Monday, November 14, 2011 ~ 5:30pm – 7:00pm

Joyce SoHo
155 Mercer Street (between Prince Street and West Houston)
New York, NY 10012

RSVP: http://dancersvoice.eventbrite.com/

Featured Speakers

OurGoods.org - a bartering network for creative communities, and recipient of a 2011 NYC CIF award.

This year’s Rockefeller NYC Cultural Innovation Fund recipients have just been announced, and I was very excited by the number of awards going to projects that support New York City dance, media and performance artists. The grants of up to $250,000 are some of the largest that non-profit arts organizations can hope to get, and they go a long ways towards getting more progressive and experimental projects off the ground.

One of the most fantastical projects being funded is for the “Dance Films Association to produce, market and distribute high definition and 3D films of NYC dance companies’ performances in partnership with TenduTV.” For companies barely able to afford multiple camera documentations of their work, let alone in HD, this proposal is akin to Kennedy proclaiming we will walk on the moon. Now with this grant audiences in Peoria could experience a performance of DanceBrazil as if they are actually sitting in the Joyce Theater, or better yet, up on stage with the dancers. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the medium that will help artsy dance enter into the mainstream cultural consciousness.

Misnomer Dance Theater has received their second CIF award this year for an intriguing project that will “utilize behavioral science for a stakeholder-engagement program for NYC’s performing arts organizations in partnership with strategy and marketing firm Orcasci.” Seeming to flow from their previously awarded project, the online “Audience Engagement Platform,” Misnomer continues to explore how artists can market their work more effectively and tap into new audiences. Their approach raises the question, can the performing arts be marketed like big media, with their focus groups and huge research budgets? Can small independent artists mine niche markets and come up with huge followings in unexpected places? Misnomer claims they can, and hopefully with this funding they will prove it is possible.

Other projects funded this year are aimed at increasing cultural and political awareness through the arts such as Casita Maria’s partnership with Dancing in the Streets to illuminate the cultural legacy of the South Bronx, and New York University and The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics’ programs to support and train performance-based political artists. The Field in partnership with OurGoods.org has a particularly subversive project so that artists can get around the capitalist system entirely through an online barter network.

With each of these projects the ramifications for culture and the arts could be huge, or like any grand experiment, it may flop. By the time they get off the ground will they already seem passé? Will the media and technology involved be embraced by consumers or tossed aside as novelties? Time will tell, but at least artists will be able to try these pie in the sky ideas out. Whether or not the masses come flocking to see 3D productions of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company in their local iMax theatre, or NYC dance companies find a significant following among NASCAR dads, at least they are in the arena and able to contend, instead of busking for change on the sidewalk outside.

For a complete list of this year’s Rockefeller Cultural Innovation Fund recipients and their projects, go here.

With his winning idea, Daniels garnered support from the Baryshnikov Art Center to develop “Dances for an iPhone” over two years as an artist in residence at their facilities. In another genius stroke, Daniels chose well-loved, seasoned modern dancers such as Carmen deLavallade, Megan Williams, and Deborah Jowitt to perform his choreography. The resulting volume of six short videos, are neatly packaged in an app now available for free on iTunes.

Perhaps my expectations for “Dances for an iPhone” were set a little too high. On July 15th Gia Kourlas, gave the app a glowing review in the New York Times, for its artistic approach to filming dance, but when I downloaded and looked at the works, all I saw were a bunch of short dance videos that looked like any other rehearsal footage found on YouTube. The handheld camera is shaky most of the time, and often zooms in on the dancer’s face, cutting off our view of the movement and choreography. The lack of focused lighting causes the dancers to go in and out of silhouette, and I was constantly aware of the fact that they were performing for us in a dance studio, rather than transporting me to a world of the artist’s making. For me, the framing of the camera should fundamentally change the dance and make it exist on screen in a way that it could never be in a live performance. I didn’t see any videos in “Dances for an iPhone” that gave new meaning to the dances performed, instead I wished I could see them live rather than on my tiny screen.

