Atlanta's dance scene "exploding" in 2009

Top 5 dance in 2009, from AJC and Pierre Ruhe
And look for an article in January's Dance Magazine about us too! Thanks to Cynthia Bond Perry for bringing the summary of Atlanta's dance scene to THE national mag about dance.
And Happy Holidays everybody! Hope you're enjoying some good warm time with friends and family.

Nutcracker reviews

A couple of reviews of Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker:
ArtsCriticATL review by Cynthia Bond Perry
Creative Loafing review by Curt Holman

news items

A couple of new dance items from artscriticsatl:
Interview with Atlanta Ballet's new executive director
Modern Atlanta Dance Festival names choreographers for 2010

Monthly dance meetings

So looking at our plan for DanceATL near the end of 2009, some things we've accomplished are: we have the blog here, we've been putting up the DanceATL table at shows (thanks to everyone who's hosted it!) and we've had a few small meetings with fellow dancers. With the new year we're thinking it would be a great time to start monthly meetings. Especially because those hosted by the Fulton County Arts Council, the Peer to Peer Dialogue: Dance, will no longer be happening (they're moving on to another discipline).
Charlotte Foster has graciously offered to host the January meeting late in the month at her Roswell Atlanta Dance Central. We had thought about having a loose topic for discussion for each meeting, at least to begin with, more a theme than an agenda. We had two suggestions so far, one was meeting about production, inviting tech people for discussion of producing dance (lighting designers, stage managers etc.) and the second was marketing dance (obviously more up my alley).
Do you all have thoughts on other topics? Or suggestions for when might be a good time for a good number of people to gather? Weekday evenings? Weekend days? Comment and let us all know! Thanks!

Dancing moms

I had a wonderful breakfast this morning with a friend and fellow dancer who is also mom of 2 kids. Her second is a boy just a month younger than my daughter. We commiserated on how difficult it is to dance with kids, the usual time constraints of parenting (we hadn't found time to meet each other's newest additions--the first year is rough!) in addition to the obvious physical issues (how far did my abdominal wall stretch when I was pregnant?!) Tabloids are full of photos of celebrities who look exactly the same "2 weeks after the birth of child X" or what not. I'm assuming they must have to hire about 5 people to help them make that happen: cook, nanny, personal trainer at least!
So for those of us who can't afford to hire a staff (hello, we're dancers!) and are trying to do it all ourselves...what are your feelings on trying to keep dancing? Are you still teaching? creating? performing? I've seen other friends who gave it up, and yet others who keep a company going in spite of the insanity. I'm feeling like my performing days are definitely numbered, though I'd love to keep taking class (haha, I say "keep taking" as if I'm making it now.) Any thoughts out there from Atlanta dancer/moms?

Atlantan article

From Mary Jane:
"two awesome people captured in one article....

tom bell writes about lauri stallings...

atlantan magazine december 2009 page 48

http://media.modernluxury.com/digital.php?e=ATLA"

Dance healing

Very cool NY Times article about how dance has helped body awareness for a man with cerebral palsy. Dance can be healing in so many ways, physically and emotionally. People are so cut off from their bodies (and I'm one of them right now, sitting at a computer writing about dance but hardly finding time to dance myself lately!) There are some fabulous programs with dancers working with folks to help them access their body-knowledge. SDC's Dynamic X-Change program has been teaching dance as a healing art to populations such as children with autism (haha, that came out sounding like I write about the program officially didn't it, go figure). brooks and company dance has a program for people with Parkinson's disease. And it's not dance but it is still movement, I did a workshop learning to teach yoga to folks with multiple sclerosis. As the subject of the NY Times article commented, the power of it was partially just the adjustment of working with what he was able to do rather than being told what he couldn't do for once. Really, we all have our limitations to work with, so the explorations are the same, and that mind shift is an important one for any of us to remember.

'Tis the season to be...Nutcracker-ing

I hope everyone's weekend shows went well! I'm sorry I didn't make it to see any of them this time, but I did set up the DanceATL Table at 7 Stages. Thanks to Carolyn at Good Moves for hosting the table! Now the table is on to Nutcracker performances.(Ah, Nutcracker. So many years of my life were spent in rehearsal and performing the gamut of roles in this standby. I've gotten to the point where every time I hear the music while holiday shopping, it's not so painful any more. But after high school, I definitely needed a few years away! It might be to the point in a couple years that I actually want to take Mirah with me to go see it for her first time. :) Aly is going to set it up at the Fox for the Atlanta Ballet's run, and we'll keep aside another set of the postcards etc. that can travel around to other productions. Again, if you'd like to host, please contact me.

Also, I am currently looking into finding an intern, or really, probably two to help out with DanceATL, one who can help with the collection of information from everyone, for the table and for the web, and another who can help create an actual website and give input on the identity/branding. If you are, or you know, anyone who is a dancer/dance enthusiast student looking for some credit hours for the spring, please contact me for that as well! Thanks!

Brooks and Company review up--with a shout out!

Thanks to Cynthia Bond Perry for including a bit about this blog and the DanceATL project in her review of Brooks and Company Dance on ArtsCriticATL.
This weekend so full of dancing, what are you guys planning on going to? Multiple shows, anyone? I don't know if I have babysitting lined up to make it to anything this time but all the best to everyone who's performing! Enjoy!

Wow!

There is a LOT of dance happening next weekend! I don't know what we're going to do with the Dance Table. I may end up taking the stuff over to the Good Moves show at 7 Stages based purely on location, the fact that it's on my way home from work. I can split up the brochures if anyone wants to host a table at some of the other shows, just let me know how to get the info there? But being only me, I'm sure I'm not taking things around to all 7 or 8 events that are happening.
I was wondering, looking at the fact that Kennesaw, Emory, Spelman and Agnes Scott are doing their student concerts this weekend, did all the schools know they were planning their shows for the same weekend?  It makes sense in that it's the last weekend before Thanksgiving and the crunch toward finals begins, and I guess the audiences are mostly friends/family from each school so they don’t have to worry about competing for audience. Ballethnic, Good Moves and the D'air Project all have a lot of younger students involved in their shows so I'm guessing that's how they ended up on the same weekend. Does it matter that everything's at the same time or would it work better to spread things out in the future?
Scheduling aside, yay for all this dance happening in town! I hope everyone's performances go really well!

Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts--Member Services Council

So the ACPA is Atlanta's multidisciplinary performing arts service organization, serving theater, dance, music and film arts (so says their website :). Many of the dancers reading this may be familiar, or even be members through their org, or individually etc. There are currently NO dancers or dance-affiliated folks involved in the Member Services Council for this coming year! We need to have dance as a presence in this organization, especially while they're working on their new strategic plan . Working together with theaters/music etc. can help us all out in trying times, e.g. finding time when a theater is black for a dance concert to go in etc.

Please contact Jessyca at ACPA (jessyca@atlantaperforms.com) about the opportunities to help represent Atlanta's dance community in their organization.Thanks!

