January 25, 2008What Is It About Argentine Tango and Bellydance Bloggers?Why is it that Argentine Tango and Bellydance bloggers are the most active, numerous and passionate dance bloggers? Why do they write more about their actual dancing, what it feels like to be dancing and generously offer guidance and support to newcomers to their dance forms? Is it the people that are attracted to Bellydancing and Tango or is it something about the dance forms themselves and the culture that surrounds these dance forms? Or, a combination of these different elements? There have to be answers to these questions. I'm just not sure what they are. Here are some Argentine Tango blogs I've been following - I started taking Tango classes this month and there's a wealth of helpful information and insight on these blogs: - Tangologue And yesterday, Lorna of BellyLorna posted a comprehensive listing of bellydance-focused blogs. There are obviously bloggers who are passionate about many different dance forms. But as a collective, Bellydancers and Argentine Tango bloggers do stand out. How do you explain this social/cultural phenomenon? I would like to know. Posted by Doug Fox at 8:40 AM - Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) January 14, 2008Subscribe to 150+ Dance BlogsI use Google Reader to track dance, art, technology and not-for-profit blogs. In this post I'm including two files that you can download and then upload to blog reader software applications such as Google Reader. This way you can easily and quickly follow the latest from dance and other blogs without wasting time jumping from one website to the next. The files are in OPML format and can be uploaded to your favorite feed reader software program without modification. It's a bit stunning how many dance blogs there are. When I started blogging in 2005, there were maybe a handful of dance blogs. Dance Feeds The first OPML file is for dance feeds. In this file there are over 150 dance feeds. About 20-30 of them have not been updated since before last November. But I track them anyway because sometimes people start posting again. In this file, I've also included feeds to the dance-focused social networking sites. Here's the file that you can view and download. All My Feeds The second OPML file includes all 200+ feeds that I read on a regular basis. This file includes all the dance feeds from above. Here's the file that you can view and download. If you have questions about which feed readers to use or how to upload these files, please post comments. Did I leave out dance feeds? Please email me. In the near future, I'll also create a list of all dance blogs so that you can link to them directly. Posted by Doug Fox at 8:27 AM - Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) January 10, 2008Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet Reaches Out to Dance BloggersLast night I attended a dress rehearsal for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet to which local dance bloggers were invited. The event was a lot of fun and it was a real pleasure watching the company's talented dancers perform works from three very different choreographers. Philip at Oberon's Grove is first out of the box with a write-up of this event and the performances. And Tonya just wrote this event wrap-up about famous-people sightings as I'm about to push the publish button. It was great to see and meet fellow dance bloggers - there were about 10-12 of us - more on this topic coming soon along with a list of bloggers and a group photo. I really appreciate Cedar Lake reaching out to dance bloggers. This type of event is the first of its kind and my guess is that more dance companies and presenters will more actively include bloggers in their future publicity efforts. After the performance, we talked with Artistic Director Benoit-Swan Pouffer. He has a very positive attitude about the value of the unfiltered, personal writing style of bloggers, and expressed his appreciation for the diverse ways that bloggers go about covering dance. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet Caleb Custer last night - he was sick so he didn't attend. He's an intern with Cedar Lake and he helped put together this dance blogger event. Caleb definitely shares my interest in exploring how dance companies can leverage the Internet, blogs and videos to connect with audiences in new ways. So I hope to meet with him soon to discuss dance, the Internet and related topics. Does This Event for Dance Bloggers Have Real Significance? On one level, you could say this event is not a big deal. Cedar Lake was just smart to invite bloggers to a dress rehearsal, treat them to wine and cheese and host a post-performance talk with the artistic director. And in return get some good, quick coverage in the dance blogs - it's already happened. All true. But, how come nobody else has done this before? My answer is that many marketing people in the arts have a fairly traditional way of thinking about publicity, audience development, audience engagement and fundraising. There's still a huge emphasis placed on getting coverage and great quotes in the prestigious and mainstream media outlets such as the New York Times. These quotes are then taken and inserted into advertising/marketing campaigns and funding proposals. I'm not actually discounting the importance of these favorable quotes to the financial health of dance companies. What I do believe, though, is that the emerging blogging outlets for dance ought not be ignored and offer many possible benefits to dance companies. Bloggers are part of the community-oriented, participatory spirit of the Internet. And I think we will see many more dancers and dance companies exploring how to use blogs, social networking sites and related offerings to engage audiences in extended conversations about their work. We turn around stories quickly, which means that you'll get coverage before the last curtain goes down. We include multimedia so that our readers can see videos of your work and make-up their own minds. Collectively, dance bloggers, especially in New York City, get a good amount of traffic. Dance blog readers tend to be avid dance fans and are probably more interested in dance than the average reader of dance reviews in traditional newspapers. Finally, dance blog posts can easily show-up toward the top of search engine results. Do a Google search for "Cedar Lake Ballet" and see what happens. A link to a story I wrote about Cedar Lake is right under the links to the Cedar Lake website. The same thing happens if you do a search for this week's "APAP conference" or "Arts Presenters Conference." Great Dance is very high in the search results listings. What do these Google search results mean? They mean that if publicity people considered how Internet users searched for information about their organizations and performances, then they would reach the conclusion that dance bloggers are important. And, in addition, that it's worth the time and energy to support bloggers in their efforts so that they will hopefully offer positive coverage of your