making up stories while his father is a serious hobbyist who believes in building sets as stated by their instructions and keeping them as such.]] As such, the film's plot is focused on the conflict between the Master Builders who wish to build whatever they want as they please and Lord Business, a ControlFreak [[spoiler:based off of Finn's dad. Eventually, Finn and his father come to a middle ground after the latter [[HeelRealization learns that his son made him a villain in his personal story]].]]
* ''Itty Bitty Titty Committe Cheerleaders Vs. The Big Boob Squad'' (Yes, it's [[PornWithPlot an all-girl cheerleader-themed porno]]) has the PetitePride [[IAmNotShazam 69'ers]] [[InformedAbility having the better choreography and agility]] "because they're not weighed down" compared to the [[TheBully bullying]] [[BigBreastPride Beavers]] who rely solely on sex appeal and are actually ''losers'' because of it instead of [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey seducing the judges to victory.]]
* In Piers Anthony's ''[[Literature/ApprenticeAdept Blue Adept]]'' this is played straight in Stile's harmonica duel with Clef where they will be judged by the Computer on their technical skills and the audience on their performance. Clef is by far superior on a technical basis, allowing him to easily win the Computer vote, while Stile wins the audience with a superior performance.
** As a tie-breaker the two play a duet to be judged by a panel of musicians. After a little coaching from Stile, Clef quickly picks up Stile's tricks and also begins drawing in the audience, resulting in him winning the vote of the Computer and audience... but Stile wins the panel's vote and thus the contest. Clef's improvement was solely thanks to Stile, which the panel saw as proof that Stile was the better musician. [[DefeatMeansFriendship The two become life-long friends]].
* Played with a bit in ''Literature/BalletShoes'', where it's mentioned at one point that the sister who hates dancing ends up being one of the most technically proficient dancers in the school ''because'' she hates dancing, so she ends up taking basic classes year after year and gets all the core moves completely ground into her mind. But her performer sisters are the ones who always get major roles in ballets and plays, while she's always (gladly) stuck in the background. Although in this case her sisters aren't ''bad'' at technique they just never learn it by rote the way she does (and when one of them does end up stuck in that same situation, her performer side comes out more strongly than it does at any other time in the book).
** Dulcie (Technician) and Hilary (Performer) in ''DancingShoes'' play out the above description almost to the letter.
** In ''White Boots'' (known as ''Skating Shoes'' in the US), Lalla is the Performer, Harriet is the Technician. Slight subversion in that it's Harriet, the newcomer to ice skating, who's the more precise skater (usually, the Performer is the rookie) and that the book comes out on her side - Lalla is sympathetic and charming, but also a bit of a spoiled brat, while Harriet is modest and loyal.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' stories involving the Witch Trials: Granny Weatherwax is the Technician and she always wins but Nanny Ogg is the Performer, and people buy her drinks and say "It was a good try". Both of them are happy with this.
** At the end of ''Discworld/{{Snuff}}'', Lord Vetinari is a bit put-out to realize that, after decades of his own painstaking, methodical, brilliant and technically-elegant social engineering have brought Ankh-Morpork to a state of prosperity and eminence, a naive young goblin girl with a harp has drastically elevated the social standing of her people on an international scale with ''one song''. And with only a little help from a children's author and Lady Sybil's address book.
* In ''PrideAndPrejudice'', both protagonist Elizabeth and her bookish younger sister Mary play the piano and sing. Mary is a technically accomplished musician (with a terrible singing voice) who practices hard and works for accomplishments. Elizabeth isn't as skilled technically and often makes mistakes in her playing, but her performances are cheerful and pleasing, and on the whole people much prefer to listen to her.
* Kristy and Abby in ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'', with sports. In Kristy's own words, she's a sportsperson, while Abby is a natural athlete.
* In ''Virtuosity'' by Jessica Martinez, Grammy-winning ChildProdigy violinist Carmen is the technician while her opponent in the Guarneri competition, Jeremy, is the performer. Jeremy does an act in his performances, whereas Carmen just plays. Carmen is envious of how comfortable he is, while she relies on drugs to keep from getting nervous before concerts. It's played with since Jeremy has his own problems.
* ''Literature/SongAtDawn:'' Maracuba is the Technican and Dragonetz is the Performer. The former has a rigid singing style and his ballads are sermons in lyrical form. Furthermore, Estela reluctantly admits he has greater skill than Dragonetz. On the other hand Dragonetz's goal is entertaining and he has a much wider range of pitches and actions. For instance, he'll sing a women's part in a duet using a falsetto tone and act out the role.
* BertoltBrecht wrote a short story about two Chinese guys who wanted to become actors. One of them went to the best teachers and trained until late at night, while the other one went to the market places where he would juggle, make fun of the bigwigs and other jokes. Then the day came where both of them had to show off what they had learned: The performer did his usual tricks and received some applause; the technician was struck by stage fear and immediately fainted. With a subversion: The people commented that he played it well, although the play was a bit short.
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Show examples, TheWire is the technician, removed, objective, and uninflected. TheShield is the performer immediate, subjective, and emotional.
* Tends to show up in ''StrictlyComeDancing'' and similar series - some of the competitors will be technically skilled, but not really able to sell a dance and perform - they tend to sail through the early stages. Others will struggle on technical skill early on, but be able to perform really well - as their technical skill increases through practice, they start to provide serious challenges to the technical dancers, whose skill has plateaued, and who still can't act.
** Chris Hollins compared with Ali Bastian.
** John Sergeant in the 2008 series of ''Strictly'' was a Performer who eventually left the show because his popularity wasn't fair on the Technicians.
--->'''Sergeant''': There now exists a real possibility I might win. Even for me, that would be a joke too far.
** Subverted with JasonDonovan on Series 9, who certainly looked like a Performer on stage but put in the long hours of hard work of a Technician. This was because he had ''no natural talent whatsoever''; he had to put in that much work just to get his ability to "bluff your way through on charm" level.
* [[Series/StargateAtlantis Rodney McKay]] describes the difference between himself and [[Series/StargateSG1 Samantha Carter]] as this, bemoaning the fact that his technical approach to things earns him second place to the less rigidly formal.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' makes Vocal Adrenaline out to be the "technically-perfect team with no soul" whereas New Directions are the plucky underdogs who make up for their lack of polish with their bleeding hearts. [[spoiler: But the Regionals judges don't see it that way.]]
** [[spoiler: Neither did the Nationals judges a season later.]]
** TechnicianVersusPerformer in some form kicks in within New Directions itself, particularly with regard to Rachel, who tends to be technically adept but an imitative and immature performer whose goal is winning approval and applause, and the rest of the girls (plus countertenor Kurt - they're in competition because they share equal ranges and song preferences), who sing with more originality, authenticity and emotion. However, it also applies in reverse to the boys. Finn, as by far the least accomplished of the male singers and dancers, looks like he should be an underdog Performer type - but he's resented for getting solos while other (far more accomplished and enthusiastic) singers such as Artie, Kurt and Puck, and dancer Mike, are undeservedly stuck in his shadow - largely because of TechnicianVersusPerformer favoritism from Will Schuester.