About last weekend's Dance Canvas show

Cynthia Bond Perry's review of the Dance Canvas performance last weekend is online here. Sounds like it went well, congrats, Angela! And thanks for hosting a DanceATL table!
Did anyone (other than the people I knew who danced in it :) make it to the Volta Dance Theatre show as well? As you can see from the recent post about the table schedule, there's a lot of dance coming up between now and the end of the year. This Thursday is CORE's Lunchtime in the Studio and Salon, and this upcoming weekend is brooks and company dance's "Composed."
Once again, I'm not keeping a specific schedule of everything here on the blog, but you can find listings on AtlantaPlanIt.com. (And please everyone list their events with the site; we want them to go back to having a tab for dance by itself, not just "theater and dance"!!)

"pour" interviews

From artscriticATL.com, a two-part interview (part 1, part 2) with Lauri Stallings about her recent site-specific work "pour" at LeFlash (apparently some of my neighbors called the police on them for being suspicious while rehearsing in the alley! considering all the actual crimes that take place down here, I guess folks are just jumpy.)

DanceATL Table schedule Nov-Dec.

And from the conference to some business. Here are the places I'm hoping we can have the DanceATL Table in the next couple months. Please let me know if you a) want to staff any night listed here, b) have another event you'd like to suggest and c) can get us your materials to include on the table. I'd also like suggestions on what to do when there are multiple events on the same night? Thanks!

• Volta Dance Theatre, Nov. 6
• Dance Canvas Nov 6-8 (maybe we'll move the table over for Sat. and Sun.? or duplicate somehow?)
• brooks and company dance, Nov. 13-15
• Good Moves, Nov. 21-22
• Atlanta Ballet, all month Dec. for Nutcracker
• Georgia Ballet (possibly), Dec. 4-6
• Fieldwork Showcase, Dec. 6
• SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Co., Dec. 10-13

Back home!

Whew! Made it back this morning (eeearrrlyy flight) and am just sitting down to reconnect with email, this blog etc. It's funny because I am probably the only person in the world who doesn't have a "portable electronic device" outside my just-phone cell phone. I'm holding out a little longer.
Anyhow, the conference was great! I came back with more than just the nifty Halloween-orange tote bag. :) I have to write up a more formalized report for the scholarship that I can post a version of, but I'll share some preliminary thoughts. It's very energizing to hear what other folks are doing, and though it's across disciplines visual and performing (and a couple of cultural like natural sci museums) it's still nice to be speaking the same language. The nonprofit conference I attended a few years ago wasn't in the same scope (though SDC is still smaller than a lot of the orgs present at this conference--not all) and with a very different mission. Some good ideas on what all these technological changes mean, and a nice take on the fact that no one actually knows for sure yet, so you might as well experiment/get creative (which is what we do as artists right?)

Nat'l Arts Marketing Conference here I come!

So I can't write much because I'm trying to fit things in since it's my last day in the office this week before I head off to the National Arts Marketing Project Conference in Providence, RI. The conference should be very interesting. I'm hoping to learn a lot from what everybody has to say. As you might expect, almost everything is "social networking." There aren't a whole lot of dance folks specifically on the roster, but the Philadelphia office of Dance/USA seems to be sending a crew, and the director of Misnomer Dance Theatre, who's gotten all kinds of dance/technology grants, will be presenting. I have to write up a report about my experience for the scholarship I got to attend as an "emerging arts leader" (funny to be young enough to still count as that, some days being mommy I feel so old!) so I'll post some version of that to let you all know how it goes.

Opera and dance--a theme?

After posting about both the Atlanta Ballet's Magic Flute and the Parsons Dance Company performance of "Remember Me", I belatedly realized they are both dance to opera (traditional Mozart or "rock opera" respectively) with live singers on stage (correct? I haven't seen either yet). I wonder if there's a trend outside these 2? CORE Performance Company danced pretty recently to Messiah, which is also sung, if an oratorio rather than opera technically. I see that David Parsons commented in his interview that he changed how the singers interacted on stage. If I remember correctly, Sue had to make the singers much more stationary that she originally envisioned. Many singers don't do much moving when they sing! And many dancers don't have much vocal training. I guess that's why the "triple threat" Broadway-type folks are a breed unto themselves! Anybody out there have thoughts on singing and dancing?

Parsons Dance Company

I do have tickets for the show this Friday at the Ferst Center and now I'm quite curious how the whole rock opera meets modern dance fusion will work. Cheesy, maybe, entertaining and with some kick-butt dancing, definitely. Here are a couple of articles by Cynthia Bond Perry, who had a chance to talk to David Parsons about the piece: from the AJC and from artscriticatl.com.
There's also a preshow talk with Zoetic Dance Ensemble folks, if you're interested in getting more info. I will probably be trying desperately to put the baby to sleep right about then, so I don't think that I'll make that part. I just hope I can get to the show on time! I'm sure I'll see some of you dance peeps there!

Atlanta Ballet's Magic Flute

Impressions from Atlanta Ballet's Magic Flute performance from the GO Arts blog where Keif, and friends in this case, are going to see at least one art event per day all month! Wow!

a book review: "The Making of American Dance"

"Martha Hill and The Making of American Dance"  Neil Ellis Orts reviews a new academy press book about someone I'd never heard of who apparently was very instrumental in getting dance into the academic setting in the US around the time of Martha Graham et al. In a similar vein to the previous post about educating audiences, I'm pasting the entire final paragraph here:
If contemporary dance is condemned to “always all over again,” always teaching what dance is, always convincing audiences that it is a serious art form, always defending its place as a form worthy of the same attention given to music and theater, Martha Hill and the Making of American Dance is a testament to why the pioneering remains important, not only to the dancers and choreographers, but also to other art forms and the larger culture.

An article about watching dance for non-dancers

"Dance Class" is an interesting sort of primer for watching dance written by a reporter who was forced to attend dance regularly by a girlfriend. I think it's unfortunate that dance is said to be "among the most mysterious and intimidating of art forms." But at least it's in the context of trying to give people a way to look at it rather than just a complaint (like that really old commercial for asprin, does anybody else remember this one, where the guy "gets a headache" at the thought of having to go to the ballet with his wife?) Also interesting that defining an arabesque is somehow important, though I like the comparison to architecture to describe the ideal simplicity of line (isn't arabesque also an architectural term?) And interesting too that he enjoyed the theatricality of the Bill T. Jones work, because I often think of dance theatre pieces being more "cutting edge" and would therefore assume they are less accessible to non-dance audiences. So much for assumptions about what an audience sees, right? 

taking classes...