programs. This post probably sounds like I'm going overboard patting myself and other bloggers on the back, which is somewhat true. But I do believe that there is a large discrepancy between the way in which marketing and publicity people in the arts see the world, and the way the world actually is. Posted by Doug Fox at 12:34 PM - Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBacks (0) January 2, 2008Dance Blogging in 2008 - Blogging Application Round-UpI think that 2008 ought to be the year for dancers to blog. By "blog" I really mean that dancers might want to consider sharing their first person stories and perspectives with their online audiences. I don't mean that every dancer ought to create their own comprehensive dedicated blog and devote large numbers of hours every week to writing about what they're up to - although they can. I'm just encouraging dancers to speak directly to their audiences on an on-going basis in a more or less conversational style. And providing these blog updates on their websites and social networking pages. And promoting them through email and other communication channels. There are a number of blogging software programs to choose from. So in this post, I offer a round-up of the most popular blogging applications. Some of these programs are meant for short, quick posts, and others are intended for more formal blogging. Blogging Tools and Applications I'll start with the short-form blogging tools and follow with the more feature-rich applications. - Twitter is a very streamlined application that is intended for people who want to share what they're up to in just a couple sentences or so. Two examples of Twitter blogs for dancers are from Terrence Taps and Article19. Twitter feeds, as with all blog feeds, can be embedded in your website, social networking pages and blogs. - Another short-form blogging tool (but not intended for supper-short posts like Twitter) is Tumblr. Two Tumblr dance blogs include Danciti and Quodlibet. - You can also use social network sites such as MySpace, which includes blogging functionality. Here's the MySpace blog for Troika Ranch. - There are a number of popular choices for hosted blogging platforms. You can take a look at Blogger, TypePad and WordPress. Boris Willis Moves, Clare Byrne's Weekly Rites and Moving Space and Time use Blogger. Bellydance: Experiences uses TypePad. And A Time to Dance uses WordPress. - Blogging software can also be integrated into the overall look and feel of your website. Dance Theater Workshop's new blog uses WordPress and, as you'll see, the blog is a seamless part of the redesigned DTW website. And Swan Lake Samba Girl , which also uses WordPress, is integrated into the overall design of Tonya Plank's website. - You can also use blogging software to host multiple bloggers and blogs. The Winger uses WordPress. And Great Dance uses MovableType. Personally, I'm a fan of MovableType for hosting multiple blogs. But WordPress does have a lot of fans. So that's a quick round-up of blogging applications. The tools toward the top of the list are pretty much do-it-yourself programs. As you move down, you'll either need more technical experience or want to hire a consultant for the design and implementation. Posted by Doug Fox at 9:00 AM - Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0) December 14, 2007Scanning the Dance BlogosphereI feel like I've been losing touch with posts to a lot of dance blogs as I've been focusing on Great Dance blogs and dance in New York City. So I went on a reconnaissance mission this morning: - Joe Grohens of The Topic is Tango links to MSNBC video story, "For blind teens, tango is a way to connect." - Boris Willis hits the 25-hour mark for his Dance-A-Day video series. - Maria at A Time To Dance points to news story about yet another dance site focused on social networking. This one is from MC Hammer and it's called DanceJam - in beta. - The Evil Imp blog offers skeptical take on the rise of social networking sites as they relate to dance. I think that their criticisms have some merit, but there is also a very important upside that I will write about in upcoming post. - Nutcracker rehearsal videos from the Joffrey ballet on their j-Pointe blog. Video 1 and Video 2 - Jolene of Saturday Matinee on her ideal Nutcracker. - The latest video from Clare Byrne's Weekly Rites. - Judith Mackrell on The Rolex model for sponsoring artists. - Matt Gough writes about "«vicki» - virtual improvisational choreographer / kinetic instructor (also known as «choreobot»)" Read about VICKI here. Matt points to other software for choreography here. - The creator of VICKI, Julie Cruse, is joining Tony Schultz's class at Sarah Lawrence College. - Wendy Perron writes about Dancers Responding to AIDS (DRA) benefit event this past Monday. - Amanda Abrams kicks-off extended conversation in response to Daniel Burkholder's post "I'm an elitist, and so are you." - Chopper offers a history lesson in popping. - Carl recommends swing dance history books. - More Washington, DC dancers share their dance-related stories on Bourgeononline. - Shallom of Moving Space and Time posts video of dance she choreographed and performed in called "Dancing Waters." - Matt of Ranting Details on musical theater and learning how to really perform. - Two recent posts from The Winger that I like: "The Origin of an Idea" by Kristin Osler of Staatstheater Kassel Tanztheater and "Wings Rehearsal" by David Blumenfeld of Atlanta Ballet. - I missed this panel last night that Culturebot wrote about that investigated "the performing arts and the geography of New York City." I would have liked to have heard Aviva Davidson, the artistic Director of Dancing in the Streets. - This is not blog post. Here is story by Sarah Frater from Wall Street Journal about proliferation of dance styles around the world: "Great Leap Forward: Innovators Expand The World of Dance." - Network Performance writes about dance performance that takes place today in Second Life. Here are performance/RSVP details. If you attend please write about it/screen capture it - or something along those lines. I'll try to make it. - New dance therapist blogger Donna Newman-Bluestein links to this video of a dancing medium sulphur crested Eleanora cockatoo -- impressive! Posted by Doug Fox at 9:01 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) December 3, 2007New Social Networking Sites for Different Dance CommunitiesA number of new private-label social networking sites have launched recently for dancers with diverse interests. - Kristin Sloan, creator of The Winger, launched The Inter Mission, which caters primarily to the ballet community.
- Marlon Barrios Solano created dance-tech.net for artists and practitioners in the dance/technology/new media field.
- Dancing With the Stars pro dancers Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Tony Dovolani, and Elena Grinenko created the Ballroom Dance Channel social networking site. [via Tonya Plank at Swan Lake Samba Girl]
- And Danciti linked to the not-ready-for-the-public Dancer Universe site from Dancer Publishing Co., Inc.