* Often happens on SoYouThinkYouCanDance, especially with breakdancers. While technically wonderful dancers are often competent enough to stay on the show for a while even if their performance isn't too amazing, dancers like season 7's Jose sail through because they're fun to watch even if they don't dance very well.
** It also has a major part in deciding who wins- there's a reason the winner is '[Country's] ''Favourite'' Dancer'. People with bright personalities may well win over more technically gifted dancers.
* Top Chef is a strange case, since there's so many sides to it, but it qualifies. It's why people like Fabio and Carla were so well liked, since they more qualified as performers than technicians (while Carla was classically trained, her food was more soulful than anything else).
** Occasionally, competitions will play out where one side chooses to make food that isn't terribly suited for the occasion, but showcases some culinary skills, while the other makes food the audience will enjoy. The judges tend to prefer the former.
* Can happen on ''ProjectRunway'', too; the people with the most skill at sewing or the most experience in the fashion business aren't always the ones with the most creativity and innovation. Again can go both ways; a creative person who can't sew at all will probably be [[EliminationCatchphrase auf'd]], but so will an impeccable seamstress whose designs are boring.
** The two frontrunners of Season 9, Anya Ayoung-Chee and Viktor Luna, are a textbook example of the trope. Anya is badly inexperienced at sewing but often turns out very striking outfits, while Viktor is an extremely skilled garment-maker most often criticized for lacking "the wow factor."
* The whole point of {{Smash}}. Ivy is the technician (generally, she is more able to "sex-up" the role of Marilyn Monroe than Karen and is a very good actor in her own right) having previous Broadway experience, and knowing how to the play the game to get the role. Karen, on the other hand, has no previous theater experience, and shows up to her audition not dressed as Marilyn or singing one of her songs, yet her audition for the role of Marilyn impresses the producers and directors so much they decide to put her in the chorus, and make her the understudy for Marilyn. [[spoiler: Ivy gets the role of Marilyn, then loses it to a famous movie actress (Rebecca), cast in an effort to attract more publicity. Then as Rebecca gets an allergic reaction, Karen gets the role, as she has "something" that Ivy does not.]]
* In ''Dancing With The Stars'' Len tends strongly to favor the technical side of things while Bruno and to a lesser extent Carrie Ann prefer the Performers.
* Sasha (Technician) and Boo (Performer) are a nuanced version of this in ''Series/{{Bunheads}}''. A more blatant contrast in one episode is Jordan (Technician) and Karl (Performer), perhaps because they are only minor characters. There are also hints of this with Fanny (Technician) and Michelle (Performer) in there roles as teachers and in their relationship with the girls (Fanny is stern and strict and the girls both worship and fear her while Michelle plays the CoolBigSister). The Ringer is so soulessly perfect that she makes technician Sasha look like a performer.
* Happens with some regularity in ''Series/SweetGenius''. Some chefs will have flawless technique but produce relatively unimaginative "safe" desserts, others will have fantastic ideas and less impressive technique. All other factors remaining equal, Chef Ron seems to favor the creative approach, though not by much. A Sweet Genius should have both technique ''and'' vision.
* In [[AbbysUltimateDanceCompetition Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition]] six year old Asia Ray stayed in the competition much longer than kids who were better than her technically, ultimately placing third, based largely on the fact that she was a fantastic performer.
* ''RuPaulsDragRace'' used to appear that Ru preferred technicians to performers come the final elimination, that is until season 4 onward, when Ru will start asking for the Drag Race audience to give their online feedback on the queens, who usually show preference to the performer. Season 4's Chad Michaels (Technician, gives flawless presentations and performances), and Sharon Needles (Performer, spooky but lovable with a big heart and lots of creativity) are perfect examples of this dynamic in action.
* The ''Series/{{Mythbusters}}'' are hosted by the stolid, detail-oriented Technician Jamie and the goofy, improvising Performer Adam. This trope comes into play when they have build-offs where each has to offer their own take on a myth, and usually have to build some manner of wacky gadget in the process. Jamie generally has the better grasp of engineering and design theory, but Adam is usually the one coming up with all the weird, novel ideas. In this case, the Technician tends to win because his work usually agrees with the laws of physics.
* One word, Rap. From the technical geniuses that dominate the underground but don't have the charisma to achieve superstar status (Talib Kweli, Music/{{Nas}}, Common, Music/DeLaSoul, sadly, a lot of political rappers fall into this), versus the loud, dumb, party lyrics backed by incredible stage presence (Music/FiftyCent, Flo Rida, Music/LilJon, basically all {{Crunk}}), there are those that can rise above this dichotomy, and they soak in money and critical acclaim, (Music/{{Eminem}}, Music/TupacShakur, Music/TheNotoriousBIG.)
** Another contrast that could be seen between rappers is well-illustrated by the diversity of talents in the WuTangClan: Technicians like master producer RZA and stately story-teller GZA are contrasted with the more wildly-improvisational, jazzy, and audacious performances exemplified by Ol' Dirty Bastard (there's no father to his style).
** You could potentially breakdown the entire history of hip-hop by noting the prominent Performer/Technician dichotomies of the day, even the ones that didn't result in outright verbal sparring:
*** Bronze Age: Kool Moe Dee (Technician) vs. Busy Bee (Performer)
*** Iron Age: Kool Moe Dee (Technician) vs. LL Cool J (Performer) or KRS-1 (Technician) vs. MC Shan (Performer)
*** Golden Age: Rakim (Technician) vs. Big Daddy Kane (Performer with great technical ability)
*** Early/Mid 90's: Tupac (Performer) vs. The Notorious B.I.G (Technician with incredible charisma)
*** Late 90's/Early 2000's Jay-Z (Performer) vs. Nas (Technician)
*** Mid 2000's: 50 Cent (Performer) vs. Kanye West (Lyrical Wordsmith, Motherfucking Genius)
*** Circa 2013, the two most significant young rappers of the day, Drake (Performer) and Kendrick Lamar (Technician) seem to be angling towards this kind of dichotomy.
* Amongst guitarists too, just look at the top 100 as ranked by Rolling Stone. The top 10 are mainly remembered as performers who played with a focus on soul and feeling. Whereas Technicians such as Eddie Van Halen are considerably lower on the list.
