October 31, 2006

Breaking Down Resistance to the Internet Economy

DK in his new blog, "DK Is Lighting Dance," follows-up my post about being perplexed with a story about the level of resistance some of his production seminar students have to the idea of posting dance videos on the Internet.

Doug Fox in his blog Great Dance Weblog has often offered the suggestion that choreographers video tape portions of their rehearsal and post a bit of tape on the Internet via blog and ask for feedback - click on the title of this blog to read it. I posed this exact question to my Production Seminar class which has ten MFA choreographers.

They didn't like the idea at all! I know this is a new idea, so opinions will likely shift as they consider it over time. One student is very worried someone will steal her work and her ideas. Another wonders why you wouldn't just ask another choreographer in the studio next door. The conversation got quite heated (actually we all love when this happens) with me suggesting scenarios where you might need a more sophisticated point of view, a wider band of feed back and simple self-promotion.

I've come across this type of resistance before. While I understand it, I believe it is unwarranted and distracts from the bigger picture. Yes, it is always possible that artistic work will be "stolen" as distribution options proliferate. But that's a very negative way to evaluate the situation. If video of rehearsals and performances is distributed online, then many more people will watch these dance videos than ever before. Which means that dance companies and dancers will get larger audiences, get more bookings and increase the chances of making worthwhile connections with other artists that they would never even have known about.

I think it's worthwhile to look at how music is distributed online. There are thousands of outlets for music to be uploaded, shared and sold. Bands have made it big on the Internet as a result of the fact that their music is widely available and often free. Bands and musicians get more exposure and increase the chances they will reach a larger audience and find new ways to generate revenue.

In the dance world there simply is no Internet economy. This doesn't really make sense in an environment where dance companies are always struggling for financial survival and stability.

Then DK explores what he thinks is the ideal fusion between the Internet and dance. His premise is that we ought to focus on the local level and not so much nationally or internationally:

Following the newer model of Regional Theater and following the Regional Ballets like the ones in Memphis and Tulsa is a much more likely scenario. We may still have our Super Stars but we need to think about becoming Local Heroes. Memphis Ballet is creating New Work based on the locale and generating audiences who have knowledge of the local history or have civic pride.

The Internet tools used then could be an interactive website offering a chance to give reviews (I think this was Doug's idea in a past blog) which gives people the feeling of ownership and connection with a company. I also really like the idea of "profiling" on MySpace even though it's flawed, the idea is right -- of finding people of like interests and bringing them together. Using a blog to "preview" an upcoming performance is a much more appealing idea than generating feedback on a piece of choreography.

I think all of these areas are worthwhile for exploration. I especially like the focus on dance within a local community. I think one of the reasons that dance companies don't think about using the Internet to connect directly with their audiences is because they put to much emphasis on the importance of dance writers and newspaper coverage at the expense of devoting time and energy to building online relationships with their local, loyal fans. Obviously, I'm not discounting publicity. I'm just saying that it is one of multiple ways to connect with dance fans and build larger audiences.

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