The first three social networking sites above use the Ning private-label social networking application. Anybody can use Ning to create similar social networking sites. The difference between Ning and MySpace, Facebook and the rest is that with Ning you create a self-contained community site over which you have complete control. I have not spent enough time on these social networking sites to have an opinion about which ones are good and worthwhile. I'll try to get back to this topic in the near future. If you have thoughts, please share. Posted by Doug Fox at 12:30 PM - Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) November 9, 2007Share Your Comments - Conversations From Around Dance Blogosphere- In comment to "Dancing to Combat Global Warming" in my Dancing into the Future blog, Harriet, a performance studies student at Worthing College in West Sussex, England, wants to learn about dance companies exploring global warming and environmental issues. - In his post "Challenges in Making Site Work" in Third Rail Projects blog, Tom Pearson asks: "To other artists who have created site work for spaces that they have had only limited access to: what were the greatest challenges for you and what methods were successful in preparing for the unknown?" - Taylor Gordon on The Winger wants your thoughts and feedback. "For my [thesis] I would like to explore the changes that the internet and new media are bringing to arts journalism, specifically dance criticism." - In "Tools of the Trade: Rethinking Social Networks" in Misnomer Dance Theater blog, Jaki Levy asks, "How are you using MySpace and Facebook? What other online social networks have yielded good results for you? Why do you have MySpace pages? I'd love to hear your feedback and thoughts!" You can address similar topic in Dance Goes Digital blog. - Many one-word summaries in the comments section in response to Dance Theater Workshop post that features behind-the-scenes video footage of David Neumann/advanced beginner group at CultureFest. How would you describe this important documentary footage? (Also watch video of David Neumann at Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) at Florida State University - via Danciti.) - In comment to "Five Strategies for Engaging New Dance Audiences," John Cavenaugh believes that overcoming people's fears is critical and that "Dancing with the Stars is definitely putting dance back on the map for the American mainstream." What do you think? - In multi-blog conversation, posts address topics about the challenges faced by modern dance and how experimental artists treat their audiences - Lisa Traiger, Amanda Abrams, Daniel Burkholder and Anna Brady Nuse. What's your take? - In My Kingdom for Your Story, Peter DiMuro invites readers to share their traditional and non-traditional family stories in text, photo and video formats for upcoming performances of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange's Funny Uncles. - In "Creating Dance Works Specifically for the Internet" in Dance Goes Digital readers share examples of dance videos and Second Life dance performances. Have you created dance performances for the online world? What have you done? - Wheelchair dancing is a nightmare when the stage slopes - read "It's Official: Panic" from Wheelchair Dancer. - How should dance-tech list evolve? Matt Gough on "Community." My post from earlier this week. New dance-tech social networking group on Ning. Also visit The(Inter)Mission from The Winger, a general dance social networking site created by Kristin Sloan. - How would you choreographer a Parkour video? Watch video from Vancouver Film School student Eric Morrison on Da...nce. - Don Baarns of The Unlikely Salsero on my on-going struggles to master Salsa music. After more reflection, my challenges are not just with the rhythms of Salsa but are actually with many different types of rhythms. How do you help students/dancers connect with music? - Shallom of Moving Space and Time blog shares dance translation exercise that consists of passing-on choreography from one dancer to the next. "Thoughts? If you want to use this idea, please feel free. If you do, I'd love to see the results or hear some comments about the process. Posted by Doug Fox at 10:02 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) November 1, 2007Uncovered and New Dance BlogsHere's a round-up of new dance blogs as well as blogs I've recently come across or omitted before. I find increasing diversity of voices and perspectives very enjoyable to follow: - Critical Correspondence blog - From Movement Research: In their most recent post, you'll find video clips from October 15th performances at Judson Memorial Church. Including this one A Genda, choreography by Barbara Mahler and performed by Mahler and Jeremy Laverdure: - Dynamic Stillness: Reflections on Dance: Choreographer Aynsley Vandenbroucke writes about Map Me by Charlotte Vanden Eynde and Kurt Vandendriessche in her post, "Is it Dance?" (Roslyn Sulcas review in New York Times): The movement in Map Me did not come out of a ballet class or a modern dance class. It came out of life. It was sparse and imaginative and wacky and poignant. I cannot strongly enough state how much I believe in this approach to performance making...Any human body that is alive is, however subtly or radically, moving. It follows, then, that a live human body moves even in "stillness." The movement within stillness includes breath and the many subtle ways we communicate deep parts of ourselves. 
- Dance Theater Workshop Blog: And on the topic of DTW, they've recently launched a new blog. Here they capture footage of their large orange banner being carried through streets of Manhattan to reach new dance audiences - plus, you can watch one of their flash performances: - Seeking System: Writer Anna McDonald shares her experience at ABT premiere: I carried my copy of Alastair Macauley's ABT recap with me to City Center on Saturday night with the intention of looking it over in my seat before the show began, figuring out which parts of it I had to try and agree or disagree with, but it was too electric in the lobby and in the grandstands to get in any good alone time with the Arts section. For $27, I was seated in the left rear mezzanine, a chilly region so far north of the stage that the dancers are rendered before you as tinily as they look on the cover of your program. Saturday night was my first premiere, and with it came its donors in all of their uptown splendor: bejeweled and upper-easty and cocktail-dressed (and fighting gravity). It didn't feel like old New York (whatever that is), but it did feel energetic and tipsy, and somehow that audience pulse transferred straight through to the dancing (or maybe all along it was the dancers projecting their energy into us). - En Pointe with Houston Ballet: Principal ballerina Sara Webb wrote post in October "A Nine Month Pas De Deux": There was a time, not too long ago, when pregnancy meant retirement. It was unheard of for a dancer to have a child and return to the stage. Fortunately, times have changed, and so have our options. Today, many ballerinas take time off to have children, find their "grace" once again, and return to those bright lights and pink tutus. Stanton Welch, born to a ballerina mom, encourages dancers to have children when they are ready. Houston Ballet has had many ballerina moms over the last decade. Some have come back and some have retired, but it's great to know we now have the choice. 
