January 25, 2007

Virtual Dance Studio

Canada's National Arts Center produces the ArtsAlive.ca performing arts-focused educational website. On this site you'll find a Virtual Dance Studio that lets users choreographer a series of dance moves for either ballet or modern.

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As you'll see as you experiment with this Flash-based application, you can drag beginning, middle and ending animated moves to a timeline at the bottom of the screen, and add a music track as well. Then you can play your choreographic creation. This application was built with DanceForms software from Credo Interactive. (To see other examples of DanceForms animations, visit the Credo Interactive gallery.)

I thought it was fun to experiment with the Virtual Dance Studio. But it does have its limits. You can't save your creations for future use or to share with friends, and I wish the individual animations were larger.

What I would like to see is a version of Virtual Dance Studio that was specifically for beginning ballet students. Movements for arms and legs could be broken down in separate animations, and basic sequences and excises that are usually done in introductory classes could be created.

But I could probably find this guidance in a good ballet DVD - if you have recommendations, please let me know.

[Via Critical Dance and Talent Speaks]

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