I got to take class again last week with CORE and plan to keep going. Yay! I've been sore and I'm still very out of shape (not having been doing any class since before Mirah, so more than a year! Unfortunately, the occasional rehearsal almost doesn't count.) It's funny how it works, to keep dancing having to take class all the time. It's something particular to dance to some degree (or other physical forms, obviously.) I had a friend in college who was working on a PhD who said "when do you stop taking classes and start teaching?" I guess that's what happens in other disciplines, but obviously with dance, you just keep taking classes, even if you do teach, (well, if you can fit it in.) Do you get to take class as much as you like? Are you teaching without being able to take class for yourself? If you only have time for one class a week, what do you take? Do you like other forms like yoga/pilates/gyrotonic in addition or in place of technique classes?
Would you like a list of dance classes around the area in our eventual website? Adult classes would be our focus, and professional level. Or do we include studios with beginner and kids classes too?

Performing: exposure vs. conditions

What space do you have in mind when you choreograph? Is it a huge, sprung stage with a nice surface, great lighting, a good number of seats in the house, climate control etc.? Some work is better in smaller venues, others in larger, still others is site-specific, but regardless, you would like to perform in the space you had in mind when making the work.  But what do we do when conditions we find ourselves in don't match our ideal? One interesting challenge comes to mind in times where there are the possibilities to perform in spaces that aren't usually performance venues. The option to create a whole new work specifically for the space is a time consuming one. If you're adapting an existing work, how much are you willing to sacrifice of your original vision, not to mention shins/knees etc. for the exposure of a public performance that may be in a less than ideal spot? How do you adapt your work if needed, or at what point do you say no amount of exposure is worth the conditions you'd be performing in?

Review of "pour"

Here is Cynthia Perry's review of Lauri Stallings/gloATL in "pour" as part of Le Flash last Friday night. I have to say the one problem with this type of performance (especially when you're short!) is seeing anything in the crowd. Cynthia managed to stay close to the dancers the whole way. But if you went with the flow of the crowd like I did, it was only a fleeting glimpse every now and then of the dancers. I was in a site specific piece during ADF one summer where the crowd was led on a path by one person as the dancers performed a little farther off, so they could be seen. That might not have been possible, though, in the alleyways of Castleberry Hill rather than in the open space of Duke Gardens. It's ok though, like I said, I was enjoying being in the midst of a crowd who was interested in seeing dance!

Thoughts on a singular arts service organization

Blake Beckham passed along this link from Partners in Performance. To bring the same discussion local, the question of consolidation has arisen in the Atlanta arts community before, and of course we are talking again about whether there needs to be a separate dance-specific organization. I say yes. That doesn't mean the organizations that provide wider discipline services aren't doing a great job, it just means that dance groups have specific needs (e.g. space for rehearsals with particular floor etc. requirements) that aren't being addressed. I agree with Lisa Mount's comment on the article, "Artists and cultural workers in the various disciplines have disparate vocabularies, values, and ways of working – symphony orchestras and ensemble theaters, just to name two, create their work and reach their publics in very different ways, and they hold radically different ideas about what the other disciplines actually contribute to society." How many of us have collaborated with musicians only to realize that the way dancers talk about music and the way musicians do is VERY different!? The process of creating dance is unique to the discipline (or really to each artist, but generally more similar among dancers than across disciplines) and the unique needs of dancers will be best met by an organization for dancers. And as I said, there's a wide disparity of viewpoints just among the dancers without even bringing them together with artists in other disciplines!

I also believe there should be a dance-specific group because the larger organizations are useful--the MAACC marketing meetings are a great source of information and inspiration for marketing for me, but having the people who are working specifically on dance get together too would be even better! There are groups of people who meet to discuss theatre, why can't there be meetings for the dancers? We can define what we need so that things don't overlap with what MAACC, ACPA etc. are offering. But the combination that happened after the Atlanta Dance Initiative folded into the Theatre Coalition to become the Coalition for Performing Arts is that the culture of theatre was still largely dominant in the organization. As Keif, who served on the ACPA member services committee has said, their Unified Auditions don't serve the dance community and though there are some voices from the dance community involved in the board etc. it's still mostly a theatre crowd. That's not to say the promotional tools online, ticketing services and health insurance benefits to name a few, aren't a great service to dancers. And we don't want yet another organization that's going to be a drain on resources for membership dues. But I think we can work out some way that makes sense for dance to have a larger presence AS DANCE in Atlanta and still be involved with these existing entities.
This is one of our largest issues in creating DanceATL--so what do you all think?

Le Flash dance

I had a really fun time walking out of my door (well, gate) in Castleberry Hill and encountering Le Flash--lots of friends/dancers I know performing all around at both the Dance Truck and in pour the gloATL piece. Unfortunately, the baby didn't got to sleep early enough and I missed Blake and Greg at the Dance Truck, but made it to the later show of pour, and what I could see of it was cool. Mostly I was soaking up being in a crowd where people were saying "where is the dance? we're going to find the dance!" I made it back to the Dance Truck to catch some of Alex and Corian (way to use the space you're given guys!) and then had to run back to get baby back to sleep.
Here's Keif's input from her GoArts blog.

Happy National Arts and Humanities Month!

October is National Arts and Humanties Month and we can all celebrate it by going to as many arts events or making as much art and sharing it with folks, as we can! Let your friends and family know, raise awareness about arts in your community, including your own! I know there are events coming up this month in dance, like Le Flash tomorrow night and SDC's Lunchtime and Salon on the 15th. There's a national map of events this month through Americans for the Arts and you can add your events there. They also have a list of 101 things you can do to celebrate, including #65 "take a modern dance class." I've added the NAHM logo to the bottom of my emails and added it to the SDC website.

Streaming the National Summit on Arts Journalism

I don't think I'll sign up to be a satellite site for the National Summit on Arts Journalism, but I'll still be streaming at the SDC office if anyone is interested in "attending"--sitting around my computer and watching the talks. It should be interesting to see what they say at this point as everything shifts from print to "new media."

Summit on Arts Journalism--sattellite?

Would anyone be interested in coming to a satellite of the National Summit on Arts Journalism? I think we could fit a few people around a computer at the SDC office. It's Oct. 2 from 12 p.m.-4 p.m. (isn't that the Eastern timezone version of 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Pacific?) If there's a LOT of interest and someone has a better technological set up where we could project a larger version of the video, we could try that as well. But I know we could do the small screen version at SDC. Just let me know if you're interested?

Interview with Twyla Tharp on artscriticatl

Cynthia Perry's interview with Twyla Tharp about "Come Fly with Me."
Has anyone been to seen it? What are your thoughts?

Formal consensus

Here is a Guide to Formal Consensus. We use this structure/method for our meetings at Several Dancers Core and I am proposing we use it for future DanceATL meetings as well, so that we have a structure and roles that we all understand and can use our time in meaningful discussion (crossing fingers!) There's a lot of detail but most of it is pretty straightforward, the notetaker takes notes etc. Comments please on what you think about adopting this structure for future meetings.(from those of you who've used it or if you're a veteran of other processes.)