- State Street Ballet: Ponders the benefits of ballet blogs and discusses what it takes to create a successful blog: Of course, just like perfect ballet technique (or feet), this technology is but a tool which can be used well or badly. An interested, knowledgeable, enthusiastic human still has to fill the blog with interesting and relevant information, and they have to do it regularly. Think about the websites you visit often: how many haven't posted any new information in a while? I couldn't have said it better. - Carl's Dance Blog: "A critical blog on vernacular jazz dance, lindy hop and tap.": Carl Nelson covers the world of swing dancing with lots of videos. Here's fun clip from the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2007: - Boredom: Chase Granoff covers the intersection of art forms. In "Turn on, tune in, ....." Granoff writes about Performa07, the second biennial of new visual art performances taking place through November 20th. Although PERFORMA features dance performances and dance related happenings, including a number of events surrounding/exploring the influence of Judson Dance Theater, the New York dance scene was largely disregarded by the curatorial team. This is a disappointing move especially considering that PERFORMA director, RoseLee Goldberg, states that PERFORMA is trying "to open the doors and windows between the dance and art world, to find the conceptual underpinnings where there could be a crossover." - Stay: Nancy Garcia writes about and links to her You've Got Moves Website, a choreographic, movement project that seeks audience participation via the contribution of video "moves" - this is part of an academic assignment that is in alpha testing stage. - Barefootblogger - thoughts on dance: Minneapolis-based James Sewell Ballet dancer and independent choreographer Penelope Freeh blogs about life and dance. In October 17th entry, she writes about performing at the Joyce The second piece, Schoenberg Serenade, had gotten most of the kinks out in the afternoon. For the most part, we were able to bravely tackle our highly technical requirements with artistry and animation. My solo went pretty well. I was happy with it, though it wasn't perfect. It rarely is, with its extremely technical quirkiness en pointe. I use the shoes in all possible ways, from cocking my feet and turning with bent knees, to balancing doubled-over in a parallel sous-sous and rising to upright, hands flexed above my head. 
Posted by Doug Fox at 9:20 AM - Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0) October 18, 2007From Washington, DC...Dance Classes and New BloggersI'm in DC for a few days - packing-up my stuff and getting ready to move everything to NYC. One of the things I'm doing is getting together with DC dance bloggers - especially ones I haven't met - while I'm down here. I also have a number of dance classes left on my Joy of Motion class card so I'm taking classes while I'm down here. Last night I took Daniel Burkholder's contact improv class - see his blog on Great Dance. I found last night's class fun and challenging. Daniel led us through a series of exercises where we were supposed to let the movement follow its own energy and direction, but I find it very difficult not to play a significant role in trying to force movement when in contact with my partner. For example, toward the beginning each of us was with a partner. We closed our eyes and pressed our index fingers against each others. We were just supposed to follow the natural flow of any movement generated. But it's hard to let things just happen naturally and I have to constantly stop myself from trying to achieve a specific outcome. We did similar exercises with our heads and also with a single point of contact as we were dancing. The class was real small - only 4 students. I really don't understand why so few people go to Daniel's contact class. He's an excellent teacher and his classes are always thought-provoking and offer much to reflect on. Most people seem more interested/comfortable going to the regular technique classes. Tonight I'm going to take Maurice Johnson's jazz class, which opens with one of the more rigorous one-hour warm-ups that I've ever taken in a class. So if I survive all the plies and ab work, I'll know I'm back in shape and pretty much injury free. More bloggers... I'd like to welcome three new bloggers to Great Dance that I'll write more about: - JoAnna Mendl Shaw, the artistic director of The Equus Projects, started blogging earlier this week. JoAnna choreographers works for dancers and horses. I find her work fascinating. - And Misnomer Dance Theater started blogging last night. I've written a number of times about Chris Elam and Misnomer. They have been in the forefront of using the Internet and video to engage audiences with their work in new and different ways. - And within the next few days, Tom Pearson of Third Rail Projects will start blogging about an upcoming site-specific work in Hong Kong. It's great to be working with new and current bloggers! Posted by Doug Fox at 1:44 PM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) October 3, 2007Introducing Great Dance BloggersAs I start to expand Great Dance, I'm delighted to be working with fellow dance bloggers who are sharing their insights and experiences about the dance world. So I figured I'd provide this introduction to the initial bloggers on Great Dance: 
Washington, DC-based dancer, choreographer, improviser and teacher Daniel Burkholder will be blogging on act/re/act. This new blog will be a continuation of his "My ocean is never blue" performance blog. I met Daniel in DC where I've seen performances of his "My ocean..." in both tiny art spaces and on traditional performance stages. While I've only taken Daniel's contact improv class twice, I thought they were excellent - my write-up of one of them here. 
Since July dance critic and journalist Eva Yaa Asantewaa has been conducting audio interviews with choreographers, dancers and presenters in what is now the Body and Soul blog (previously Great Dance Podcast). Eva is a wealth of knowledge and insight about the dance world here in New York City and she's given me a lot of great recommendations about who to see perform and who to talk with as I expand Great Dance. Eva also writes the InfiniteBody blog. 
Over a year ago, I had lunch with Peter DiMuro, producing artistic director of Takoma Park, Maryland-based Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, to discuss a new work of his Funny Uncles, about which he is now blogging. During our initial lunch and in future conversations, we brainstormed about how the community-oriented and interactive nature of the Internet and blogging could be embraced in order to encourage people to share their stories in video and other formats related to the themes of this work that revolve around non-traditional families and the feeling of outsiderness. At first, we set-up a free-standing blog for "Funny Uncles." Now Peter will be blogging about this work on Great Dance. 