** The revised list written in 2011 is a bit better in this regard, with Van Halen now being in the top 10.
* Robbie Williams (performer) and Gary Barlow (technician) from Take That, and more notably their solo careers. Most people agreed Gary was the better song writer and singer but he was quiet and reserved with a fairly stable personality, where as Robbie was wild, charismatic and beset by personal demons. Interestingly this reversed once they got older, as Robbie started to look more and more like a wangsty man-child and Gary like a dignified if [[TheStoic stoic]] gentleman.
* ''Pyromania''- and ''Hysteria''-era Music/DefLeppard had co-lead guitarists Phil Collen (technician) and Steve Clark (performer). Collen has stated that, after Clark died, he almost wanted to quit the group over his frustration at the problems he was having with replicating Steve's guitar playing.
* Music/BritneySpears (Performer) Vs Music/ChristinaAguilera (Technician).
* Music/BackstreetBoys (Technician) and *Music/{{NSYNC}} (Performer). The Backstreet Boys are more simplistic but solid in their live performances and rarely strayed from their Adult Contemporary brand of pop, while *NSYNC preferred technically elaborate live performances and experimenting with their musical palette.
* Music/VanHalen's singer debate: Music/DavidLeeRoth (performer) vs. Sammy Hagar (technician)
* Music/BlackSabbath's Music/OzzyOsbourne (performer) vs. Music/RonnieJamesDio (technician)
** When Ozzy went solo he took the same approach by hiring Randy Rhoads (technician), who stood in sharp contrast to Tony Iommi (performer).
* The Music/TheyMightBeGiants song "Music/{{XTC}} versus Adam Ant" asserts that the two bands represent "content versus form," ie technical performance versus style.
* An unusually common situation: An actor-who-sings tends to be much more successful than the reverse. Though both fields are demanding, singing is also [[CripplingOverspecialization extremely focused]]; singers (Technicians) often lack the physical presence needed to connect to the audience, while actors (Performers) may not be the best singers, but know how to get reactions from audiences. Underlining the differences, many actors already ''are'' decent singers--but they view it as a fun way to kill time, while singers view acting as SeriousBusiness.
* This trope is the main reason why it's generally [[InternetBackdraft not a good idea]] to try to discuss either GarageRock or ProgressiveRock with fans of the other.
** The divide between PunkRock and Music/HeavyMetal isn't as strong, but they fit this trope too.
* Despite his clear technical skills, JimiHendrix was closer to the Performer end of the spectrum. Had virtually no formal musical training, could barely even read music, but was blessed with natural talent and near-perfect pitch. Nobody taught Jimi how to play; HE JUST KNEW, man...
* Music/HeavyMetal bands with two guitarists run on this trope. Often the two guitarists will cultivate wildly different lead styles from each other and play off each other in elaborate and extended "duels". Notable twin-guitar teams fitting this mold include:
** Music/DreamTheater (guitar vs. keyboards in this case): John Petrucci (Technician) vs. Kevin Moore or Derek Sherinian (Performer). Now with Jordan Rudess it's Technician vs. Even Bigger Technician.
** Music/GammaRay: Henjo Richter (Technician) vs. Kai Hansen (Performer)
** Music/{{Helloween}}: Michael Weikath (Technician) vs. Kai Hansen (Performer)
** Music/IcedEarth: John Schaffer (Technician) vs. Randall Shawver (Performer)
** Music/IronMaiden: Dave Murray and Janick Gers (Technician) vs. Adrian Smith (Performer)
** Music/JudasPriest: Glenn Tipton (Technician) vs. K.K. Downing (Performer)
** Music/{{Megadeth}}: Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, or Chris Broderick (Technician) vs. Dave Mustaine (Performer)
** Music/{{Slayer}}: Jeff Hanneman (Technician) vs. Kerry King (Performer)
* JohnLennon and RingoStarr were more on the "performer" side, but PaulMcCartney and GeorgeHarrison were more technical in Music/TheBeatles (though all were self-taught)
* Roger Waters, Syd Barrett and Nick Mason (performer) vs. David Gilmour and Rick Wright (technician) in PinkFloyd.
* Exemplified perfectly in Charlie Daniel's song, The Devil Went Down To Georgia, with Johnny as the Performer and the Devil as the Technician. While the Devil plays a far more complicated and difficult piece, it pales in comparison to the beauty of Johnny's song.
* From Music/{{Queen}}, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor were performers, whereas Brian May and John Deacon were technicians (Deacon, literally, since he was an electrical engineer).
** For that matter, Brian May is an ''astrophysicist''.
* {{Boy Band}}s and {{Girl Group}}s can have this. The Technician is usually the lead singer because they have the strongest voice in the group, but the Performer, often the other half of the VocalTagTeam, may have a more engaging presence that draws the audience and camera to them. The BreakupBreakout is almost always the Performer due to their ability to keep the audience engaged and while the Technician can also be more critically successful, they won't reach the commercial popularity of the Performer.
* Lead guitarists are often seen as performers rather than technicians, which has lead to the creation of many lead guitarist stereotypes. [[http://www.realitista.com/post/31868775053/sheet-music-and-lead-guitarists For example]].
[[folder:Music Video]]
* Lionel Richie's 'Ballerina Girl' is a perfect depiction of this trope.
[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* There are countless wrestlers of each type, and just as many arguments about them. Some examples:
** Technicians: Wrestling/DeanMalenko, Wrestling/LanceStorm, Doug Furnas and Phil [=Lafon=]. Startling degree of talent, wide knowledge of moves and countermoves but usually never really catch on with the casual fans at-large.
** Performer: The ur-example here is probably Wrestling/HulkHogan. Never a solid performer, but he knew how to put on a show and the fans adored him, though [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct he really COULD put on a real technical match when he wanted]], particularly in Japan. More modern examples would be Wrestling/MickFoley, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], Wrestling/TripleH (who is a pretty incredible technician to boot), Wrestling/TheUndertaker (who can pull off some amazing stunts when it's called for) and Wrestling/JohnCena. Comedy wrestlers, like The Honky Tonk Man and Wrestling/SantinoMarella (amusingly enough, the guy has extensive [[UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts MMA]] training, and was a fighter in Japan), fit here also.
** There are the rare wrestlers who bridge the gap, and they are usually regarded among the elites: Wrestling/RicFlair, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/ChrisJericho, and Wrestling/KurtAngle come to mind immediately.
** [[Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin "Stunning"/"Stone Cold" Steve Austin]] was both at different points of his career: As one-half of the Hollywood Blondes in WCW, he was known as a good technical wrestler. When he became "Stone Cold", he changed his style to highly entertaining brawler.
*** Much of Austin's switch came in 1997 after he was seriously injured by Wrestling/OwenHart during a match and could no longer wrestle at the level he used to.
** The Wrestling/BretHart vs. Shawn Michaels rivalry is arguably the quintessential example. You can practically rename this trope "Excellence of Execution vs The Showstopper".