Preview for "Come Fly with Me"

Preview for the new Twyla Tharp show at the Alliance "Come Fly with Me" by Cynthia Bond Perry at artscriticatl.com

Critics' Picks for fall

So I'm catching up with some critics picks for the fall dance line-up:

The local fall picks from Cynthia Bond Perry ArtsCriticATL include the bigger, more classical companies like the Atlanta Ballet, Alliance Theater and Georgia Ballet, and the smaller like Dance Canvas and gloATL and the dance truck at Le Flash in Castleberry Hill (home sweet formerly-industrial-warehouse-turned-gallery-district!) I put "Come Fly with Me" in the ballet category even though it's Twyla Tharp. How do you categorize her work? Obviously it's a premiere so I haven't seen it, but a lot of what she did more recently for the American Dance Festival has been very balletic, and she does most of her work with classical companies and classically trained dancers, so we'll see how it turns out stylistically when she revisits Sinatra.
Some of the same from the AJC including Parsons Dance Company dancing to rock opera at the Ferst Center. I do have tickets to this one (hey, taking advantage of that student discount as long as my hubby's at Tech!) Parsons is always athletic, great dancers goes without saying, but their last show at the Ferst stayed very monotone--all upbeat and frisky, not much texture or emotional range. It should be fun nonetheless!

and the winner is...

So the totally unscientific polling here on the blog seems to indicate that peoples' preference about naming the service organization goes to "DanceATL." So until we have a wider survey, that's going to stick as far as this blog is concerned anyway. Thanks to everyone who voted! yay, dance!!(If you don't like the outcome, please comment your thoughts on what it should be, in your opinion. It's not set in stone by any means yet. Thanks!)

Org name

Ok, so it's too funny that there's one day left to vote on the poll I put here on the blog to see what people think the name should be of a dance service organization in Atlanta--and the 8 votes are completely even across 4 possible choices! We're going to send a survey with that same question (and a few others) to everyone on the list soon, but we can drop out the one here that has no votes! If you want to add suggestions for a name that isn't on the poll, comment and we can put them on the survey!

Thanks!

Thanks to the folks who have dropped off their flyers with me at SDC! We should have all sorts of good materials for our next dance info tables, the first of which will be this Sunday at the Overture for the Arts at the Cobb Energy Center (need volunteers--it's an all day affair, anyone able to go in the morning? I have rehearsal.) And then we've been given the go ahead to put out a table during the "Come Fly with Me" run at the Alliance. Should we still try to "man" the table before shows? I think it does help to have someone there to answer questions, especially once we're going to have a great deal of information out for people to see.

Dance info table at Decatur Book Festival

The first dance info table went up today at the Decatur Book Festival! Thanks to everyone who sent info to put out. Keep it coming for the fall, we've got more festivals and shows to get to. Let us know if there's a particularly good place you can think of to have a table present, too.
I set up in front of Several Dancers Core, which was hosting The Escape teen stage inside, so we were right in the thick of things there on the Square. Keif took some photos of the set up. (I'll see if she can get me and I'll post them.) I went ahead and used the SDC display board because that's where we were and I wanted to let people who were coming for the festival know what goes on in the space they were entering/passing. But the info on the table represented at least 6 or7 other artists/groups. Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen and let's keep it going!

Dance Table cont'd

So here's what I have so far for volunteers at the DanceATL (name? see poll on the left) table at the Alliance for "Come Fly with Me," the Twyla Tharp premiere.
Wed., Sept. 16: Carolyn/Good Moves
Thurs., Sept. 17: Nicole/D'air Project
Wed., Sept. 23:
Tues, Sept. 29: Elizabeth/SDC
Wed., Sept. 30: MJ, can you do this?
Tues, Oct. 6: Elizabeth/SDC
Wed., Oct. 7:
Two slots left! It's a really hard time for me because it's baby's bedtime. I plan to be at the Decatur Book Festival with a table outside SDC during the day this weekend (please send/drop off things by this weekend, if you'd like to be on that table. If that's too soon, the deadline for these other dates is Sept. 11.)
You can mail materials to: Claire Horn, Several Dancers Core, P.O. Box 2045, Decatur, GA 30031 or
Alyson Brock, Atlanta Ballet, 1400 West Peachtree Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30309.
 Thanks guys!! Yay dance!

Inspiring if unrelated

You guys may have seen this already online, but I thought I'd share the story of the quadruple amputee who's dancing at Julliard!

Suggestions for Homework to Bring to the Table for Monday's FCAC Peer-to-Peer, from Joanna

I apologize for being so late to the meeting last Friday. If there was something that was discussed that might have relevance to this entry, feel free to fill me in. I'd also like to say that there is nothing wasteful about all of the dialogue surrounding Atlanta Dances* thus far...these are just some simple ideas to make efficient use of our time together.

Since the basic foundation has already been laid out in Aly & Claire's proposal HERE, I think that each of us should start by taking a look and assessing what have already been identified as goals. Here are a few suggestions, let's get some feedback. Please comment and if you guys decide this sounds like a good idea, let's commit to it!

1) We each personally rate the order of importance, relevance and attainability of each goal laid out in the proposal and then see where the common denominators are on Monday (or the next meeting if Monday's attendance is poor). This will not only narrow and intesify our focus, but ensure that everyone who wants to have input can and does.

2) We each come up with a single, clearly articulated goal for what we'd like Atlanta Dances* to become that is completely altruistic in nature (selling more tix to our individual organizations productions would NOT be an altruistic goal).

Again, these are just two little steps each of us can accomplish on our own so that we can have a little more focus in the dialogue when we are all together. I also think it would behoove all of us to take a moment to look at MAACC and other similar entities so that we are not duplicating services with what limited resources we have.

*As stated on Friday in regard to the name, I am of the opinion that the language we use in the name will become clear once we know what our core objectives are.

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Joanna Brooks
brooks & company dance

Thoughts from Friday's meeting from Angela

Today's meeting was very interesting. I am always happy when a group of dancers get together to discuss how to improve the state of dance in Atlanta. Thank you, Claire, Ali, and Sue for getting the ball rolling...It needed to happen!

As I was driving home, I thought really hard about some of the things that were discussed at the meeting, and the thing that resounded with me the most was Blake's comments about the purpose of the organization.

I know that with so many of us at the table, we will have different visions and goals that we would like to see out of an organization such as this one. And...I think the focus of each of our organizations drive the emphasis for each of us.

The thing is, if this is a group for all of metro Atlanta, the three or four places that we suggested for our dance tables to be present, all represented a demographic that may potentially overlap. People that go to the Book festival, Alliance to see Twyla, Cobb Energy Center, and Castleberry Hill area aren't the same people that go see "For Colored Girls" at the Southwest Arts Center (where True Colors just sold out 5 weeks of shows). We are already unintentionally not targeting a really large demographic of Atlanta. A demographic who does support the arts, just not dance. Who has money...and doesn't spend it on dance. I think the Southwest Arts Center (which is Fulton County) would be a big advocate for our organization...Dawn Axam rehearses and uses that space for performances...Does she know about these meetings?

