Brainstorming about Dance and the Internet
I met and brainstormed with Karl Cronin yesterday about dance, the Internet and related topics. Karl is a movement artist and arts manager.
Here are some of the questions we were pondering:
- Should a dance website immerse visitors into the experience and world of an artist, or should the focus be more on practical matters such as marketing, audience development and fundraising?
- How come dance, especially in the form of dance videos, is not integrated into other online content and conversations? For example, why do the thousands of environmental websites and blogs not feature any dance videos that deal with topics related to sustaining and improving our environment? What would it take for dancers to have their videos on environmental sites?
- Should dancers create their own websites with content management applications or should they turn to developers and designers? What are the benefits and trade-offs of each approach?
- How easy or difficult is it for dancers to add and change content and the navigation structure of their websites when they begin to participate in completely new projects and collaborations?
- Should a website feel alive? As in, when was the last time dancers involved with a site updated their content, especially on the home page? How important is this?
- What does a dancer/dance company really want from their website?
What thoughts do you have about the above? What questions do you have about dance and the Internet?
(I asked Karl after our conversation if it was alright if I posted my take on the questions we discussed. He said it was OK.)
Posted by
Doug Fox on April 15, 2009 5:40 AM
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://greatdance.com/mtadmin/mt-tb.cgi/3102
6 Comments
Doug and Karl, these are rich questions!
Regarding your first question, I think it's possible to showcase both the artistic and practical sides of dancemaking - and maybe it's even preferable to do so. Here's a great example:
http://www.basriel.com/Project_Paper_Trail/home.html
Ben Asriel's Project Paper Trail has one of the most open, transparent fundraising components of any dance site, but he also features a ton of behind-the-scenes artistic material in the form of videos and dancers' journals. I think the wealth of artistic material online can spur people to contribute; after all, given Ben's funding and online structure, donors can see more concretely what it is they are supporting.
As for your question about how "alive" a website should be, I'm in favor of more dynamic, frequently updated material. The promise of future updates gives people a reason to return to the website, and with each return visit, hopefully the interest in and connection to the choreographer/company will grow. Incorporating artists' blogs into more static websites seems to be a good way of doing this. I'm seeing much more of this in the U.S. right now than in Israel (while some choreographers are updating their sites regularly, I don't think anyone is using a blog there).
Dance Twitterers have been kind enough to share their thoughts on this post:
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=dougfox
Deborah,
Thanks for your thoughts about Project Paper Trail. I wrote about this innovative dance-making project this morning.
Doug, I have been pondering some of the same questions for some time now.
I agree with Deborah, and I believe that the choice is up to the artist how they want to create an online presence of their work.
In my opinion it is our responsibility to reach out of our community, and we can do it so much easier online. I'm very new to this myself, and plan to create a model this summer once I complete my MFA this May.
I had a designer create a page for me to promote my thesis work and my own artistic adventures. Her and I decided that tumblr was the best route. I decided to purchase the domain name so that the tumblr doesn't show in the address. It was wonderful to work with a marketing woman who found a system that works for me. Coding is not my forte, and the thought of learning it was daunting. It would take away from the time I need to spend on developing a piece. It was fun to find a solution to balance the two.
It's so user friendly that I can focus more on the content, not how to get the content on there.
There are options now for us to keep a site 'alive' without having to spend hours learning a new skill set. The field of dance is so ever present and constantly moving (forgive my pun) that a stagnant website negates our purpose.
I'm excited to use my site to intellectually share my process with any number of communities. I hope it will give me feedback and connect me to those with similar interests.
*sidenote, google analytics is great, I've just started using it too.
I'm still learning how to reach out to other communities. You are right on the mark with your example of videos on environmental sites. We must continue to branch into other communities.
I'm still learning, and will really hit it hard soon. Until then, my document won't write itself! However, this information has certainly helped my thesis research.
Keep it coming Doug!
Aileen,
Thanks for comment. And I look forward to learning about your online model for reaching outside of the dance community.
I definitely agree with you about the importance of keeping web software simple and ensuring that content is always updated.
I am the creator and founder of an online dance studio http://www.dancemass.tv
The internet allows dancers to gain more exposure, earn income online and generate more awareness.
For years dancers and suffered with many limitations to prevent them from taking their dance careers to the next level.
Now with making good use of modern technology, and some marketing knowledge dancers can now look forward to having that opportunity to share their passion on a mass scale.
Please visit my blog for more topics
http://www.dancemass.tv/blog
My YouTube channel where I offer advice and guidance for dancers on the net
http://www.youtube.com/dancemasstv
You can also follow me on Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/dancemasstv
This is a fantastic article.
Wishing you all the best
Dawn DeMendonca
DanceMass.TV
Leave a Comment