For maybe a year or so, videodancemaker, choreographer and dancer Anna Brady Nuse has been posting excellent and insightful comments on a number of posts I've written, which eventually led us to start discussing setting-up a blog for Anna, which you can access at Move The Frame. Anna has already posted a handful of stories that center around topics relating to the intersection of dance and the camera. I especially enjoyed reading, "Philippine Prisoners Resurrect Busby Berkeley." Even though Anna is here in NYC, we still haven't met, a problem which we will rectify this Friday when we get together to discuss dance, blogging and related topics. And just so you know, since the entire site is now referred to as Great Dance, my blog's name has been changed to "Dancing into the Future to convey one of the themes of my blog which is the intersection of dance, the Internet and technology. Posted by Doug Fox at 11:40 AM - Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) September 4, 2007New York-Trinidad Dancer Makeda Thomas Re-Launches Her BlogNew York-Trinidad choreographer and dancer Makeda Thomas just re-launched her blog, Roots & Wings Movement!. (You can also visit her dance company site.)
The blog redesign makes good use of widgets from Widgetbox. From any page, you can translate this blog into multiple languages, subscribe to the feed with your favorite blog reader and Skype Makeda Thomas when she's online. Plus, she's used a a Flickr widget to embed her latest pictures. Posted by Doug Fox at 6:26 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) August 10, 2007Clare Byrne's Video Dance Blog - Exploring Canada and the USStarting last year, New York City-based choreographer Clare Byrne created daily dances in her living room. These extended improvisations were eventually incorporated into her "Weekly Rites" video blog, which she started this June. Each post consists of a short video excerpt from her dances along with her written thoughts and reflections. Clare is just back from an 8,000 mile road trip through Canada and the United States with her companion Stefan and her latest videos are performed in New Mexico, Glacier Park and Lake Superior. From "Chama Canyon, New Mexico": Wednesday morning Stefan and I saw a fox from our adobe porch, and stalked it down silently, barefooted, to the river. It eluded us, so we sat in the new sunshine just coming up over the canyon walls. I'd already greeted the developing day three times by that point. I have been doing the hours, the daily office, the rounds, with the monks of Monastery of Christ in the Desert for these two days. It is an entirely different way of using time, slow and careful and filled with many parts. I'm dry of ideas, just a funnel for taking in information; I don't know how it will come back out. When talking with Clare by phone yesterday, we were wondering what it means for individuals to experience dance alone while watching Internet videos. What types of emotional reactions might viewers have and how are these different than watching live performances? And what types of dance videos engage viewers in new, meaningful ways? I like the tranquil feeling and beautiful setting of Clare's New Mexico video above as well as the sounds she generates as she plants her feet and turns. Posted by Doug Fox at 6:03 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) July 30, 2007New Dance Video Blog, Troika Ranch on MySpace and ENO's Carmen Micro-SiteMonica Gillette, a dancer from New York City, and now in Vienna, Austria, is a danceWEB scholarship recipient at Impulstanz. Last month Monica started a dance video blog. I very much like the videos, although it's not technically set-up as a blogging application.  Troika Ranch Blogs Residency at 3LD Art & Technology Brooklyn-based Troika Ranch just started a two-month residency at 3LD Art & Technology Center in New York City. To document a new work (working title "Loop Diver") they are creating, Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello have created a MySpace page and blog.  Mark writes in a post to the dace-tech list that they will take a number of approaches to documenting their work: ...through blogs from myself, Dawn, and the dancers; as well as photos and video clips of material as we create it. New material will be added almost daily. We look forward to you adding your comments and thoughts through this virtual forum. Matt Gough in his quodlibet Tumblr blog wrote a post yesterday, "Shenanigans," that takes issue on a number of points with Mark's post "Abandoning Choreography in Search of the Killer Loop." I'm glad to see an online discussion about dance and technology performances. Before I comment, I first want to follow-up with Mark to ask him about some of the specifics of his post including the choreographic approach that was used and the nature of a "shifting loop." It would be great to see videos of what Mark is referring to in his post. ENO's Carmen Blog A new production of Carmen, directed by Sally Potter and choreographed by Pablo Veron, opens in September at the English National Opera. A dedicated Carmen site has been created for this production, which features a community blog. In addition, Sally Potter has her own blog, which features videos from auditions, including this dance audition clip (scroll to bottom of this page to read dance audition description): This ENO Carmen site has promise, it may turn out to be very worthwhile and it's great to see a focus on creating collaborative content to support the performing arts. But I get the feeling that the creators and marketers of this micro-site think that that they are creating something altogether new and are the sole trailblazers along this path.An illustration is the post "Carmen 2.0," which includes a good amount of praise for their "innovative" undertaking and embrace of social media. They are early adopters in the big picture, but they are not the first organization to explore these avenues. I think what irks me is that they don't reference similar blogging/web 2.0 efforts or link to other initiatives to take you behind-the-scenes -- such as in NYC Ballet's Romeo + Juliet. In closing, here's a clip from the upcoming movie The Tango Lesson, with Pablo Veron and Sally Potter: Posted by Doug Fox at 6:09 AM - Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) July 26, 2007It's a Draw: Mainstream Dance Media Vs. Dance BloggersSince a lot of dance bloggers have written about the Slow Dancing exhibit at Lincoln Center, it's interesting to see what the Google results look like for the following search As of Thursday afternoon, the mainstream media has the edge on the first page of results. But if you take into the equation the first two pages of results, then it's about a draw. Plus, if you turn to blog search engines such as Google Blog Search, the mainstream media gets trounced. Is this a watershed moment? If they haven't already, should dance companies, presenters and publicists begin to think about their relationship with dance bloggers? Posted by Doug Fox at 2:51 PM - Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) July 23, 2007Dance Blog Map - Create Your Own Blog DiagramHere's a first draft I created of a dance blog map. You can click following screen shot to see a larger image:  My goal was to create a visual diagram that highlighted the key characteristics of dance blogs. I used an online application Bubbl.us to create this map. If you want to modify my dance blog map, you can create a free Bubbl.us account and then import this XML file (click "menu" option on bottom right of screen once you log-in): download xml file to your computer. Please share your thoughts? What changes/additions would you make? Posted by Doug Fox at 7:24 AM - Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0) July 14, 2007New Dance BlogsI just added or recently added the following dance blogs to my blogroll on the left: - Behind the Scenes @ Summer Stages Dance I also added above blogs to dance blog search engine at the top of Great Dance's home page. Posted by Doug Fox at 3:06 PM - Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0) June 22, 2007"Engaging Art" is Awesome! Live Blogging from American Symphony Orchestra ConferenceCheck out the "Engaging Art: A Public Conversation" blog that Douglas McLennan of ArtsJournal created and moderated.  