Furthermore, I question why these are “Dances for an iPhone” at all. As an “application” the package doesn’t give you much to play with. It’s really just a collection of short videos, with a bit of biographical text for each. Surely you could accomplish the same thing by making a video podcast (also downloadable and viewable on an iPhone, iPod or iPad), or a YouTube channel for that matter. When I think of an app, I expect there to be in interactive component of some kind such as the infamous “Brushes” app that was used to create two New Yorker covers by artist Jorge Colombo. If it isn’t highly interactive, then I expect an app to offer me something new to explore every time I open it, such as my new favorite, the “NPR Music” app that consolidates all of the latest NPR music content in easy to search categories that are up-dated daily.

I suspect that Mr. Daniels saw an opportunity to package his art in a way that was so exciting and novel, it would succeed no matter what. He can now say that he created the first iPhone app featuring modern dance (although that might be debatable as I saw an app for the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company that came out in 2010). The fact that it has no business being an app is besides the point, in the high stakes game of technological development, he who gets there first is the winner.

Still, I’m glad someone in the modern dance world has taken the plunge to create an app. The proliferation of apps is not going to die down any time soon, and we may be seeing a new revolution in the media industries: the way television superseded film and radio, mobile is now threatening to do the same. Since Daniel’s app has left much room for improvement, let’s hope that new upstarts will jump into the ring soon and give us better ways to capture and experience dance in the palm of our hands.

How Can We Find You in 2010?

DANCE MEDIA PROFILE WORKSHOP

NEW YORK CITY

TUESDAYS 1-4pm

MAY 4 – JUNE 8th, 2010

Today’s audiences rely on media to discover and connect with artists. The more you can capture the interest of fans through compelling media, the more likely it is that you will gain real supporters who will attend your live shows and make contributions.

In addition, Producers, Talent agents, Managers, Event Coordinators, Scouts, Presenters, News programs, Talk shows, and other artists from across the globe use media to learn more about you.

Creating a Dance Media Profile will help you reach these varied groups of people, and help you to reflect your work and brand as an artist.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pentacle’s Movement Media is offering a 6-week intensive Dance Media Workshop to help you build a strategic and creative media profile that will win over your audience.

At the end of 6 weeks you’ll be able to:

• Optimize your work on social networks and search engines, create electronic press releases, and improve your promotional content through a variety of distribution channels.
• Be as creative with your Branding, Marketing, and Media Profile as you are with your art.
• Join a community of Artists working on unique projects, receive constructive feedback on your ideas, and collaborate on creative solutions to market your work effectively.

We will help you RECREATE/REVITALIZE/REVAMP your Dance Media Profile. We will review your current materials, and help you create a strategic marketing plan that makes use of a multitude of distribution channels.

REGISTRATION

 Application deadline

Early Bird Special!!

LOCATION

Make 2010 the year YOUR audience finds you!

We are interested in learning about the Media Marketing needs of dancers and their interests in creating Dance for Camera.

By participating in this survey, you can help us improve services to artists, and help us share your  specific ambitions, requests, concerns, and support needs to the dance community at large.

This survey is designed for artists of all levels of experience.  Even if you have not done much pertaining to Media Marketing, Film, or Video, we ask that you participate in this survey, so we can learn more about you.

Results of this survey will be posted on our blog, Move the Frame, in January 2010 to provide artists an opportunity to ask questions, share comments, and continue a dialogue pertaining to Media Marketing and Dance for Camera.

This Survey will Help us Learn More About the Following Areas:

• Media Marketing: What do dancers need to improve self promotion through media to increase audience numbers for live performances?  We want to learn who needs assistance with improving websites, search engine marketing, online press releases, and social networking.

• Dance for Camera Production: Which artists want to produce dance for camera (films and videodances)?  Who needs education on the basics of film making to produce work?  What kind of film would you like to create?  How can we help you get started?

• Promotional Video Production: Which artists need assistance with moving through all of the stages of video production for promotional videos or for instructional dance videos?  Who needs help with planning, strategizing, editing, and distribution to guarantee that these videos are seen by large audiences?

CLICK HERE to Take Artist Survey

We thank you for your participation!

