So we're officially into summer, in which most dance folks take off after a busy season and possibly attend workshops and the like. Is that true? Let me know what's up if you've got things going on. And you can always post on the DanceATL Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/danceatl with events!
And I haven't posted anything in a week, sorry about that. But there certainly is less going on to post. I did, however, go ahead and update the google calendar at danceatl.org. It's got seasons for the ATL Ballet, Ferst Center and Rialto in there and the ongoing classes are still listed. An idea for June's meeting, instead of having a panel discussion, how about we all take turns telling each other what we're doing next season? Put up a big paper calendar and write everything we know of on it. My intern who'll be back in the fall (unless there's someone who wants to help out for the summer, please??!) can then just go ahead and enter it on the calendar. And I think that will spark some discussion, just talking about what we're going to be doing. What do you guys think?
Friday, May 21, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
YAY DANCE!
I borrowed this from my friend and ex-CORE dancer jhon r. stronks, and he's made a facebook page for it. So go and "like" it, and take up the saying and make it yours- "yay dance"! :)
Thursday, May 6, 2010
An interseting twist to the dance criticism discussion
Here's a link I just got through a Dance Mag tweet: "We Stink! by KT Niehoff" from Seattle's The Stranger. (An aside, KT was almost the third of the choreographers commissioned for THREE that CORE premiered last season until scheduling changes made it impossible.) KT goes off on the reviewer from this Seattle weekly for a review her work received. The comments are the most interesting part (aside from the stripper comment) from a lot of folks saying that the broader audience of the paper doesn't even want to read dance reviews, much less ones that are really in-depth or specific to the history of dance etc. The feedback reminds me of the comment from Tom Bell at our last event (which I mean to transcribe sometime, I promise!) about how he felt his job back when he wrote about dance for Creative Loafing was to "translate" what he saw on stage for the readers.
KT writes, "Help us to think more about our actions, ask more from our relationships, and get more from our interactions. Learn more about the art form of contemporary dance, which has the unique ability to free our minds to think nonlinearly and push into raw emotion, involuntary kinetic kickback and dream states. They "teach" this natural way of thinking out of us in school so completely we are actually afraid of it ("I don't know anything about dance"—i.e.—"I am scared if there isn't an actual plotline I could get it 'wrong' and look like an asshole")."
And as much as I obviously like freeing my mind by watching dance, I think for the uninclined to contemporary art and dance in particular, that just is asking for too much effort. I don't think it's necessarily that people are scared of looking dumb if there's no plot, I just think it's just easier to have things spoon fed to you where you don't have to think. I agree with KT we are "taught" to be passive and "dumb" as an audience in general--in most things we consume on TV etc. are pretty mindless. I think the biggest question is how can you convince people who aren't inclined at the start to put in the effort (but at least some of whom we have to believe would really get it once they did) that it really can be worth it?
KT writes, "Help us to think more about our actions, ask more from our relationships, and get more from our interactions. Learn more about the art form of contemporary dance, which has the unique ability to free our minds to think nonlinearly and push into raw emotion, involuntary kinetic kickback and dream states. They "teach" this natural way of thinking out of us in school so completely we are actually afraid of it ("I don't know anything about dance"—i.e.—"I am scared if there isn't an actual plotline I could get it 'wrong' and look like an asshole")."
And as much as I obviously like freeing my mind by watching dance, I think for the uninclined to contemporary art and dance in particular, that just is asking for too much effort. I don't think it's necessarily that people are scared of looking dumb if there's no plot, I just think it's just easier to have things spoon fed to you where you don't have to think. I agree with KT we are "taught" to be passive and "dumb" as an audience in general--in most things we consume on TV etc. are pretty mindless. I think the biggest question is how can you convince people who aren't inclined at the start to put in the effort (but at least some of whom we have to believe would really get it once they did) that it really can be worth it?
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Atlanta Ballet this weekend: Sheer Exhilaration
A preview of the Atlanta Ballet's upcoming show this weekend, from ArtsCriticATL.com and another from the Marietta Daily Journal.
And then there's Lift and Fieldwork Showcase mid-May and we're into the summer, when a lot of dance takes off for the season. Though there actually are a few things going on coming up, a couple of summer performances and some workshops. The intern has officially taken off for the summer, though, so I need to get around to some updating to the Danceatl.org google calendar. Check back there and let me know if you notice anything missing!
And then there's Lift and Fieldwork Showcase mid-May and we're into the summer, when a lot of dance takes off for the season. Though there actually are a few things going on coming up, a couple of summer performances and some workshops. The intern has officially taken off for the summer, though, so I need to get around to some updating to the Danceatl.org google calendar. Check back there and let me know if you notice anything missing!
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