Live blogging at yesterday's American Symphony Orchestra League Conference in Nashville, TN This very active and thoughtful blog conversation, which focused on the future of the arts with a strong emphasis on concert music, started on June 14th and culminated yesterday with a live blogging event at the 62nd National Conference of the American Symphony Orchestra League in Nashville, Tennessee. I think that the integration of an extended pre-conference dialog via the "Engaging Art" blog with a face-to-face program that builds upon this initial conversation is a great model to follow. Even better, during the program yesterday, people around the world interested in the future of concert music could post questions, which were answered by speakers and others blogging from the conference. I would definitely like to create something similar for the dance community as a way to address some of the issues that were discussed in a recent post, "Exploring the Economics of Dance and Creating New Business Models." There are many directions in which such a project could go. It could focus on: 1) The business, strategic, funding and marketing side of dance, 2) The future of the Internet, video and technology for dancers and dance companies, 3) The choreographic and creative side of dance, or 4) A combination of two or more of the above. It would be great if you shared your thoughts about such a project for the dance community. Posted by Doug Fox at 11:18 AM - Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) June 14, 2007Short-Term Dance BloggingThere's excellent post on Influential Marketing Blog about success strategies for short-term blogging. Why I didn't think about this idea for dance bloggers before is beyond me - it makes a lot of sense. Here it is: Full-time dance blogging is not for everybody. Many dancers and dance companies move from one project to the next, and for time and other reasons maintaining a single blog over a long period of time just doesn't make sense. So why not create a blog that is intended to be a short-term initiative with a clear beginning, middle and end. This way your audience has a clear expectation of what to expect from your blog, and you and collaborators have a more manageable project of a set duration for which you can prepare. Another advantage is that short-term blogging, unlike full-time blogs that cover many topics, offers a good opportunity for dancers and presenters to work together to promote this blogging endeavor to their respective audiences. How-to Guidelines Building on and modifying recommendations from Influential Marketing Blog post: 1) Plan you blog endeavor well before the actual launch of your blog. For example, if you plan to blog a dance work (rehearsal through performances and aftermath), prepare 3 to 6 months before. Timing depends largely on when the marketing and publicity materials will be prepared. You want to add to all online and offline marketing collateral that you'll be blogging about your performance. You'll also want to describe the nature of your blogging in this promotional literature - video, text, pictures? Behind-the-scenes look at the creation of? Or whatever else you plan to blog about. Whatever you decide, your blogging will probably be devoted to a single topic/project. 2) Register domain name if necessary at sites such as GoDaddy. 3) Set-up your blog. If you're doing it on your own without technical help, the easiest way to get started is with sites such as Blogger, TypePad and WordPress. 4) If you plan to take pictures and videos and upload to Internet and you have no idea how to do this, make sure you have time to experiment, learn how to use equipment and spend time with photo and video software. Feel free to post questions here if you'd like. 5) Think about community. Will visitors be encouraged to post comments? And who will respond in a timely way to these comments? This is really critical. If you're working with team of bloggers, this is much easier to manage. 6) Map-out your time commitment to blogging up-front. Dancing can be all consuming. If you don't set aside specific times during the day and week to blog, it probably won't get done. Another reason why it's good to blog with other people. 7) Market you blog from the beginning. Contact me and other bloggers so you can get your blog listed on as many sites as possible. Within your blog configuration panel, you can automatically have your blog "ping" blog indexing sites that help increase profile for your blog on search engines. 8) Post your multimedia content to popular video and photo sharing sites. This will get you more traffic. Plus, bloggers and others can embed your content into their sites. 9) Prepare people for the end of your blogging. Make sure blog followers know when you're blog will end. And let everybody know what you'll be doing next in terms of dancing. This way your fans can follow you to your current or new website or blog. 10) Try not to make promises that you can't keep when it comes to blogging. I've made this mistake many times and I try to keep this in mind when I'm blogging. If you know of project/performance-specific dance blogs or you have upcoming plans, please let me know. Posted by Doug Fox at 9:44 AM - Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) June 12, 2007Comprehensive List of Dance Blog RSS FeedsHere's monthly list of feeds for dance blogs. The file is in OPML format, which can be used to quickly upload all of the feeds into your favorite feed reader. To the above list, I've started to add dance blogs in French, Italian and Spanish - if you know of more, please let me know. To learn about OPML files, you can read this earlier post. Also, Mashable has a post from yesterday "The Ultimate RSS Toolbox - 120+ RSS Resources.." In this listing, you'll find an excellent round-up of feed readers for different operating systems as well as web-based feedreaders. Posted by Doug Fox at 8:28 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) June 8, 2007Update for Dance Blogs, Feeds and Search EngineI'm updating dance blogroll, RSS feeds and dance blog search engine (top of my home page). Do you know of new dance blogs I should include? Please email: doug@greatdance.com. Thanks! Posted by Doug Fox at 8:26 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) May 23, 2007Dance Blog UpdateIf you have dance blog, please let me know about it. I do three things with dance blogs: 1) I add them to left column dance blogroll. 2) I add them to my list of RSS feeds so that it is easy to track all dance blogs. See this post for more details. 