An idea that I thought of is maybe before the next meeting, we can each take an area of metro Atlanta and see what is needed out of a dance service organization. For instance, Decatur will need something different in terms of Dance visibility than the City of Atlanta. Cobb County (Marietta/Kennesaw) will need something different than Hapeville (South of the airport)...etc. Yet, all of the regions need to benefit from our organization, right?

Additionally, if you couldn't tell...LOL...I don't think we should name the organization Atlanta Dances. I just think we should try our hardest not to anger anyone in the dance community that we are trying to serve. I can tell you first hand that in the mind of the owners of these dance businesses it would feel like a slap in the face. It would be like naming this organization "Several Dancers Collective" or something like that. If we can avoid that I say, "let's"

Just some more food for thought, as we are in the planning stages...So glad that the ball is rolling! Can't wait to see where it goes...

Angela Harris
Executive Artistic Director
Dance Canvas

Dance table

There was a meeting today for some of the folks interested in the Atlanta Dances concept. We batted around ideas, but the main thing I want to post is that we are going to put together a dance table, with all the info we can collect from dancing folk around town. It's going to be set up (and broken down) at the Alliance Theatre before their Twyla Tharp production "Come Fly with Me." If you'd like to get the word out about your upcoming dance events, we need your help! Leave a comment on the blog here if you will be able to drop off your info, and if you can help with one of the times to set up/break down the table in the lobby at the Alliance Theatre.
The times are 6:30 p.m. till either 8 p.m. when the show starts, or through intermission:

• September 16
• September 17
• September 23
• September 29
• September 30
• October 6
• October 7

To drop off your materials, the deadline is Friday, September 11. Please put them in an envelope or other nice wrapping with your name on them and drop them off at either the Atlanta Ballet (Midtown), c/o Alyson Brock, or Several Dancers Core (Decatur), c/o Claire Horn. And please, if you're going to take advantage of this opportunity, please sign up for a time to help with set up too!

Other places we had thought of including a Dance Atlanta/Atlanta Dances (yeah, the name of this thing is still vague, you can comment on that too!) table was at the Decatur Book Festival (SDC is hosting the Teen Stage, Sept. 5-6), at the Overture for the Arts at the Cobb Energy Center (Sept. 13), youth summit Sept. 5 (Angela, what was it called again?) and the Dance Truck in Castleberry Hill Oct.2. So let's get the word out there about dance, guys!

Some thoughts for the dancing blogsphere, from Blake

I am encouraged by the process of sharing our inquiries, notions, and aspirations. Here are some of mine, for what its worth:

Sustainability requires a lattice of support that extends beyond our audience. Certainly, many of us wish to develop a larger and more consistent base of patrons. But in focusing our efforts only there, perhaps we miss the opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue around the patronage of process. Who supports the development of work, to ensure its integrity? Who commits to the business of the work, including the necessary infrastructure and financing? Who invests in the methodology of the work, so that artists remain free to risk and sometimes fail? Without a purposeful approach to the sustainability of process, I'm afraid we can look forward to 1. sameness and 2. the anesthetizing of dance.

So how do we preserve and promote our art in Atlanta? The answer for me lies not in selling more tickets, or producing more advertisements. We have to unearth creative operational models that value artistry and protect process.

Blake Beckham
Performing Artist & Choreographer
www.bdancing.com

Development Director, Moving in the Spirit
Using dance to help young people realize the potential for their lives
www.movinginthespirit.org

Dance Instructor, Agnes Scott College

Bus stop dance

I wish I had been close enough to video with my cell phone what I witnessed the other day. A man sitting at a bus stop started out reaching side to side and overhead and twisting in what were obviously stretches. Then he kept going, gesturing to one side and then the other with both arms, repeating the stretches etc. It's really fun to see spontaneous "site-specific" dances like that, even if the guy did look a little crazy probably to the rest of the folks driving by!

Interview with Bill T. Jones

Bill T. Jones remembers Merce Cunningham in this NPR interview. I think it's interesting that Mr. Jones calls today's audiences "conservative." He said, "they want to know what they're supposed to be seeing, they want to know what the meaning of it is, and they like a beginning, a middle and an end. All things that Cunningham threw out the window." I usually call that type of dance "accessible." I mean, it makes sense to me that if you are creating for a non-dancer audience (who the audience is for contemporary dance is a really interesting question in and of itself) they prefer to see more traditional dance structure with narrative etc. I remember talking to my mom about a performance I'd seen at ADF by thingsezisee'm dance/theatre back in 1998 (yep, I was there waaay back when) where in one section the dancers were very still for
long periods while there was projection and music going on around them and my mom said "but I don't MOVE, so that's what I want to see people do!"

So obviously what dancers and non-dancers want to get out of a performance is very different and I think part of the audience problem is not being able to accommodate that fact. As a dancer, what Cunningham did was awesome because of the process he used (or didn't use), but I'm not sure that comes across to non-dancers. So the answer is to educate non-dancers, dance appreciation courses somehow, but people have to be interested enough in dance to begin with to want to sign up for something like that. Maybe TV shows about dance create that interest? Any thoughts on other ways, not even to get people to shows necessarily, but to just get them interested enough to want to learn about dance?

"What happened to Spring into Dance?" from Kathleen

Atlanta is a hotbed of musical innovation and a foodie's paradise. The '96 Olympics drew international crowds, the High Museum has housed art from the Louvre and the Dalai Lama is on faculty at Emory. Culturally, Atlanta is almost a contender on the national stage but not for a missing piece: support and an enthusiastic audience for contemporary dance. The Rialto Center for the Arts sought to change that with their 2008 debut of “Spring Into Dance,” a promotion offering three dance events at various local venues for $45. The Rialto’s director and long time arts advocate Leslie Gordon modeled the promotion after New York City's annual "Fall for Dance," a wildly popular event aimed at exposing audiences to a wide range of dance forms for just $10 per ticket. Gordon's reasons for following suit were simple: Atlantans deserve the opportunity to see what they have been missing. Said Gordon: “[Contemporary dance] is a niche that needs to be filled if we’re trying to be a world-class city.”

But something didn't quite click. The 2008 "Spring Into Dance" line-up included 8 performances by high quality contemporary dance companies. New York giants such as Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and David Dorfman Dance mingled with classics like Twyla Tharp's In the Upper Room (performed by the Atlanta Ballet). Tania Perez-Salas Compania de Danza added a glimpse into international trends and Several Dancers Core represented local talent. But for the 2008-2009 season, the Rialto website made no mention of "Spring Into Dance" and advertised just 2 dance performances (Trey McIntyre Dance Project and Rennie Harris Puremovement). The united front among arts presenters to promote contemporary dance in Atlanta was no longer, and the season's offerings - Momix, Alvin Ailey, Rennie Harris, even the Atlanta Ballet's Dracula - were comfort food to the fresh tastes of innovation served up by "Spring Into Dance."

To be fair, the Ferst Center briefly ventured into the unknown with its presentation of the avant-garde Shen Wei Dance Arts. But one has to wonder if this company, which has been critically acclaimed since 2000, would have been featured if it weren't for the recent addition of "Beijing Olympics Choreographer" to Shen Wei's resume.