Leaders in Dance Media

Join us at this year’s APAP Convention in NYC

MONDAY, January 11th  9:00-10:00 am

The session will be at the Sheraton NY in Conference Room C
Sheraton NY Hotel & Towers
811 Seventh Avenue
NYC 10019

‘Success Stories Promoting Dance with Video’

A panel discussion for dance artists and presenters on how to use dance videos effectively to acquire bookings and develop audiences.

Register today!

https://www.apapconference-nyc.com/secure/AttFirstPage.asp

Meet the Panel of Dance Media Experts

Sydney Skybetter, from Design Brooklyn will moderate this panel discussion.  Design Brooklyn is a unique team of team of designers, programmers, and strategists helping people craft their presence on and off-line.  Due to Sydney’s experience working in dance media, and his well received presentation “Less Overhead/Better Marketing” at the Dance/USA Conference this year, Movement Media is honored to have Sydney lead this discussion and moderate this impressive panel of experts.  Learn more about the  innovative and strategic services Sydney offers at Design Brooklyn.

Kristin Sloan, during her professional career as a dancer for New York City Ballet, and later as the Director of New Media for NYCB, Ms. Sloan began to further explore her interest in the intersection of art and technology. In 2005 she launched the website TheWinger.com, currently home to over 30 dancers, choreographers, teachers, and experts who write about their life and experiences as a part of the dance world. Ms. Sloan’s work on The Winger has lead to speaking engagements, writing assignments and a national television commercial for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, in which she speaks about the site. She is frequently cited in articles on dance and technology, and was interviewed for Allen P. Adamson’s recent book “Brand Digital”.  Check out her latest work at Kristin Sloan.com.

Marc Kirschner is the founder and General Manager of TenduTV. TenduTV will be distributing content through 70 top digital platforms, including iTunes, Hulu, CinemaNow and Comcast’s Fancast.com. These partners and others will enable audiences to consume and purchase dance content on 200 million devices in 10 countries, including iPods, TiVos, Blu-Ray players and internet-enabled televisions. Kirschner oversees TenduTV’s content acquisition efforts and distribution partnerships, and works closely with industry leaders to ensure the protection of dance in the digital age. Kirschner created the concept of digital licensing for choreography and executed the first such licensing deals in the dance industry. 

LARRY KEIGWIN’s prolific and wide-ranging dance career began the day he auditioned as a back-up dancer for Downtown Julie Brown on Club MTV (he got the gig).  Today he is the Artistic Director of KEIGWIN + COMPANY.  K+C is committed to creating work that is accessible and entertaining while remaining innovative and intelligent.

In addition to Larry’s choreographic work with K+C, his recent commissions have included The New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, The Martha Graham Dance Company, The Juilliard Dance Ensemble, The NYU/Tisch School’s Second Avenue Dance Company, Paradigm, Hofstra University and California Institute of the Arts.  His other choreographic credits include work with the pop band Fischerspooner, comedian Murray Hill and as an Associate Choreographer for both the The Radio City Rockettes and the Off-Broadway musical “The Wild Party”.  As a dancer Larry has danced at the Metropolitan Opera in Doug Varone’s “Le Sacre Du Printemps” and Julie Taymor’s “The Magic Flute” in addition to his work with Mark Dendy (receiving a Bessie Award in 1998 for his performance in “Dream Analysis”), Robin Becker, Jane Comfort, John Jasperse, Doug Elkins, Zvi Gotheiner, and David Rousseve.  He appeared in the Broadway bomb “Dance of the Vampires” and the Julie Taymor, Oscar nominated film “Across the Universe.”  In his spare time, Larry has created “Keigwin Kabaret,” a fusion of modern dance, vaudeville, and burlesque acts presented by the Public Theater at Joe’s Pub and by Symphony Space.

Movement Media is excited to present a panel of Dance Media Experts who share innovative ways to promote dance with video at this year’s APAP Convention. 

We look forward to seeing you there! 

Jody Oberfelder dance

Attend Movement Media’s Special Interest Session at This year’s Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference in NYC.