3) I add them to dance blog search engine so that you can search the contents of all dance blogs through a single location. This search engine is at top of Great Dance home page. Posted by Doug Fox at 8:52 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) May 3, 2007Add YouTube Videos to Your WordPress BlogsI've received a number of questions about how to add YouTube videos to your WordPress blogs. The reason why this is a problem is because when WordPress users try to embed a video, the video does not display properly and the pages that blog visitors see are all messed-up. How to solve problem: - Log-on to your WordPress blog. - Click "Users" in top horizontal bar. - Go to your user profile and scroll down to bottom of page. - The box next to "Use the visual editor" is almost definitely checked. So remove the check. - Save your updated user profile. - Now create a new post - you may notice that you are no longer using a visual editor but a plain html editor. - Go to any YouTube video page. - To the right of video, you'll see a box after the word "Embed". Copy the code in this box. - Go back to your new post in WordPress and paste the "Embed" code. - Save and publish your post. Your video will now be visible to your blog visitors. Actually, to back-up a bit: Once you paste video code in to your post, you can enter text before and after the video. But what you might want to do is paste the video code and save your post. Then, follow instructions above to go back to your user profile and add a check mark back to the box before "Use the visual editor." You will now be able to edit your posts as you did before - in visual mode. Hope this helps. Posted by Doug Fox at 12:54 PM - Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) Comprehensive List of Dance Blog RSS FeedsHere's an updated list of of all the dance blogs I subscribe to in OPML format. You'll find English, French and Spanish dance blogs categorized by language. To learn how you can use this OPML file to subscribe to dance feeds, you can read this March post about the process. To access dance blogs, you can also view a comprehensive list in the left-hand column of this page. And in addition, I created a customized search engine for over 70 dance blogs at the top of my home page. If you have a new dance blog, please let me know. Posted by Doug Fox at 8:40 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) May 1, 2007We Need More University Dance Bloggers!!!The Ohio State Department of Dance's "Dance Downtown Rocks" performance starts this Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. For both "The Vernon Reid Project" and "Set and Reset/Reset," you can watch four video clips of rehearsals and interviews with choreographers. Here's the video page.
I thought the brief interview sections in the videos offer some good insights into the creative process of the participating choreographers. The OSU Department of Dance has a blog if you haven't visited it before. Mostly it just lists upcoming events and programs but sometimes you'll find some interesting nuggets like videos above. The Maggie Allessee Department of Dance at Wayne State University also has a blog. I'd like to encourage dance students at colleges and universities to blog more - about the projects you're currently working on, dance in general, how you're using video and other technologies, what you think is the future of dance, how you use the Internet for research and collaboration, and any other related topics you can come up with. I'm sure it would be interesting and helpful to dancers around the globe. If you want more specific ideas about what you might blog about let me know and I'll come up with many possibilities. Also, isn't it possible to get course credit for specific types of blog projects? Posted by Doug Fox at 2:18 PM - Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) April 2, 2007Comprehensive List of Dance Blogs FeedsHere's an updated OPML file with a huge number of dance feeds. You can download this file and import it into feed readers to automatically subscribe to all English-language dance blogs that I know of. If the above doesn't make sense, you can read my post from early March, "Quickly Subscribe to Dance Blog Feeds" from early March - hopefully that one makes sense. Posted by Doug Fox at 3:21 PM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) Dance Bloggers in DCWashington DC dance bloggers are on the verge of by-passing New York dance bloggers in size, scope, insight and wisdom!!! I'm just having fun. Here's a list of dance bloggers in DC: - And me: Great Dance The main website for Daniel Burkholder of "My Ocean is never blue" above is Improv Arts, Inc. "My Ocean..." is a performance of his contact improvisation group, which I saw in a super-small gallery on Friday - it was probably about 9' x 15'. It was fun to watch and be so close to the dancers. Here's Daniel's write-up of his Friday performance. Once I get healthy - I hope soon - I'd like to take one of Daniel's contact improvisation classes. Posted by Doug Fox at 2:36 PM - Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) March 19, 2007New Blog for Dance VideosThere are so many online videos of performances and topics related to dance that I needed a place to put all of the interesting videos I came across. So I created a new blog: Great Dance Videos. Saying that these videos are all supposed to be "great" is a bit of hyperbole on my part - but that's the name of my blog. But I really should just say that I link to videos that I like and find interesting. I'll probably add a handful of videos a week. So far I've embedded five. Here's the first one I added of a recent interview with Twyla Tharp discussing the importance of video to dance - it seemed like a good place to start: Posted by Doug Fox at 9:04 AM - Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0) March 15, 2007Dance Blogger Round-UpI started this round-up last Thursday. I might keep doing it. I'll see how it goes. Please let me know what you think. - Early dance blogger Rachel Feinerman returns after a long hiatus. Rachel talks about life, marriage and the challenges of a dancer's life. - French bloggeurs (Images de Danse, Un Soir ou un Autre, Le Tadorne and Clochettes) have joined together to review and rate contemporary dance and theatrical performances. I'm actually a bit confused by what this project entails - my French is pretty bad and Google translator is even worse. You can access their new initiative named Scenes 2.0 and read an overview here. - Second Life Modern Dance Theatre was founded by architecture students from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden in collaboration with The Stockholm Modern Dance Theatre. The dance performance with eight avatars is a hybrid event that takes place in Second Life as well as in the real world in Stockholm - video clips available. I definitely plan to learn more about SL Life Modern Dance Theatre and their performances. - Chimene in A Life Less Examined writes in "Before and After Photos" that "I totally love my abdominal area." - Kristin Sloan at The Winger has been working on a secret project - soon to be announced. And continues to work at physical therapy. I don't really understand what the "torture device" she has a picture of from her physical PT is for. - In "Shared Transcriptions" Anais Janacek writes that improvisational responses to technological