National Conference
Pavilion Dance, Bournemouth (UK)
8-10 September, 2011

Digital Futures in Dance is an opportunity for artists, promoters, producers, venues, academics and creative and digital companies to come together to discuss future possibilities for dance and technology. With an increasing growth in interdisciplinary practice, Digital Futures in Dance investigates how new digital technologies create new conditions for choreographing and presenting dance. The conference is structured around three interrelated themes explored through presentations, workshops, performances and installations:

The Expanded Stage: Stage, screen and bodies – What will be the stages for dance in the future?

New Body Intelligence: Body data as raw material – How will new intelligence of the body influence choreography in the future?

Social Interaction: Mobile and interactive technology devices – How will increased interactivity influence the creation and reception of dance in the future?

The programme will feature international artists and researchers across the dance, technology and media spectrums including Jonah Bokaer, Billie Cowie, Marlon Barrios-Solano, Harriet Macauley | Pair Dance, Johannes Birringer, Renana Raz, Mark Coniglio, and Marina Tsartsara.

See the full programme here.

Today at 4am USA Eastern Standard Time, and 6pm in Brisbane Australia, the interactive Waterwheel platform will launch with a crew of collaborators and audience members from around the world converging online in real time. Waterwheel is an ongoing interactive, collaborative platform for performance, presentation and exchange exploring water, as a topic of politics, science and metaphor. The brain child of Brussel’s born Suzon Fuks, a media artist, choreographer and director, the project developed out of her growing interest in global water politics and the richness of the topic for artistic expression.

Last week as the site was in its final stages of tweaking, Fuks gave me a tour of the platform and showed me all the things it can do. Along with her team of technicians and artists Fuks has created a very sophisticated site, one that works as well or better than most social media sites or online conferencing platforms. With years of experience designing intermedia and live networked performances, Fuks knew what she wanted, and what was needed to achieve the intentions of the site. Each section of the site is modeled to emulate some function of water, with the net result that it “flows” together seamlessly, and feeds and regenerates the overall experience for everyone who uses it.

When you first encounter the site on the homepage there is a beautiful wheel with 40 concentric rings that ripple with the latest media content that has been uploaded to the site. From there you can explore the raw media, or you can enter one of the “Taps” which are highly sophisticated real-time spaces to hold networked performances, presentations, workshops, or exchanges. All of the media up-loaded to the Waterwheel by users is available for real-time mixing and integration on the Taps as well as live video, audio, and drawing tools.

Another component of the site is a map showing “Fountains” going on all around the world. A Fountain can be anything flowing from the Taps (ie current or up-coming Taps), or they can be events about water that users submit to the site. These could be a performance or presentation, an exhibition or conference, a book launch or a film premiere. The Fountains are the place for users to promote their projects or events, or find other similar projects of interest and upcoming events happening nearby or around the world.

While the Waterwheel is focused on water, the platform itself is incredibly facile and could be useful for any group that wants to converge around a specific area of interest. I asked Fuks about whether she would be making more platforms like this in the future. In her reply, she emphasized that exploring water topics remains her primary motivation, however she does see the marketability of the platform they have designed and they are considering commercializing the technology as a means of funding Waterwheel.

The success of the platform is in the hands of the people who use it, so dive on in and splash around in the beautiful liquid world of Waterwheel.

Details of the Launch Event:

On Monday 22 August 2011, the new Waterwheel project and website will be launched at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane from 6pm, and online on the Waterwheel website with a program of free performances.

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.

Here are two new dance companies based in Brooklyn that are at the cutting edge of this emerging paradigm.

DANCELEN(D)S is a non-profit production company that specializes in dance film. Artistic Director Jennifer Madison heads up a collective of artists to create movement-based films and documentaries as well as provide creative services for commercial productions.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“manoeuvres” by DANCELEN(D)S, featuring Valentine Norton’s Project Valentine Dance Crew

Indelible Dance Company calls itself “a dance company in HD.” Mysterious and bold, their website is simply a page of their videos and photos to date. What is so innovative is not the quantity of their output, but the quality of what they make. Each video and photo project is exquisitely wrought, finely composed and emits sexy, smart, classiness.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Check Out My Leggings” by Indelible Dance

Each of these companies has embraced collaboration at the core of their creative process, and they go for the best collaborators they can find. Thus DANCELEN(D)S created a video look book for fashion designer Rachel Roy in which dancers move in clothing from her new collection, and Indelible Dance created an entire evening length performance around a design concept by Mary Huang to create sound-sensitive costumes made of light to portray the Big Bang Theory.