Sameness and an unwillingness to expose Atlanta to the best and brightest of dance - both American and international - continues in the upcoming 2009-10 season. Again, the Rialto is offering just 2 dance performances - the Atlanta staple Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and Trey McIntyre returning for a second year. And again, there is no mention of "Spring Into Dance." Is this just another disappointing manifestation of the economic crisis or a deeper indication of Atlanta's lack of interest in contemporary dance?

Contemporary dance is a difficult market. Arts presenters know they can make more money booking one famous singer than twenty just-as-talented but virtually unknown professional dancers. And would-be patrons often dismiss contemporary dance as something they “just don’t get.” This needs to change. Atlanta is a diverse and culturally curious city. We don’t question Mozart’s intentions or refuse to look at a Picasso without knowing the story surrounding its creation. Dance is the same: symbolic sometimes, often emotionally and intellectually challenging, but also, when done well, a treat for the senses like no other.

Our dancers, like our city, deserve recognition. Without the jungle of opportunities and auditions available to New York City dancers, Atlanta professionals are quiet, most of them with other careers in teaching or the arts. But there is undeniable and exciting talent here, choreographic and technical abilities that match and very often exceed those of cities with a larger footprint on the dance map.

A unique collaboration between arts presenters and dancers from across the country, 2008's “Spring Into Dance” signaled an attempt to put Atlanta on par, culturally, with cities like New York and San Francisco. At the time, the Rialto's aggressive promotion seemed like a great way to build patronage for dance, patronage that would also fill the seats of smaller, local performances featuring Atlanta professionals. But somehow the effort fell short. Case in point: as part of the "Spring Into Dance" promotion, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company presented an intriguing new piece that was met with packed houses and critical acclaim in New York. In Atlanta, the Ferst Center was about half full for a one-night only performance. With such limited support, how can we expect presenters to bring fresh, innovative and experimental dance to Atlanta?

The only answer, perhaps, is to create this kind of dance ourselves and hope to generate enough local support to sustain it. Dancers are great patrons of dance, but we need to expand our fan base. The recent additions of www.artscriticATL.com and this blog to our community serve to reignite what often feels like a dying flame. Organization and visibility are key. Generating excitement for local Atlanta dance is not only possible given the pool of talent, it is essential to the health and vitality of the art form. Dancers, choreographers and the general public can only benefit from more exposure to current dance trends. Old stand-bys should be presented in addition to fresh talent, not instead of it. And older companies should not be afraid to bring something new to Atlanta audiences. Culture-hungry Atlantans will soon abide by Leslie Gordon's advice: "Try it. You'll like it."

-Kathleen Wessel

photos!

So I realized I haven't posted a single photo...and for a dance blog, that's kind of silly! So I'm just going to stick in a couple CORE and Gathering Wild photos because that's what I have, but please send me your photos! (Unfortunately, I don't think you can post them in comments, or I'd say you should include them with the info about upcoming events.) I'll stick a few photos up now and then to break up the text! And if you want to see more photos of CORE, you can go to the website or Facebook page.
CORE Performance Company photos: This one to the left is Blake Dalton and Claire Molla in last spring's THREE, photo by Lori Teague.
And below is Molly Perez, Kim Kleiber and Juana Farfan rehearsing in Amsterdam for Beppie Blankert's piece "Cumulus."

And this one is a (pre-baby) one of me from an old Gathering Wild performance, taken by Neil Dent.

Upcoming events?

So it's about to be the beginning of a new season for a lot of dancin' folks in town. Like I said before, I can't really keep up with everyone's info right now, but consider this a call for info that YOU can post. I was thinking we can all add our events that are coming up through Thanksgiving for a start, and then we'll go from there. You guys can post your events as comments, that way it's all here in one place and I won't have to create posts with your info etc.
So, post away! I look forward to getting a preview of everything that's coming up!

And as far as Several Dancers Core goes, we have:
Lunchtime in the Studio: Sept. 10, Oct. 15 and Nov. 12
Fall Fieldwork Workshops begin Sept. 28
and Salons around various topics begin Sept.16 with a discussion on the Field Network

Eventually--a film project highlighting Atlanta Dance?

Thanks to Celeste for her previous comments about putting together a performance piece about Atlanta's dance history. That's a fabulous idea we should definitely keep in mind for Dance Atlanta (hoping the organization exists someday soon!)

Another thought was to have someone create short films of the current dance "scene" that could be posted on the website. Blake brought to my attention these two sites from Ohio State Univ. where they did make short films about works in creation that they then showed as a part of art walks around town so that they reached an audience interested in art, but not necessarily familiar with dance in particular.

Dance Downtown
:03 Minute Portions

Meet the press, from Amanda

Here's a post from Amanda Thompson from Zoetic.

Meet the Press

As voting for “Best Of” closes and we are furiously rounding up friends and family to support dance (Go Zoetic!) I thought it would be a good time to share my new press connection at the AJC, Jill Vejnoska. Jill wrote an article on my life as a planner/dancer for the Arts Section of the AJC and she highlighted a lot of issues that local dance companies struggle with. You can read the full article here http://www.ajc.com/news/dekalb/from-72510.html

Jill was great to work with and although she was well versed in the Atlanta arts scene she had NO exposure to dance. Now is the time to remedy that! There has been a lot of change in staff and switching around of jobs so we aren’t dealing with the same reporters anymore and everyone is being required to step out of their specialty. I think there is an opportunity to promote the new collaborations that are taking place (like this blog) or dance in Atlanta in general.

I am willing to arrange a meeting (aka drinks) with Jill and other media types to introduce them to dance in Atlanta. Who else wants to be involved? How should we structure it? etc. etc.

Amanda Thompson
Zoetic Dance Ensemble

I'm all for getting together to host anyone from the press who's interested in dance and introducing them to all that's going on in metro Atlanta. Can this be added to our agenda for Dance Atlanta as an organization in some way as well? Would that be regular contact from Dance Atlanta in some form? To look to one of the existing organizations, I think Dance Source Houston sends press releases for its members, but I'm not sure if it's just to its entire mailing list that may include press, or if it's specific to a press list as well.

A sad day

I already posted a notice today for our community's loss here in Atlanta of Antonio Sisk, and then I see the news that Merce Cunningham has passed! He was 90, but still, what an icon of modern dance, and he was still making work! A link to the NY Times article.

Thoughts on gloATL

Read the review of "rapt" by Cynthia Bond Perry at ArtsCriticATL.com

And some thoughts from keif about the show (not really a review):

Atlantans glo’d

What a great way to enjoy dance… great creation, dancers, venue, and summer evening. Equally enjoyable at this past weekend’s performance of rapt was the mass of people who were along for the ride—a large and diverse audience that packed the Woodruff piazza in anticipation, an audience that made the most of the social atmosphere, an audience that morphed as it moved, an audience that danced and chatted, an audience that lingered. Dance as a happening breaks down barriers to our craft and engages audiences.