** [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] and Wrestling/TheMiz's feud over the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwf-us-h.html WWE United States Heavyweight Champion]] - Bryan widely considered the flat-out best in-ring technician in North America (winning ''Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter'''s Awards for "Best Technical Wrestler" five years in a row, "Most Outstanding Wrestler" four years in a row) pitted against The Miz, a charismatic {{Heel}} who got his start on reality shows.
* Some people says that two main WWE shows -- Raw and Smackdown -- are based on this dichotomy, with Raw putting more emphasis on storyline and spectacle while Smackdown is seen as the "wrestling" show.
** Similarly we had the old WCW (technician) vs. WWF (performer) rivalry, epitomized by the two companies' top stars, Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan respectively.
* Some even blame WWE's current [[InsistentTerminology reluctance]] to use the phrase "ProfessionalWrestling" on this trope.
* In the [[Characters/WWEDivas Divas division]], WWE is notorious for pushing performers (Wrestling/{{Sable}}, Miss Kitty, Wrestling/TrishStratus, Wrestling/{{Lita}}, Wrestling/StacyKeibler, Wrestling/TorrieWilson, Wrestling/KellyKelly) over technicians (Jacqueline, Wrestling/MollyHolly, Jazz, Wrestling/GailKim, Wrestling/BethPhoenix, [[Wrestling/NatalyaNeidheart Natalya]]). Ivory and Victoria would examples of ones who could go both ways.
* Contrast NFL defensive end Reggie White (performer) with Bruce Smith (technician). White is known for his larger-than-life persona, dominance and memorable plays. Smith is simply known for his high numbers and durability. White is easily the more memorable player and almost always ranks higher on lists than Smith.
* Wilt Chamberlain (high-scoring performer) vs Bill Russell (defensive technician).
* Pittsburgh Steelers (technician) vs Dallas Cowboys (performer).
* In the past, [[UsefulNotes/{{Tennis}} tennis]] had Andre Agassi (performer) vs. Pete Sampras (technician), at least on the outside. Agassi loathed the game of tennis (at least according to his autobiography ''Open''), while Sampras was happy to sleep, eat and breathe the sport and merely lacked Agassi's natural charisma.
** There was also John [=McEnroe=] (performer) vs. Ivan Lendl (technician). Not everyone loved [=McEnroe=] due to his [[HairTriggerTemper abrasive personality]] but everyone could be counted on to have ''[[LoveToHate some]]'' kind of strong emotional reaction to him and he was the definite crowd favorite against Lendl, who had a more successful career overall than [=McEnroe=] with a positive head-to-head record against him and more Grand Slams and weeks at No. 1 to his name but was viewed by many as a personality-devoid "Czech robot" to such an extent that Sports Illustrated once described him as "The Champion No One Cares About". It's also arguably the main reason for [=McEnroe=] being typically ranked above Lendl in "greatest tennis players of all time" lists in spite of Lendl spending more time than him at the top of the game because his playing style and wins were considered to be more dynamic and exciting to watch than Lendl's BoringButPractical consistency.
** The fact that Johnny Mac was an American and Lendl wasn't helps too when deciding who the American public will cheer for.
** The passionate and fiery Jimmy Connors (performer) vs the "Ice-man" Bjorn Borg (technician).
* Steve Nash shows his passion every second of every basketball game. Steve is not a good rebounder or defender, but his passing game and scoring is beautiful to watch. Jason Kidd is more reserved, he is not a terrific scorer, but otherwise in his prime he was perfect in every way, not nearly as flashy as Nash but a deadly passer, defender and rebounder.
* Karl Malone (Technician, no flash at all) vs. Charles Barkley (Performer, polarizing on and off the court)
* Blake Griffin (performer) vs. Kevin Love (technician).
* The artistic Barry Sanders (performer) vs. the consistent Emmitt Smith (technician).
* Calvin Johnson (performer) vs. Larry Fitzgerald (technician).
* Joe Montana (SuperBowl-winning performer) vs. Dan Marino (record-setting technician).
** Peyton Manning (cerebral, record-setting technician) vs. Tom Brady (performer with a winner's mentality). Interestingly, Brady has become more of a technician in the last few years (and stopped winning Super Bowls).
*** Eli Manning also has this dynamic with his older brother Peyton.
** Brett Favre (performer) vs. Aaron Rodgers (technician). Favre had an extremely strong throwing arm and would take risks for big plays. At times, he led the league in passing yards, touchdown passes and interceptions ''all at the same time.'' Rodgers, Favre's successor in the Packers, has a masterful command of the playbook and the positions of his receivers, and is one of the most ''accurate'' passers in the league. Both have Super Bowl rings.
** 70's example: Terry Bradshaw (performer) vs Roger Staubach (technician).
* Shaquille O'Neal (performer) vs. Tim Duncan (technician). Despite having a much more fundamentally sound and complete game, Duncan was always considered boring while O'Neal always got the crowd cheering wildly.
** Duncan also has this with Kevin Garnett.
* In FormulaOne, Ayrton Senna (performer) vs Alain Prost (technician). From an earlier era, James Hunt (performer) vs Niki Lauda (technician).
* In TheWorldCup, historically the South American teams are the Performers and the European ones the Technicians, with Brazil and Germany being the best examples of each respectively.
* Partially true in modern roller derby; while it is very much a sport, and if you can't keep up technically you will be cut from the team, rollergirls are also strongly encouraged to play to the crowd.
* In the English [[EquestrianSports equestrian world]]: Showjumpers (performers) versus Hunter-Jumpers (technicians). The rivalry is - intense, as showjumpers yell that hunters are robotic and too focused on minutiae, while hunters wail that jumpers care more about leaping ridiculously high fences than they do about correct equitation. (From someone who has ridden both - both sides have a point.)
* In Alpine Ski Racing, Bode Miller, despite having cleaned up his 'rockstar' behaviour from a couple of years ago, still skis with a far less pretty and orthodox technique compared to other giants such as Didier Cuche. But *my god* the man is fast...
* Boxing: Roy Jones Jr. (performer) vs. Bernard Hopkins (technician)
** And currently, Manny Pacquiao (performer) vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (technician)
* Ice hockey: Alexander Ovechkin (performer) vs. Sidney Crosby (technician)
** Mario Lemieux (performer) vs. Wayne Gretzky (technician) in the 1990's.
* Football: Real Madrid (technician) vs. FC Barcelona (performer).
** Ironic, considering how Barcelona's performance value comes from their mastering the technical side. Barcelona's equivalents in the UK, Arsenal, are definitely considered the technicians (witness Arsene Wenger's nickname, "The Professor") to Manchester United's performers.
** Barcelona style of play (and it predecessor; the Dutch Total Football) on extreme technical skill on a personal level while the tactical flow of the team as a whole is more loose. What results is a team whose individual players are Technicians but the team as a whole is a Performer.
