Saturday Matinee

There have been several events recently that have popped up in regards to dance on the internet. It’s amazing how dance companies have really started to recognize that there is an audience on the internet, and are acting accordingly. Dance on the internet increases visibility and accessibility – probably one of the biggest reasons why dance isn’t as popular as, let’s say, Justin Timberlake, is that information isn’t so readily accessible, especially for an art steeped in tradition. The internet can be used to view dance (such as Youtube), as well as to read about it, research it, and to discuss it (in areas such as blogs).

I was recently invited to attend movmnt magazine‘s blogger discussion to discuss dance issues and blogging, and how blogging can be used to promote dance to an increasing online public. Thanks to David (and Tonya) for the invite, I really wish I could have made it, only if I wasn’t several thousand miles away. It’s always a fascinating topic, and I’m learning a lot just by reading about the discussion you guys had. The most surprising thing that I learned was at the Cedar Lake’s blogger night, where they invited bloggers from the dance world to attend a dress rehearsal and join in an informal chat with the director, that the entire run sold out after all the bloggers blogged about it. That is awesome – it gives credit to how powerful online blogging can be, and how it can really be used to promote dance and actually sell tickets. It continues to amaze me that there is a demand for dance blogs – readers actually read our blogs, and buy tickets accordingly. How cool is that?!?

A little about movmnt magazine – it’s a magazine founded by journalist David Benaym and dancer Danny Tidwell (of “So You Think You Can Dance” fame, he’s the only reason why I started watching the show, and he totally should have won) “created for the fashion-forward, arts-oriented, and socially conscious web 2.0 generation” (as quoted from their website).

Another cool discovery of dance on the internet – Kristin Sloan, who is NYCB’s Director of New Media as well as the creator of The Winger, has launched a Youtube channel of NY City Ballet. It’s so amazing to be able to click on and watch clips of a company that I would never otherwise see, due to distance (and my unabashed preference for ABT, although perhaps it may be because I’ve never seen NYCB aside from Macaulay Culkin‘s brief foray into ballet), and to see what great dance is like in addition to San Francisco Ballet. It would be really cool if the vids spotlighted a dancer, to show what they’re known for, and for what style, and to highlight their dancing in a diverse array of roles. When people talk about “Yvonne Bouree’s style”, I never know what people are talking about (never mind the fact that it’s actually really weird that I even have conversations like that.) And backstage peeks are always fun too! This is a great way to make a company more visible and accessible online, to pique people’s curiosity, and to show off the best. And ballet dancers would make much better Youtube stars than the other talentless stuff that’s all over Youtube!! The Youtube channel is here.

Let me predict that it’ll be a short time before other ballet companies follow suit? That would be so much fun.