October 27, 2006

I'm Perplexed

I've been curious about something for awhile:

Some dancers and choreographers work with digital and interactive technologies from the standpoint of creating performances that integrate these tools into their dance pieces. For example, a dancer might explore how a series of movements can activate desired sequence of sounds or video images in real-time. And there are many other possibilities that have been explored in the realm of dance and technology.

But what perplexes me is that dancers and others involved in the dance and technology field (including academic and research institutions) seem to have little interest in exploring how the distributed and universal nature of the Internet can be leveraged to transform the process of creating performances and collaborating with global audiences. To me this area of investigation is very intriguing given the economic challenges faced by many dance companies and the need to find new ways for audiences (and future audiences) to engage with dance in new ways.

I've written about these topics before: How can the Internet be used to give audiences on-going access to works-in-progress? How can new platforms be created so that audiences can share their thoughts and feedback with choreographers and dancers? And, how can distributed audiences be given an opportunity to contribute their own dance moves and stories via uploaded video? And, overall, in what new ways can the Internet be put to work so that dance becomes a more vital part of our culture?

I'm going to post a message to the Dance-Tech list to see what members have to say about this topic.

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