** One could roughly compare FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to Maverick and Iceman from Top Gun respectively: FC Barcelona plays a spectacular possession and attacking game, showing incredible talent and skills and always aiming to appeal the public, while Real Madrid plays a strategical counter attacking tactic that relies on a solid defense, then exploiting their opponents' flaws, what they do almost perfectly.
* 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, men's figure skating free skate: Ilia Kulik ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhPlfpz5fEQ technician]]) vs. Philippe Candeloro (performer-- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_CE2mONanE and how!]])
* 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, the controversy over men's singles figure skating gold medal. Charismatic performer Evgeni Plushenko skated higher risk program which is filled with small errors [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtY1CuAbLgs]], versus collected technician Evan Lysacek who skated clean on a lower risk program [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmJgGHIoawU]].
** This is true of figure skating in general. The best can find a balence between crowd-pleasing performance and technical precision, but many struggle and veer too far one way or the other. In the worst cases, it either becomes just an entertaining show and not a sport, or it's technically perfect but emotionless and boring to watch.
* Gymnastics too. They've gone through at least three different scoring systems in the last twenty years to try and address this dichotomy; the current system, with its increased emphasis on a predetermined difficulty value, strongly favours technicians.
* The Beijing vs London Olympic Games Opening Ceremonies have drawn this comparison, with Beijing painted as a spectacular but somehow soulless demonstration of state power (technician) and London as a less showy but more heartfelt show of the quirkiness of Britain (performer).
* Snooker: The 1985 world championship final between Steve Davis (technician) and Dennis Taylor (performer), the contrast highlighted by it also being a BackFromTheBrink win for the performer. Later on, the 90s rivalry between Stephen Hendry (technician) and Jimmy White (performer).
* This happened at 2013 Confederation Cup when Tahiti (Performer) competed against all other teams of its group, especially Spain (Technician). Sure, the Tahitians lost each matches, but it doesn't really bother them, since their goal is to enjoy the tournament, and as a bonus, they won the crowd too.
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* DungeonsAndDragons 3rd Edition Wizards (technicians) and Sorcerers (performers). Tends to be [[InvertedTrope inverted]] though, because wizards end up with much more versatility, more spells per day, and easier access to metamagic feats.
* ''MagicTheGathering'''s PlayerArchetypes have the "Timmy" type as the performer and the "Spike" type as the technician. Timmies play to use powerful cards, and Spikes play to win. The third archetype, Johnny, [[RedMage splits the difference]]; While Johnny plays to create new and interesting combos and card interactions, though not necessarily to win, ''some'' knowledge of the rules is required to ensure that those crazy ideas actually ''work''.
* Warhammer40000 armies tend to lend themselves to one side other the other during gameplay. Armies with fewer but individually more capable units, such as the Space Marines, Eldar, Dark Eldar, and Chaos are more Performers; their versatility allows for wildly different forces from the same race tto be equally as effective in the hands of a capable player. Armies with more but less unique units like the Imperial Guard, Orkz, Necrons, Tyrannids, and Tau generally win more often when they adhere to a strict set of tactics for each situation, and are more Technicians. Of course, the huge size of the setting allows for much internal variation, so it is possible to see one army or another slide towards one end or the other.
* In the world of hobby boardgaming, people often talk about a rough division between "Eurogames" and "Ameritrash." Eurogames tend to be on the Technician side of the equation, emphasizing play mechanics and balance over theme and production; notable games in this category include Caylus, Agricola, Le Havre, and many abstract strategy games. Ameritrash games, which tend to focus on presentation, theme, and character ahead of mechanical concerns, are usually Performers. Think of games like Dungeonquest, Talisman, Cosmic Encounter. The term Ameritrash originally arose to denigrate that style of gaming after the rise of the Eurogame; now it's often used as a general label and not a statement of quality, as many Ameritrash games are really well made and fun. And, of course, there's a great deal of cross-over between the two categories.
* A big theme in RichardWagner's ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg''. The established Meistersingers are all about proper technique, but the inexperienced singer hero wows them by being so darned passionate.
[[folder:Video Games]]
* StreetFighter: Ryu and Ken. To elaborate, Ryu is something of a BloodKnight-SpiritedCompetitor mixture whose main purpose in life is to perfect his fighting skill and have the perfect match. In that sense his fighting style is at its purest form and therefore does more damage without the focus on flash. Ken, on the other hand, is a showy combatant with a focus on fast kicks and punches and only cares about winning and putting on a good show. In this sense, Ken is more combo oriented and therefore, while not as damaging as Ryu's, his move do alot of damage if comboed into. This is best showcased in the UDON comic, where Ryu and Ken are both studying the Dragon Punch: Ken, with his natural abilities, gets the basic gist of the move, pulls it off perfectly and then throws some fire on it and calls it a day; Ryu on the other hand, continues to practice that one basic attack over and over with no variance in form or routine. In the end, Ryu ends up with a stronger, harder-hitting Dragon Punch while Ken winds up with a weaker but flashier one supported by other unique attacks and combos.
* ''SakuraWars'' plays it straight in the fifth act of So Long, My Love when the protagonist has to take Subaru's place on stage after losing a contest to them. Subaru is the ultimate technician, while Shinjiro is the ultimate performer. Subaru also has a similar moment when she first tries to play Jazz music at a club. While she is technically proficient, it takes her a while to understand the performance aspect of the genre.
* ''FatalFury''[==]'s Kim Kaphwan and ''KingOfFighters''[==]' Jhun Hoon. Kim is a very traditional Tae Kwon Do practitioner and his moves, while pretty flashy themselves, are fairly traditional and get the job done. Jhun Hoon, Kim's rival since childhood, is very much pure flash: he fights with [[ExtremityExtremist only his feet]] (Kim has two/three punches) and kicks out ki phoenix talons (someting Kim doesn't do). He also has a very flamboyant aura about himself and is obviously very showy with his moveset, while Kim shows off a little less in exchange for being more reliable.
* Used in a subplot in VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou. The Ramen Don's ordinary but very tasty and masterfully made Ramen is being ignored in favor of the mediocre, yet flashy and crowd pleasing Shadow Ramen, and Neku and Joshua work to reverse this by getting the celebrity supporter to try the "plain" Ramen and therefore support Ramen Don. Although in this case, Ramen Don is a guy who loves his Ramen, where as Shadow Ramen just views it in terms of cold hard cash, and this subplot is about integrity and doing whats right, not what looks good. It's also played straight with the characters of Shooter and Yammer. Yammer himself says he's more technical, but Shooter has more heart so he wins all the matches.
** Shooter and Yammer are parodies, they parody this trope along with other cliche'd {{Shonen}} SeriousBusiness tropes.
* VirtuaFighter (technician) vs any other fighting game (performer). VirtuaFighter is known for being DifficultButAwesome, while not being flashy like Tekken, StreetFighter or DeadOrAlive, games that aren't as revered in terms of competitive balance.