For the longest time, only a handful of dance companies embraced technology and collaboration in such a fundamental way. To do so required huge sums of money or technical wizardry make your own gear, such as Troika Ranch’s Isadora software that enabled dancers to trigger sound and video with their muscles. Today high-end photography and video is cheap to make and can be distributed all around the world for free on the internet. Fundraising sites such as Kickstarter allow artists to find and cultivate supporters beyond their personal networks and capture many microdonations to reach their large financial goals. New generations of dancers who grew up with these tools have entered the field and they are beginning to show us how dance will evolve in the 21st Century. What is most surprising about their revelations is that dance may be naturally dying off as a separate and distinguishable art form, instead it is merging with everything else into one interconnected web of creative life.

To learn about more artists and companies embracing this new model check out:

Dance-tech.net

Dance On Camera on Vimeo

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!

What do dancers need?

Many dancers want to post their own dance videos online for self-promotion and need help finding equipment for filming.  For example, if a dancer doesn’t have a video recorder yet, they may want one, or other equipment to help them get creative.

Here are 5 different gift suggestions (with links and and reviews on equipment) from seasoned Cameraman, Ron Kienhuis.

1.  Video Digital Recorders

Digital Recorder by Zoom.  Most camcorders (especially cheap ones) have horrible sound recording features, or are AGC (non manually adjustable).  If audio is important to you, here’s a Digital Recorder by Zoom (known for the H2 and H4n) that does video!  It’s very affordable at $249.00.  http://www.discmakers.com/duplicators/peripherals/zoomq3.asp

Other multi-purpose recording devices are Digital Still Cameras with video capabilities.  Here the choices are endless.  Almost every manufacturer makes them in all price ranges.  The most useful would be a camera with a Wide Angle lens and low light capabilities.
Canon’s Power Shot S90 for $429.99.  http://tinyurl.com/yfyxxe5
Panasonic’s Lumix DMC-LX3 for $469.00.  http://tinyurl.com/6zyxpo

At the same time nearly all Video Cameras can take stills, some at the same time as recording video.  One of the last tape based cameras is the Canon HV-40. It has the capabilities to shoot 24P the infamous “Cinema” look.
Canon VIXIA HV-40 for $699.00.  http://tinyurl.com/yarxynk

Flip Video Camera.  Easy to use, and affordable.  It costs $159.00.  http://tinyurl.com/yej764v

Video Enabled Cell Phone or Music Player.  Try Apple’s iPhone or iPod Nano.  A simple way to record video is with a 3G iPhone or the new Apple Nano iPod.

iphone 3GS 32GB starting at $299.00. http://tinyurl.com/rbwkab.

ipod Nano 8GB at $149.00 and ipod Nano 16GB at $179.00. http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/

2. Creative Filming Options

Here are some fun cameras to try some different types of shots.

Waterproof Camera.  Want to shoot near the water, or in it?!! Then you’ll need a waterproof camera.  Check out the Sanyo XACHI VPC-E2 Digital Camcorder and Digital Camera beginning at 169.99  http://tinyurl.com/ycsyyfo

A Pet’s Eye View camera for only $49.99.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/cameras-photography/afbc/

3. Tripods and Camera Applications

GorillaCam Camera Application. Prefer to have a video recorded that affords you steady and level shots?  Gorillacam is an iphone app that works with your camera to improve your camera capabilities.  It includes a self-timer for self-portraits and group shots, and time-lapse photography, and other features for  FREE.  Read more here.  http://joby.com/gorillacam/

GorillaMobile Flexible Tripods.  When cell phones and some video recorders do not have ways to attach a tripod you need to rely on a friend to operate it unless you buy a tripod that can do the job.  A GorillaMobile is a flexible tripod with a custom-designed iphone case for $39.95.   You can also purchase GorillaPod for regular cameras for a cost of $21.95.  http://joby.com/gorillapod

4. Micro Projectors

(Brief review of the first 3 products made)

Optoma Pico Projector.  A video projector so small, you can carry it in your pocket. Then, when it’s time for a little entertainment, you can whip it out, connect it to your iPod or iPhone, and project your videos onto a nearby wall, ceiling or airplane seat back–a far more satisfying experience than watching the movie on a little two-inch screen.

The Optoma projector is aimed almost exclusively at iPods, iPhones and other smartphones that can play video, along with video sources that have RCA cables–the red/white/yellow cable set–like camcorders, DVD players, game consoles, digital cameras and other sources.  But you can’t connect it to a laptop (for spur-of-the-boardroom PowerPoint presentations, for example).  The Optoma projects iPhone videos effortlessly–but not photos.  It is sold in most retail stores ranging from $229-$400.  As these mini projectors are new to the market, the costs vary considerably depending on where one purchases the product.   http://tinyurl.com/c7q28k

3M’s Micro Professional Projector, the MPro110.  The 3M Micro Professional Projector MPro110 costs about $359.00.  It’s about the same size as Optoma (2 x .9 x 4.5 inches), but it’s not quite as bright; it tops out at about six feet from your “screen,” casting an image about 40 inches diagonally. And whereas the Optoma projector has a tiny, feeble built-in speaker, the 3M has none at all.  If you plan to use it for movies, you’ll also have to plan to connect headphones or speakers.