Lauri Stallings and the collaborators of gloATL met all expectations of their namesake by creating a wonderful opportunity for “a group of individuals who congregate to witness a unique event.” In doing so, they did much to invigorate audiences and supporters of dance in a way that will benefit the entire dance community. They also demonstrated why local dance and the experience surrounding it are a great investment for arts organizations like the Alliance Theater and the Woodruff Arts Center who sponsored the event. Thanks and congratulations, Lauri & gloATL and everyone who supported their vision.

keif schleifer
president
brooks & company dance

In Memoriam: Antonio Sisk

From Melanie Lynch-Blanchard:

Family, friends, students and colleagues will come together on Tuesday July 28^th to celebrate the life and spirit of Antonio Sisk, who passed away on July 23, 2009. He was an amazing artist, mentor, teacher and friend whose legacy of amazing work far exceeds his years with us. Details on services are listed below, as is a link to offer condolences to the family. Please consider making a contribution to the Roswell Dance Theater in his honor.

Services for Antonio will be held on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at the Roswell Funeral Home, located at 950 Mansell Road, Roswell, GA 30076. The viewing is from 11 am – 1pm, followed by the funeral at 2pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Roswell Dance Theater
Antonio Sisk Memorial Fund. Please send your contribution to:

Roswell Dance Theater Antonio Sisk Memorial Fund
10400 Building D Alpharetta Street
Roswell, GA 30075

Offer you condolences online at http://www.legacy.com/atlanta/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=130344995

Antonio’s full obituary can be found at ajc.com (http://www.legacy.com/atlanta/Obituaries.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=130344995)

Dance across the categories in CL's "Best"

I'm copying an email below from Joanna Brooks, artistic director of brooks & company dance. The idea is to have all the dance lovers in Atlanta vote in Creative Loafing's "Best of Atlanta" (deadline is July 31) not just for their own companies in the "Best Dance" categories, but to put dance in as many other categories as we can creatively fit it! Make the editors notice that there's a voice for dance in Atlanta! Comment and let us know of other places you can think of to add dance to the categories. Have fun with it!
And thanks to Joanna for the shout out for the Best Local Arts Blog!
I'm adding my suggestions here:

• New thing about Atlanta: Every new dance piece created here
• Local Athlete: dancers
• Free thing to do in Atlanta: (ok, I'm going to put in an SDC suggestion here...but feel free to add any free event your group produces) Several Dancers Core's "Lunchtime in the Studio"
• Annual event: Modern Atlanta Dance Festival, Inman Park Dance Festival
• Local YouTube video: insert your favorite local dance on youtube here (SDC's videos)
  
• Place to score affordable art: local dance performances
• Local Singer/Songwriter: (another SDC plug) Dee Adams accompanying CORE Performance Company's THREE
• Uplifting news story: Dance-related (e.g. Katrina, Katrina Love Letters to New Orleans, by PearsonWidrig presented by SDC)

And from Joanna:
"Howdy, folks!

I just had a few ideas about the Creative Loafing BEST of ATLANTA voting that could bring some more attention to dance here...

Of course we all have our personal alliances for Best Dance Company and Dance Performance, (and OF COURSE I'd love to have everyone vote for brooks & company dance and CRUX, respectively) but there are some neutral categories we might be able to agree on and get some attention for dance in Atlanta...here are a few suggestions! Most are strictly dance-related but I threw out some other options for the ones that aren't.

AND...the cool thing about this year is that you can go back to your ballot once they have sent you a the confirmation email! You can also vote from each different email address so let's make the Creative Loafing readers take a look at DANCE!

Most Underrated thing About Atlanta: Dance

Best Arts Event: Modern Atlanta Dance Festival

Best New Trend: Dance

Local Arts Website: Atlanta Arts Critic, Atlanta PlanIt or Atlanta Performs

Local Arts Blog: Atlanta Dances

Here's the link:
http://clatl.com/bestofatlanta

Good luck to all the companies and happy voting!

-Joanna Brooks-

Article on Dance 101's upcoming show

Check out the new dance article on ArtsCriticATL about the upcoming performance, "Incarnation," by Dance 101 students, directed by Charles "Bubba" Carr, with guest artists.

Goals for dance in Atlanta?

We've had a couple meetings, some of us involved in dance organizations around town, and brought out the idea of a staffed dance organization that would serve the entire community, similar to the ones from other places that I mentioned in my
first post. One of those meetings took place today at the Fulton County Arts Commission (and for those of you on Facebook, you can join the group "Peer to Peer: DANCE" and get updates about these meetings.)

I'm pasting below a proposal (thanks to Aly at the Atlanta Ballet for writing this up for us!) for the steps to creating a community dance organization and what it should eventually look like. I've included a few of my personal thoughts in perintheses. This is a draft and we really want your feedback!! Please post comments with any places you disagree with me, ideas of things you think we've left out, or other ways you think we can make it realize. We'd love to have you at a future meeting about this as well, so please let me know if you're interested in joining us! Thanks!

ATLANTA DANCE

Atlanta Dance Resource Proposal

Phase One: Planning Stage

X Create Blog to start the conversation and provide a sustainability resource for the dance community during the current economic crisis (done, you're looking at it!)

_ Monthly meetings to discuss action steps and findings (this is being wrapped into the FCAC bi-monthly meetings, with a committee that will meet independently to look at funding possibilities)

_ Survey dance organizations to inventory the challenges of the dance community and identify what elements are ideal for an Atlanta dance resource organization (this may be difficult before there is staff to carry out, to be discussed further at next meeting)

_ Community dance forum held before MAD Festival (looking at a time to have an inaugural "annual meeting" just before the performances which will be the first weekend in March. Yes, MAD is a modern dance festival, but this will be open to the whole community.)

Phase Two: Implementation

_ Form independent, all inclusive dance resource organization structure – website

_ Funding – website and staffing

_ Dance USA conference in Atlanta in 2011 – great way to spotlight local dance for the conference (there was a proposal to host the winter meeting, but those may have been canceled for the immediate future because of cost.)


MISSION

Atlanta Dance’s mission is to facilitate communication among and about the art form of dance in the Metro Atlanta Area. As a resource for advancing exposure to dance in Atlanta, Atlanta Dance is sustained by its members of professional dance companies, artists, choreographers, presenters, educators, students, foundations, individuals and other organizations statewide. Atlanta Dance creates a collective voice for the dance community that will address concerns and aspirations effectively through communication and organization. To address the challenges of the Atlanta dance community, Atlanta Dance seeks to accomplish these goals:

• Advocacy - Create a united voice for dance in Atlanta.

• Diversity - Encourage a deeper understanding and respect of the cultural diversity within dance.

• Community - Foster support and partnership among the dance population.

• Communication - Promote more effective communication within the field.

• Boost the Industry - Retain and attract talent so it can thrive in Atlanta.