* StreetFighter vs VideoGame/{{Tekken}}. Street Fighter is the 'technician' role, a game largely focused on trying to balance characters, but its very difficult to get into 'casually' vs Tekken, the performer, a fighter game which is easy to play but has fewer special moves. Though considering that the 'Technician' here has spectacular special attacks and characters shoot fireballs, while the performer is focused largely on hand to hand combat, the lines can be blurred. There's going to be a [[IntercontinuityCrossover two-game crossover series]] according to the other wiki, with one game built on each engine.
** Tekken is more realistic in terms of the way the characters fight. Although fireballs are present, they haven't been that common in recent years. Many people believe Street Fighter's retro appeal is the only reason it remains so popular, as it has not made use of technology like Tekken has. They did try with the Ex series, but it didn't work that well.
* For a game as wacky, stylized, and generally amusing as ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the eight major damage-dealing classes can usually be assigned into Technician and Performer categories. Classes such as the Soldier, Heavy, Sniper, and Engineer are typically Technician-style classes. They are slower, fairly straightforward classes that are consistent and play in largely the same fashion, with less variation in tactics and equipment. The Sniper, in particular, is far and away the most technical class, requiring exceptional, consistent precision to do well, especially when repeated several times over to the enemy's heads. The Pyro, Scout, Demoman, and Spy are Performers. They are faster and fun to watch, and often have unusual options available to them that can radically change their gameplay. Examples include the Demoknight loadouts and the Spy's variety of invisibility watches and knives with special effects.
* Yuri and Flynn's fighting styles in ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' can be distinguished in this way, as discussed [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixyiu7Qizds here]]. In story, the explanation is given that they were trained in the same style but while Flynn perfected his skills, Yuri chose to add his own flair, causing them to diverge. Gameplay-wise, this maifests as Flynn using many of the classic ''TalesSeries'' sword artes with sharp, precise movements, while Yuri moves in a flashier, more fluid way and combines original artes with variations on the classics.
** This trope also applies to their cooking abilities: Flynn has skill, Yuri has talent. Though unlike in fighting, where their differing approaches are treated as equally valid, Yuri is very clearly the more competent one in the kitchen.
* WorldOfWarcraft has this distinction between the [[PlayerVersusEnvironment PvE]] (technician) and [[PlayerVersusPlayer PvP]] (performer) crowds. PvE players often spend their time memorizing spell/ability rotations and managing buffs/debuffs over a fight while working a specific role (Tanking boss damage, dealing damage, or healing other party members), while the much more chaotic PvP depends more on the players essentially improvising. One PvE boss encounter back from the ''Wrath'' days re-created PvP conditions as you faced a squad of enemies from the opposing faction in battle. It benefitted from using PvP gear and mechanics, which caused a lot of consternation in the PvE community.
* Discussed by Cynthia and Owain in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening''. Both of them long to be heroes for their friends and whoever needs their help, but their approaches are different: Owain is a Performer who loves pulling BigDamnHeroes when his allies are in the brink of defeat, while Cynthia is a Technician who wants to be there [[DeclarationofProtection for those in need of her protection.]]
** However, [[LargeHam Cynthia]] [[GenkiGirl herself]] has many Performer traits. This is showcased in her supports with Nah, a serious [[HalfHumanHybrids half-dragon girl]] and full-blooded Technician, whom Cynthia asks for help to [[IncomingHam make better hero-like entrances]]. HilarityEnsues.
** Also discussed by [[PlayerCharacter the Avatar]] and [[ArcherType Virion]], who are both pretty good at tactics. Virion is a Performer who creates schemes designed to win no matter what, even if it causes losses among the troops; the Avatar is a Technician who would never sacrifice a single unit if s/he could help it.
* In [[http://nobodyscores.loosenutstudio.com/index.php?id=511 this]] ''NobodyScores'' strip, the exchange between Sara (technician) and Beans (performer) before a swordfight could be substituted for the trope description. [[spoiler:Unlike most instances of this trope, the technician ''owns'' the performer -- only to be defeated by the [[TheFool sheer madness]] of her following opponent]].
--> '''Sara:''' I have mastered the science of the blade. [...] [It] is like a game of chess. You must think first, before you move.
--> '''Beans:''' I overwhelm your science with PASSION!
[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' this trope is why the warriors Ruby and Weiss find it difficult to fight as a team. [[GenkiGirl Ruby]] is wild and impulsive, [[LeeroyJenkins frequently running into battle]] with no concern for where her team is in relation to her; [[LackOfEmpathy Weiss]] is patient and analytical, unwilling to move until she's planned out her actions. (This also shows their contrasting personalities.) The show depicts both of their approaches as equal, though [[JerkassHasAPoint Weiss]] is certainly less sympathetic as a character.
* The WhateleyUniverse has an unusual case where the Technician is actually teaching the Performer- Sensei Ito, who is teaching ki mutant Chaka. Ito is an old man who spent many hard years of work to master his ki, and is an amazing fighter. Chaka was a student of martial arts who manifested as a ki mutant, and can now do things that Ito could only dream of. She often lends her power to flashy tricks, like throwing needles at a board so they land in the shape of a C, and gets rebuked by Ito for wasting her power on tricks that are essentially pointless. It doesn't help that their personalities are complete opposites- Ito is calm, quiet, reserved and thoughtful, while Chaka is bouncy, vibrant, incredibly energetic and doesn't take many things seriously.
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In ''Hero 108'', episode "Camel Castle", [[spoiler:Lin Chung's drawing of Ape Trully turns out to impress the Camels by being considered unique]].
* Rainbow Dash (performer) vs. Applejack (technician) in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic''. Dash loves to show off and create flashy moves, while Applejack simply relies on hard work and grit. Each one has her fans, both in real life and among the show's characters, and the writers seem careful not to favor one over the other. Similar parallels can be drawn between Pinkie Pie, who bakes for the hell of it, Fluttershy, who works with animals because that's what she's good at, and Rarity, who designs clothes out of aesthetics, and is annoyed when she has to make inferior dresses for her friends because they are what they want to wear.
** The most explicit Technician vs Performer argument in the series though would be [[MilesGloriosus The Great and Powerful Trixie]] (performer) vs [[BadassBookworm Twilight Sparkle]] (technician). Twilight has the natural talent and ability of the Performer, but with a slant of constantly learning new spells and being trained by [[PhysicalGod Celestia]]. Trixie has a natural affinity to magic as well, and is about as Performer as they come when it comes to desire and charisma, but while she has a more limited bag of tricks than Twilight, she seems to have them more adapt and flexible with her spell craft, getting through her complex spells about as fast as Twilight can go through a TK cantrip. While Twilight is a main character, and Trixie is a {{Jerkass}} FakeUltimateHero in her one episode, the two have an interesting dynamic in fanon when all other things are equal. Their dynamics are ''inverted'' in the episode ''Magic Duel'', where Trixie gets a powerful artifact and Twilight is forced to play the role of Performer to outwit her.