partners are not really different from the physical ones (humans). - Miss Tango in Her Eyes asks Mr. Norway if he's taken classes with milonguero Carlos Gavito. - In "Who/What is a Disabled Dancer?" and "More on Dance and Disability," Wheelchair Dance grapples with defining the nature and scope of physically integrated dance. To paraphrase: How do you dance your disability without making your disability the subject of your dance? - Ariel of The Stranger in Seat Twelve thinks the article and video story by New York Times writer Harry Hurt III about his efforts to become an instant dancer at the New York Ballet is "hilarious." I'd like it too if it wasn't one of the only dance-focused videos on the NY Times site. This is a story from a writer in the business section who writes an "Executive Pursuits" column. Earlier this month in the theater and dance section there is a video piece entitled "Praise Dancing Hits Manhattan" - but that's about all I've seen. - Shan Monster was not thrilled with a recent tribal and fusion bellydance workshop she attended. She published a letter in her blog that she sent to the event organizer and sought feedback from her readers - lots of comments. Her main complaint was the indifference shown toward her when she explained that the smoke machine could aggravate her asthma. - Leigh Witchel is busy writing dance reviews. But in the meantime links to video of Broadway singer and cruise ship performer singing "Femininity." - Tonya Plank of Swan Lake Samba Girl works on her lifts and did her "first fish." (I don't know what that is). She includes picture of herself from her last showcase and is now watching video of her choreography to memorize it. - Patty Rose talks about the right way to breath and provides excerpt from book "Conditioning for Dance" by Eric Franklin. - Judith Mackrell writes in her Guardian Unlimited blog that many dance performances are too long and are just wasting time. "Wouldn't it be better to have a shapely, well-crafted 45 minutes of dance rather than a flatulent hour and a half, whose length has been determined by the financial and political agendas of programmers?" - Natalia of Bellydance: Experiences posts next blog carnival topic for March. The theme is "Dancing on a budget." You can post story about this topic on your blog and then email link to Natalia by end of this month. - Marcy Mendelson of Root Magazine posts article from essay contest winner Jalila A. Bell about her 2006 participation in the 74th Annual Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival. Bell performed three works with Vissi Dance Theater that dealt with the "themes of slavery, fear, oppression, transcendence and freedom." Bell writes: Performing these pieces in this venue was overwhelming for me, both physically and emotionally. For most of the bumpy-curvy three-hour ride home, I huddled in my seat of the caravan, sobbing uncontrollably. As a dancer, I felt wholly unsatisfied by my failure to achieve the unobtainable perfection, the precision of technique, the liminality to overcome my numerous costume malfunctions. As a woman of color and a descendant of slaves, I was humbled and overcome by a profound bone-deep sadness. - Joe Grohens in Topic is Tango links to two tango videos on YouTube with Homer and Christina Ladas. - Art Williams of Wandering Salsero recommends linking to this Salsa rhythm tool that allows you to turn on and off different instruments such as the clave to develop a better understanding of Salsa music. I have to say that I don't think it's a very helpful tool. It lasts for only 8 beats and it features only one possible rhythm. - Matt writes in the The Ranting Details of a Life Uncharted: ABT dancers burn off steam with some dirty dancing after performance in Miami - a good way to ensure the arrival of "dead swans" the next morning. - Tina in Seguendo Il Mio Cuore from Buenos Aires channels her inner Sophia Loren on the dance floor and brushes aside undesired invites to dane. Posted by Doug Fox at 7:00 AM - Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0) March 8, 2007Dance Blog Round-Up- More on appointment of Alastair Macaulay to be new chief dance critic at New York Times: Rachel Howard writes about Apollinaire's "overheated reaction" and also writes about my post on this topic. Judith Flanders in Guardian Unlimited is amused by the "stirred tempers" in the US. Brendan McCarthy discusses "otherwordly discussion." And Apollinaire Scherr responds to Flanders. - Natalia in Bellydance: Experiences wraps-up February blog carnival with the theme of "Through a dancer's eye" where dance bloggers write posts about this topic. - Wheelchair Dancer writes two-part overview of recent symposium on dance and disability: Post about conference, Part I and Part II. - Tony Schultz describes creation of a "choreographic interface" for generating different variations of Twyla Tharp’s "The Fugue," which was recently performed by students at Sarah Lawrence College. Screen shot of software interface included. - Tonya Plank in Swan Lake Samba Girl writes post "You Made Me a Monster" about bringing a non-dancing friend to an "audience participation" dance event. - La Planchadora shares her favorite Argentine Tango video of the week from YouTube. - ShanMonster attends her first pole dancing class and includes pole dancing video that she can't quite do yet. - Lorna of BellyLorna provides a multi-part history of belly dancing starting with Part 1. - Flailbox links to preview of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, a half opera, half dance performance that is partly submerged in big fish tank at Sadler's Wells. Watch video clip. - A Life Less Examined is thrilled that American Ballet Theatre is coming to Chicago. - Miguelito in his DC Flamenco photo diary writes about his Tuesday evening experience seeing a Flamenco performance at Strathmore Music Center. - Terpsichore Musings has a photo shoot - details in "Close-up." - Soleilisme is in the zone during contemporary dance class. Posted by Doug Fox at 6:02 AM - Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0) March 4, 2007Quickly Subscribe to Dance Blog FeedsIf you'd like an easy and fast way to track a large numbers of dance blogs, here are some suggestions. First, I created a document that is formatted as an OPML file. This file includes a list of 78 dance feeds (RSS feeds). Click on this link to see how this file is formatted and then download it to your computer. Once you save this file, you can then import it into online applications that let you track blogs. So for example, Google offers a blog reader application. Once you log-in, you can then use this application to subscribe to, track and categorize blogs. You'll see toward the top right of the reader home page a link for "Settings." And then you can click on the "Import/Export" link. Now you can upload the OPML file I liked to above. Once you upload this file, you can automatically track the 78 included dance blogs. Actually, some of the dance blogs in the list are old and haven't been updated for awhile. But it doesn't really matter because you simply won't to see any new posts from these blogs. I'm new to the Google Reader but so far I like the interface and the way it tracks blogs. Here's a screen shot I just took of Google Reader with the blogs listed on the left and a blog post in the middle. Click image for larger picture: |
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