• Education - Promote opportunities for education and enhanced accessibility to dance.

• Audience Development - Build appreciation and attendance of dance among the general public.


MEMBERSHIP

Membership fees will help underwrite services,(in addition to other funding that may be found through grants, sponsorships and individual contributions, assuming it will eventually become its own nonprofit.) New services will be developed in reaction to surveys of dance organizations and individual artists, and in response to community needs.


PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Atlanta Dance provides resources, promotion, and collaborative opportunities for the dance community in Metro Atlanta. Project activities focus on advocacy, professional development and information resources, and are designed to gather and disseminate information, convene individuals and groups around key issues, facilitate networking, and stimulate the communal voice.
Free Services to the Atlanta Dance Community:

• Dance Calendar - a comprehensive listing of Atlanta area dance performances as well as classes, auditions and workshops.
• The Dance Card - a calendar of upcoming events, distributed to membership and at dance events (as a program insert collecting in one place the upcoming month of performances)
• Atlanta Dance Table – set up and staffed at dance events for brochures, posters, flyers, and postcards.
• Dance Writings– Interviews, Previews and Reviews of dance events, created in response to a lack of coverage in commercial press. (may be in conjunction with other online sites)
• Dance Directory - a directory and resource guide for all things dance related in Metro Atlanta. Dance companies, schools, colleges, studios, performance venues, etc.
• Dance community Listserv – list for the dance community to disseminate information to members by email. (Dance Georgia yahoo group still exists, may be able to transfer membership?)
• Dance Job Board - lists auditions, job openings, dance administrative positions, and internships.
• Dance Space – information for dancers about rental space for classes, rehearsals, auditions and performances.
• Weekly eNewsletter – news and complete listings of upcoming dance performances and events.(this was monthly in Aly's version and I changed it to weekly because that's how they do it in Houston. We'll need to see how much information there is and if monthly is enough or if we need to do weekly.)
• Atlanta Dance on Facebook – formed to network with fellow dancers and choreographers, announce upcoming performances and workshops and build an audience.(Currently Peer to Peer Dialogue:DANCE will serve as the space for discussion on Facebook)

One location online, so many resources...

Article about Atlanta Ballet students

Atlanta's new critical arts blog has its second dance post about the upcoming performance that is the culmination of the Atlanta Ballet's summer intensive: ArtsCriticATL.

More interesting video online

I'm just going to post interesting links to sort of random dance sites because hopefully people will enjoy finding other dance ideas even when they're not Atlanta-specific.
There's a site called Danceminute that has just that--little videos of dance that are a minute or less. It hasn't been updated very recently but there are a lot of older posts to check out. Mostly contemporary dance in Europe because the person who's posting is over there.

No listings yet

So I've decided not to try to compile listings of Atlanta dance events, classes etc. on this blog right now. I'd like to keep it as a place for discussions/conversations, and frankly I don't have the time to collect and post everything! Like I said in my first post...there's a lot going on with dance in Atlanta! I'll look into a google calendar like the one on Artlanta, or if anyone has other suggestions for the short term, please comment! If we ever get something going that's a little more than a blog, keeping that kind of calendar of everything that's happening would be a great resource. I just don't think this is the time/place for that yet.
That doesn't mean I won't list your basic web address though, so please keep it coming with website information!

A general article about the "death of dance writing"--thoughts?

Elizabeth Zimmer, long time dance critic with the Village Voice, among other publications, discusses the issues of dance coverage in the Internet era in this article.

Those of us who perform in Atlanta are facing the same problems she describes, as the few outlets of dance coverage in the city become sparser and sparser. However, we are lucky to have a new online outlet for arts criticism in ArtsCriticATL.com that will include dance. As a writer, Ms. Zimmer is not a fan of reviews on blogs because most often the writers are not paid, but from the performer's point of view, it's a fantastic thing to get reviews from any credible source.

There are also some discussions happening with MAACC and the arts community about trying to create a place for reviews online. Can we create a structure that will actually pay writers for their critiques, or at least an editor to look at them before putting them online? If so, what does it look like? Dance Source Houston uses their membership dues and other funding to pay freelance writers for reviews. Is it something dancers/dance groups in Atlanta would pay a membership fee to support? or can we find enough writers willing to write for free to cover most of what happens in town? (and if it's volunteer only, how can we be sure the quality is up to snuff?)

Cool film project in Berlin

Ok, so it's not Atlanta related, but it's dance, and isn't it a cool idea? They took kids, paired them with choreographers who made site-specific dances around Berlin, and the short films of the dances were shown on Berlin's public transit!
http://www.mobiledance.org/postcards/

Economic downturn

Too bad "downturn" is the recession instead of a dance move, isn't it?

How are you all being affected by the economic hard times? Most of us don't dance because it's lucrative anyway, but is the slow economy making things more difficult? Students and individuals having a hard time affording dance classes? Organizations having a harder time with funding from grants (the Georgia Council for the Arts has cut its funding by 58%!)?

Please comment with your experiences, and then, rather than just making room for complaints--can you offer any suggestions for how we could work together to overcome some of the hardships?

Starting somewhere...

I've started by putting up lists of classes and dancers/companies that I know about. Along the side of the page are just the ones I could type in today, I'm by no means saying this is a comprehensive list. So please let me know if you're not listed in a comment or email and I'll be sure to add your site!

Let's get things moving, Atlanta!

Hi Atlanta Dancers and dance-lovers!

So Houston has Dance Source Houston, Washington DC has Dance/MetroDC, Philadelphia has PhiladelphiaDance and North Carolina has the North Carolina Dance Alliance, just to name a few. None of their programming is identical, but all these organizations help communication among dancers and about the dancing in their regions.

We have so much dance to talk about, Atlanta, but where is the conversation? In the past, there have been attempts to get talking with the Atlanta Dance Initiative and Dance Georgia, among others. There are still murmurs of these, but not loud enough! The momentum just didn't last. Of course it didn't, most of us are dancing in addition to other jobs and so many other things in our busy lives, so fitting in that one extra thing is hard. So I'm putting this blog out here as an attempt to make it easier to try to get the conversation moving. Have two minutes as you drink your morning coffee? Throw in your two cents in a comment about someone else's post. Have a lot to say about something? Let me know and I'll post your thoughts!

I'm not trying to make this my own personal blog, but if someone doesn't start talking on a blog, there's nothing to say! So consider this an online ice-breaker, in hopes that things will take off and I don't have to be the only one yammering away! And to clarify, this is Claire at Several Dancers Core, but it's not exactly a SDC project--we want to make space for everyone else to speak up, to open it up to ALL the dancers in Metro Atlanta: studios, companies, individual artists, in any and all genres. That's a lot of folks, so there should be a lot to talk about!

Will we ever have something as structured as those other places? Maybe not, but if we don't start talking, we'll never know what needs we have as a community that a service organization could fill! There are so many things going on in Atlanta dance! But how much do we actually talk to each other about what we're doing? Speak up and let's get this conversation moving!