* {{Chowder}} has the Baker vs Cook duality seen in the real life section; Endive is the Baker/Technician and Mung Daal is the Cook/Performer. Many episodes, however, show that they're both equally competent, just different in their style and temperaments.
* Robins I & III in ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'', with Dick as the Performer and Tim as the Technician. They're both very efficient, methodical crimefighters; the difference is that Dick enjoys the action and is a naturally charismatic leader, despite his distaste for the job, while Tim is quieter, more serious, and while modest, is a by-the-book leader who doesn't mind the responsibility. Tim doesn't really inject much of his personality into crimefighting, while Dick unequivocally states in the tie-in comics, "I love my job."
[[folder:Real Life]]
* Columnist John Derbyshire once said that the [[TabletopGame/{{Chess}} Deep Blue vs Kasparov ]] match was really between a "toolmaker"(technician) represented by the programer, and a "virtuoso"(performer) represented by Gary Kasparov.
** Except that analogy is almost entirely backwards. Anyone who knows anything about chess will tell you that becoming grandmaster level requires not only raw analytical talent, but also obscene amounts of training and memorizing tens of thousands of maneuvers and responses by heart. The computer, meanwhile, needs only to know only the rules, and basically improvises in response to the human player. If anything, Deep Blue was the Performer, and Kasparov the Technician.
*** Only if you choose to disregard the opening and endgame databases usually used in computer chess (Deep Blue had those too) - which is one factor contributing to the fact that chess programmes are often weakest in the middle game. In fact, a chess program changes from technician to performer and back to technician: Technician when opening, using opening books, then performer in the middle game, using rules and computing variations, and when a small enough amount of pieces are left on the board, the chess program becomes a perfect technician, exercising perfect play using the endgame tablebase.
*** Historically, before the advent of the tablebase, computers were routinely terrible at endgames because they had to try and compute the permutations while humans memorised them (standard strategy against computers was to exchange everything off the board in the midgame and reach endgame as soon as possible), meaning that computers were definitely the performers at that point.
* Also on the subject of TabletopGame/{{Chess}}, two World Champions: Mikhail Tal (performer) and Tigran Petrosian (technician). Tal was known for wildly speculative sacrifices leading to incredibly active and complex positions; even if later analysis showed the sacrifices to be flawed, it was difficult for even the best opponents to refute them over the board. "Chess, first of all, is art," said Tal. Meanwhile Petrosian was known for setting up rock-solid defenses and waiting for the opponent to make the slightest of mistakes, and then systematically demolishing them. Responding to criticism of his style, Petrosian said "They say my games should be more 'interesting'. I could be more 'interesting'and also lose." (In case you were wondering, Petrosian has the slight edge in his lifetime record against Tal, 22½19½.)
* Victor Davis Hanson described the Battle of Waterloo this way saying that Wellington was more like a technician and Napoleon was like a performer. As he was rooting for Wellington it was kind of an inversion.
** The subversion here is that Napoleon simply did not act as his usual Performer self and instead 'phoned in' most of the battle by letting his subordinates run most of it. Not only was his technique weak but his performance was lackluster.
* US Navy (Technician) vs Imperial Japanese Navy (Performer) in WorldWarII. Subverted in that the technicians won, largely because of better strategic intelligence and battle-action, even during the early years of the war when they were often outnumbered. Meanwhile, the Japanese's most audacious attacks, such as the attack on Pearl Harbor (which inflicted little lasting harm, while provoking an overwhelming response from the US) or the use of ''Kamikaze'' suicide missions (which sacrificed planes and experienced pilots at exactly the moment they were both in shortest supply), backfired.
* The El Alamein campaigns stands out: Rommel (performer) versus Montgomery (technician). Rommel was a tactical genius with a penchant for risky but brilliant maneuver warfare, conducted on a shoestring logistical line; Montgomery was excellent at organization and attention to detail, arranging for every shell to reach its destination. In a inversion, Montgomery won. Second El Alamein was not known for British maneuver genius but for meticulously-planned attacks that smashed through Rommel's depleted lines; Rommel had no fuel to maneuver with thanks to British air attacks, while Montgomery had even forecasted the length of the battle successfully. Basically, Rommel was more of a tactician and Montgomery more of a strategist.
* The entire chain of political events which ended in WorldWarTwo could be understood as the battle between the logic of a Technician and that of a Performer, while the former was the Soviet Union and the latter the community of Fascist states. If anything, the Communists were absolute maniacs of [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower discipline and gain by struggle]]: they won the Russian Civil War by the skin of their teeth, developed the heavy industry and military forces of the USSR by iron hand, oppression, death and poverty, won WorldWarTwo [[ZergRush by the force of numbers]], immitated to the point that Soviet cars, trucks, buildings or fridges were [[{{Munchkin}} carbon copies of American designs]], only because [[WellIntentionedExtremist they were so determined to gain visible results]] that took the easier way by copying what worked, regardless of having understood the culture behind it or not. On the other side, the entire Fascist culture, from Benito Mussolini in [[RoaringTwenties the 1920s]] to the end, revolved around [[RuleOfCool coolness]], elaborate design, color, music, innovation, staging, up to the point of being a gigantic theatrical performance instead of true Machiavellian politics. They played straight the trope, as modern people are far more impressed by cool tanks, uniforms and heroic deeds of the losers instead of the anonymous labor and toil of the winners.
* The [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth central ethos of punk rock]] is that of the performer, bringing it to swift popularity in a musical landscape dominated by the prog rock technicians who dominated contemporary rock music.
* Director-writer Franco Dragone, who handled most of Creator/CirqueDuSoleil's shows through 1998, arranged for extensive creative workshops with the gymnasts, acrobats, dancers, etc. hired for each show from ''Theatre/NouvelleExperience'' onward. He was confident in their technical skills, so in the workshops he focused on getting them in touch with their creative sides. From these, the quirky characters of the shows emerged -- performers who were nonetheless highly skilled. The first post-Dragone show, ''Theatre/{{Dralion}}'', would have used similar methods but they ran up against ValuesDissonance due to a predominantly Chinese cast that was not comfortable with Dragone's style; the creative team instead focused on getting the best work possible out of these technicians, which is why the show isn't as character/theme-focused.
* Karaoke singers tend to fall into one of these two extremes, and audiences tend to respond equally well to both the guy singing off-key and flubbing the lines while jumping wildly around the stage and the guy nailing the song flawlessly.