Tuesday, January 12th

9:00-10:00 am

‘Success Stories Promoting Dance with Video’.

A panel discussion for dance artists and presenters on how to use dance videos effectively to acquire bookings and develop audiences.

Boris Willis by Paul Emerson

Sydney Skybetter, from Design Brooklyn will moderate this panel discussion.  Due to Sydney’s experience, and his well received presentation “Less Overhead/Better Marketing” at the Dance/USA Conference this year, Movement Media feels there is a lot of information for audience members to learn from Sydney and this impressive panel of experts.

Register today!

https://www.apapconference-nyc.com/secure/AttFirstPage.asp

Daft Bodies

Location of APAP Conference:

Hilton New York
1335 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019

We look forward to seeing you at the panel discussion!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Capitol Spring 2 by Boris Willis

Boris writes:

Why should artists create a dance vlog? I believe the answer lies in the number of times we have to explain what we do and have little in our culture to point to as an example. We have an opportunity to reach out to the public to show and explain the process of what we do, why we do it and how we feel about it. Here are some tips for you to think about as you make your dance vlogs.

1. Have a vision
   Find a way to make videos that you feel express who you are and what you want to say as a dancer. That being said, don’t just turn on your camera and dance, find a way to make an interesting and exciting video. Look at commercials and other short videos as inspiration.
2. Vlogging is personal and performative
   Make your vlog about you because it is the one subject that you know more about than anyone else. Dance, talk about dance, talk about making dance while you are dancing, dance about making dance.
3. Understand how the web is used
   Just because you have twenty minutes of footage doesn’t mean you should post it all to your vlog. Generally speaking three minutes is the most someone will watch. In other words keep it short, a sixty second video is plenty. As you gain more skills you will be able to make longer videos compelling by the way you edit them. It is always better to leave them wanting more than to bore them. Make stuff that people want to see and make it short enough that they watch it all.
4. Edit
   Learn how to use the tools of video editing. There are free editing tools that come with your computer operating system, Window’s Movie Maker for Window and iMove for the Mac OS. If you want to be able to do more sophisticated editing you can get Final Cut Express for the Mac and Premiere Pro Elements for the PC. For professional level editing you will need something like Premier Pro CS 4 for the PC and Final Cut 6 for the Mac. The great thing about video is that you can take the time to get it right and make your content compelling. However, the most important edit you make is at the end of your video, use a black out when the video is over and put your credits at the end of each video without a blackout so the credits are the last thing your audience sees. That way if your video gets distributed around the web everyone will know its yours.
5. Get the best camera you can afford
   You never know what will become of your work it is always best to get the highest quality video of your original work. When you put it on the web it will get compressed and lose quality but that is what we expect from the web. Having a high quality version for showing offline is a very good idea. I also recommend that you use a camera that records to video tape so that you have a backup. I always shoot in HDV but down-convert to SD to save disk space then compress it to the Quicktime format which eventually gets converted to flash.
6. Find a video host that you like
   I have been in debates about whether it is better to put your videos on Vimeo or YouTube or Blip.tv. There is no reason not to try all three and of any number of others. Just find one that you like. If image quality is what is most important then Vimeo is for you. If ease of distribution is what is most important then Blip.tv is for you. If getting your videos seen by a large number of people then YouTube is the way to go. There are pro’s and con’s for all three services and I use all three and others as well. Once you decided on a host for your videos choose a host for your blog. Blogger and Wordpress are two popular services that give you a variety of tools to enhance your content.
7. Be Consistent
   Follow your vision, update on a regular basis, make videos in manageable viewing times for your audience. You are not going to make money from advertising on your vlog but you can use your vlog as a tool to get work by showcasing your skills as a performer, choreographer, editor and artist. Let your followers know what you are up to especially when you are taking a break. People want to know that when they go to your blog there is regularly new content there that they want to see. Your dance vlog should be fun and informative. You should do it because you enjoy it.
8. Say hello
   How do you get people to follow your vlog? Email your friends, comment on other people’s vlogs, tell people you meet, get cards made. You can get free cards online from Vista Print.
9. Music
   Don’t use copy-written music. Find a musician among your friends or on the web that will let you use their music in exchange for some cross promotion. You can find plenty of music at this url http://www.archive.org/index.php Learn about Creative Commons use and credit the musicians for their work.
10. Describe the videos you make
    Write a description of the videos you post and use tags to help yourself and others find them. It is time consuming at first to describe your work but the value in doing so cannot be underestimated. Describe what you are doing in the video, give the location, who is in the video, when it was done and what the video is about.