The 3M projector, on the other hand, is the only micro projector so far that accepts a standard laptop video signal (it has a VGA connector). On one hand, it may seem a little silly to use a micro projector for a laptop; in the end, the projected image isn’t all THAT much larger than the laptop’s own screen. Still, it can make the difference between showing your slides to three people and showing them to eight people.  The 3M also accepts input from RCA cables, just like the Optoma.  http://www.3m.com/mpro/news.html

Aiptek’s PocketCinema V10.  The Aiptek PocketCinema V10 takes yet a third approach.  Whereas the Optoma seems made in heaven for iPods and iPhones (and comes with the proper cable), and the 3M is a better bet for laptops, the Aiptek has a slot for a memory card, and, more intriguingly, 1 gigabyte of built-in storage.

In other words, you can carry this thing around without any other equipment at all, preloaded, ready to make your elevator pitch at any time, without having to connect or set up anything. (You do have to convert your pictures and movies to the projector’s preferred formats, which can be a pain.)

Connecting a laptop is pretty much hopeless unless it has either RCA or S-Video connectors, both of which are rare on laptops these days, or a VGA-to-RCA adapter. (Once again, any video source with RCA cables will work.)

The PocketCinema ($249.00-$300) is bigger than the other projectors (4.9 x 2.1 x 0.9), but it’s the only one with a decent speaker, a remote and a tripod. (Maximum image and distance: 42-inch image, 5 feet away.) http://tinyurl.com/y9rfggu

5. Speakers

For rehearsals how about a set of portable speakers for your iPhone?  These portable speakers cost $49.99.
http://www.dlo.com/products/view/portspeakers_universal

Or turn your iPod into a boombox.  Prices range from $14.00 to $100.
http://www.nextag.com/ipod-portable-speakers/stores-html

Good luck with your holiday shopping.  We hope these gift suggestions were helpful!  Happy Winter Solstice everyone and Merry Christmas!

Doug Fox’s Picks for Dance and Movement Animations

One of the captivating elements of dance and animation is the diverse range of forms it can take. Among the animation techniques that can be employed to represent the body in motion, whether in a more concrete or abstract manner, include:

• 2D
• 3D
• Stop motion
• Live-action and animation hybrids
• Real-time animated graphics using motion tracking
• Visualization overlays
• Special effects
• ASCII-based animations
• Digital puppetry
• Cut-out animation
• Motion-capture based
• 2D/3D lasers
• Rotoscoped
• Virtual worlds
• Pre-cinema era animations

For Doug’s round-up of some of his favorite dance and movement animations he made selections of each of these different types of animations.  A few videos chosen by Doug couldn’t be embedded onto our blog for your viewing convenience, but we encourage you to take a minute to check out these great videos, to learn about the many types of dance and movement-based animated videos artists are creating. Enjoy!

Rotoscoped Tango dance scene from “Waking Life”:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Gabrielle Lamb’s “Quizas” mixes 2D animation and live-action footage:

Click here to view the embedded video.

“En Tus Brazos” is a narrative-based 3D animation about a tragic accident that besets a famous Argentinean Tango dancer:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Also enjoy an ASCII-based animation “TextField” by Chirstinn Whyte and Jake Messenger:

http://www.jakemessenger.plus.com/textfield-h264.mov

The Converse music video “My Drive-Thru” is based on the cut-out animation technique:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Oren Lavie’s “Her Morning Elegance” is a stop-motion music video compiled from thousands of photographs:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The “Prodigy Warrior’s Dance” combines stop-motion animation and puppetry:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Recoil Performance Group’s “Body Navigation” uses motion tracking and projectors to general real-time, interactive graphics in a performance environment:

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Trash Dance” features 3D animation and motion capture:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lastly, Doug offers us “Anima Istanbul”, which re-creates the feeling of the pre-cinema era zoetrope effect:

http://motionographer.com/theater/if-2009-zoetrope/

Movement Media appreciates Doug sharing some of his favorite animated videodances with our readers.  As you can see, artists are making some extraordinary animations, and there will certainly be more exciting works in the future, as more artists are combine animation with dance and movement.

Doug Fox is the founder of Great Dance, one of the first dance blogs. His blog and speaking programs have primarily addressed how dance-makers can embrace the Internet and digital tools to enhance their marketing and promotional efforts. He is an active member of the dance community and serves on the Dance/NYC Advisory Board.

Doug began to study and research all forms of animation, especially as they relate to dance and movement. This research led to the creation of his dance animation educational program, which he was delighted to introduce at Movement Media’s Kinetic Cinema. Doug is continuing to expand this screening program and workshop and it will be shown on August 16th at the Hong Kong Science Museum presented by the City Contemporary Dance Company.

Doug can be reached at doug@greatdance.com and through his Great Dance website: http://greatdance.com. You can also follow his Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/dougfox.