* Many people who audition for ''X Factor'' or ''Idol'' are either overconfident people with no singing ability, or people with good singing ability who are too nervous to sing well in front of people. People who pass their auditions are usually humble people with good singing ability who can take criticism. They are usually attractive as well, but this isn't always the case.
* At some culinary schools, this is described as Baker Versus Cook - the former are generally considered to be much more precise in their directions and timing, while the latter improvise a considerable amount more (in part due to the comparative uniformity of baking ingredients versus the different shapes and quality cooking ingredients, although neither side is without the other's concerns). The differing skillsets are why many larger upscale kitchens will have a dessert chef completely distinct from the executive chef handling appetizers and entrees.
* Many technicians work hard to get a performalist appearance. Dancers are a good example, but holds for musicians as well.
* The rivalry between skaters Robin Cousins and Jan Hoffman boiled down to could Hoffman win by more on the technical figure tracing than Cousins could on the free program.
* In Spain, at TheCavalierYears, Miguel de Cervantes was a technician, [[HardWorkHardlyWorks mediocre playwright and poet ]][[WideEyedIdealist that wanted to establish rules in playwriting so every author in Spain could publish without fear to be arrested and set a standard for quality in entertainment]]. Felix Lope de Vega, the performer, was a [[TheAce accomplished natural poet and incredible successful playwright]] who was convinced ViewersAreMorons and that the must create art with LowestCommonDenominator because[[MoneyDearBoy is that what the public wants]]. (He stated it in verse, its awesome). [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter Cervantes had serious disagreements with Lope de Vega that at the time seemed pure envy]]. Cervantes died in poverty and oblivion, while Lope de Vega was always popular and loved. Now Lope de Vega is recognized as one of Spains TheCavalierYears genius, while Cervantes has been VindicatedByHistory by an interesting experiment he did: the first modern novel, ''Literature/DonQuixote''.
* Beauty: Technician Dayanara Torres (may have won the beauty pageant) vs. Performer Jennifer Lopez (actually hailed as the world's most beautiful woman over and over again).
* Modeling: Technician Gisele Bundchen vs. Performer Heidi Klum.
* Whenever they work together, Creator/GeorgeLucas (technician) and Creator/StevenSpielberg (performer).
* Automated Production (Technician) vs. Hand Craft (Performer). A robotic production line can make incredibly precise items rapidly and generally wins, however hand crafting has a "personal" and "unique" feel about it that lets someone think less about paying higher amounts for a (generally) lower quality item if it's man made.
* Technician AlPacino compared to performer MarlonBrando. Al Pacino said that he would work his ass off in acting... only to come short of what Brando could do in his sleep. Brando was also famous for refusing to memorize lines and often had cue cards on set or just improvised.
* The film awards for 2013 see two front runners emerge: the moving story of 12 Years A Slave, featuring excellent performances, heavily favoured by the actors and writers, and the technical masterpiece Gravity, boasting the best visual effects and use of 3D seen to date. Important to note that 12 Years features a large star-studded cast, whereas Gravity merely has 3 actors and 3 voices, with the majority of the work being done by the crew. Gravity won 7 awards (best director, best cinematography, film editing, sound editing, visual effects, best original score and sound mixing), but 12 years a slave took home best supporting actress, adapted screenplay and the grand prize, Best Picture.
** 2010 had a similar race between ''{{Inception}}'' and ''TheKingsSpeech''. The former won the academy awards for sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects and cinematography. The latter won best male leading actor, best director and best picture.
* Chris Bliss tends to be belittled in the juggling world for only ever using three balls instead of a more technically demanding higher amount. As a result, the same people find his immense popularity puzzling. However, Bliss' performances are flexible and lively with how he keeps shifting his juggling patterns, while people juggling with more objects tend to repeat the same precise mechanical pattern.
* In the Asian competitive yo-yoing circuit, the team from Thailand is consistently the technicians while the team from Japan is most often the performers. The prevailing Thai strategy is to incorporate and mimic as flawlessly as possible past winning performances, whereas Japanese yo-yoers, inspired by the improvisational performers that made them an international force, are more inclined to make routines on the fly and create new tricks. The Thai usually get near perfect marks in technical skill whereas the Japanese usually do the same in creativity. (That being said, creativity is given more weight than technical skill, so between the two countries, only Japan has ever represented in world tournaments.)
* More downplayed than the other examples, but Western martial arts (boxing, German fencing, wrestling) leans towards Technician, while Eastern martial arts (karate, kung-fu, taekwondo), leans towards to Performer.
* Gamers especially when it comes to Fighting games and [=RPGs=] (see above) tend to fall into two camps: [[StopHavingFunGuys those that study every move and trick of the game down to a science like the SAT/their lives depend on it]] and [[ConfusionFu those that button-mash and generally just go for whatever]] and/or [[ItAmusedMe for the fun of it.]] ''Both'' have just as much a chance at winning and ''nothing'' quite pisses one off if the other wins using such a style.


text:
May 3, 2012 at 9:07 am
Mark McKinnon, a former Bush advisor, doesn't get it. "GOP Attacks on Obama's bin Laden Ad Misguided," declares his piece in the Daily Beast. Of course, the President has a right to crow over getting bin Laden. But sorry, Mark—there is a difference between highlighting a decision to burnish the … More

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Grundarfjörður, Iceland
Through The Eye Of The Lens group on October 28, 2012
Freedom To Shine group on October 28, 2012
Art Universe group on November 1, 2012
Down On The Farm group on November 4, 2012
Exquisition group on November 4, 2012
Artists Universe group on November 12, 2012
"Excellent Equines" challenge in Amazing Wildlife group on December 22, 2012
"About A Horse" challenge in The Best Of Anything And Everything group on July 11, 2013
"Equine Beauty" challenge in Addicted Photographer group on August 19, 2013
Canon EOS 7D
Canon EOS 70-300 @ 300mm
Shot on July 27, 2012
f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/80 sec
horse, iceland, icelandic, grace, lone, pose, valley, country, rural, animal, livestock, fauna, wild, free, nature, kremsdorf, evelina kremsdorf
All images are the property of Evelina Kremsdorf and may not be used wholly or in part without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, including copying, duplicating, printing, publishing (even on a web site), reproducing, storing, or transmitting by any means what so ever.
© Evelina Kremsdorf 2009-2014
Very nice work.
Thank you Albert!
– Evelina Kremsdorf
Thank you :)
– Evelina Kremsdorf
Fantastic work
stunning horse. love the colouring of the photograph it really makes the photo more stunning
October 28th, 2012
Wonderful Work Evelina!
Beautifully done !
stunning . would love to see this in my group .. Everything Equine
Love this shot! Looks great in b/w!


text:
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You can host the Beautiful Women Project in your community for 6 weeks or 6 months or at your conference for just a few days.
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