-Boris Willis

danceaday.com

Daft Bodies

Starting Friday June 5th, Pentacle’s Movement Media will showcase winners of  a new weekly online videodance contest here on Move the Frame blog.

Video is exploding as a medium on the Web, and the web video format for dance and kinetic-based films is erupting within the media arts. Movement Media’s goal is to showcase these new works and assist Internet audiences in finding artist’s videos on the web which are specifically dedicated to movement and dance. Therefore, we are seeking interesting blends of dance and kinetic-based films which explore the range and scope of this burgeoning genre.

The first submission deadline for Movement Media’s Weekly Online Videodance Contest is June 2nd, with the winners to be showcased here on  Move the Frame on Friday June 5th.   A weekly Theme will structure the format of the submissions. You do not have to be a video-maker to submit a video. You can also nominate other people’s work if you think it fits the weekly theme and otherwise complies with the submission requirements.

Submission Requirements

• Submissions may be made by anyone – artists, film makers, and anyone who knows of online videos that fit the weekly themes.
• The video submitted must be under 10 minutes long.
• Pick/Submit one video to represent the theme identified.
• Send the link of the video to Movement Media (movementmedia@pentacle.org).
• The video submitted needs to be embeddable, ie hosted on YouTube or another sharable online video platform.
• Include a short biography/artist statement (if it is your work).
• For every submission, include a short summary that describes why you have chosen a particular video for the contest and describe how it relates to the weekly theme.
• Include a brief synopsis of the video.
• Include a link to your website (if you have one)
• Include your email address

Email all information to movementmedia@pentacle.org
If your submission is chosen for the weekly contest, we will contact you directly

Impetus for Contest Participants

• Have your videos seen by an online audience who’s interested in movement-based video.
• Receive publicity for your work/work of others
• Receive comments and feedback
• Automatic consideration for live screening at Kinetic Cinema in NYC.
• Automatic consideration for Movement Media’s Online Dance Film Festival in September 2009 (information and submission guidelines to be available here in late June).

The Irrepressibles' IN THIS SHIRT by Shelley Love

Online Video Contest Themes

Theme one:  Amateur or Professional
Submissions due by June 2nd.  Weekly contest winners announced on June 5th.

Submit one video that represents either a amateur or professional video.  Movement Media is dedicated to celebrating all levels of artistry by film makers.  Movement Media’s blog will address important differences, and offer feedback and recognition to the artists of the works chosen from the pool of submissions for this weekly theme.

Theme two:  Improvised or Choreographed
Submissions due by Monday June 9th.  Weekly Contest winners announced on June 12th.

Theme three: Modern or Classical
Submissions due by June 16th.  Weekly Contest winners announced on June 19th.

Theme four: Summer or Winter
Submissions due by June 23rd.  Weekly Contest winners announced on June 26th.

Theme five: Rehearsal or Performance
Submissions due by June 29th.  Weekly Contest winners announced on July 3rd.

*Future themes to be announced at a later date.*

DRIVE by Jane Osborne and Jeff Pelletier

About Movement Media

Pentacle’s Movement Media provides services, strategies, and opportunities for dance artists to make works for screen. The core activities of Movement Media are screenings, consulting services, workshops, and interactive media publications (blogs, social networks, online videos etc). These services address a growing need for dance artists to engage with media, particularly online and on new media platforms, in order to reach audiences, grow artistically, and stay relevant in today’s media-saturated world.

For more info on Pentacle’s Movement Media project, please visit our website: http://pentacle.org/movement-media.asp

We look forward to showcasing your work!