Funny that right when I'm about to create a small dance website I find this post.
And a pity that I don't have any video that would show what we do.
Gotta remember for later...

From the point of view of a journalist researching material on dance artists, I can understand your need to have more user-friendly dance Web sites. However, I'd no more expect--or want--these artists to create home pages that were formatted the same way and looked the same just for my convenience. They are, after all, artists, and the Web should allow all of us more space and wiggle room for creativity.

Yes, some sites are overblown and/or difficult to navigate, or they bury essential information. Yes, there are times when I've visited sites--and not just dance sites--and said, "Aaaargh!" But I think the best (and most liberally creative) solutions will come from the dance artists and dance companies themselves when they get more comfortable with the overall idea of the Web and realize all that it can do for them.

In the meantime, I'd be very reluctant to rush in to tell dancers what to do. Let's try acknowledging the fact that dance has a strong (and getting stronger) presence on the Web and talk up all that dance folks are doing that's going in a progressive direction so that the momentum will build.

Hi Eva,

Thanks for comment. I was getting to a slightly different point. There's all kinds of information that dancers can share on the Internet, but in the end, I want to see them dance. A dance video is the fastest, most effective way for me to get a flavor about what a dancer or dance company is all about.

hi great post doug, simple straight forward and open advice. there are many, many different ways to design / implement what you suggest. lots of room for creativity.