Is print journalism dead? Where is dance writing headed? In twenty years from now, who will we honor for their words about dance? In an article entitled “A Step to the Left, a Jump to the Write” My Two Left Feet brainstorms about the future of dance criticism:
Everyone seems to agree that dance writing is important. We all know the importance of documenting performances, the use of reviews for grants and press kits and faculty review files. We know that the best dance writing can build excitement for a new voice, give insight into work that sometimes artists don’t even see themselves, and provide a guide for non-dance audiences to try to understand this peculiar art form.
We need writing about dance because it makes dance concrete – something to grasp onto (which, I argue, does not undermine the uniqueness and beauty of this ephemeral art but rather translates it to a form that is easier to spread, so to speak) and because it takes dance seriously enough to analyze and contextualize it and treat it as a valuable mirror to our identities and communities.
Continue reading the full post at My Two Left Feet
What do you think the future of dance writing looks like? Is what we are reading today in newspapers, magazines and blogs good enough? We’d be very interested to hear everyone’s thoughts so feel free to weigh in.
Don’t be shy: if you have recently stumbled upon a ballet blog post that sparked your interest, please do share the link with us & we will post it in this space.
Back to the Future Part II: Dance Critics and Technology | TenduTV Blog
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David D
Well. Call me a die hard print guy but I love walking into Barnes and Noble and picking up the 3 to 6 dance magazines and buying them. I love magazines and books. I refuse to buy an e-book reader.
One reason I support magazines a because the web stuff is so fickle as well as overwhelming. There is getting to be so much dance stuff on the web that it is impossible to keep up with it all.
There are a few dance blogs that I read that seem very reputable and knowledgeable. But I am not always faithful to them and it may take me browsing through my Internet Explorer favorites to remember them. Of, if they send out posting notifications to my e-mail, I tend to remember them.
Also … I just have never had an interest in buying newpapers. Never. There is just too much stuff in a daily newpaper that I find uninteresting as my focus is on more narrow. Also, I like to collect media and to me newpapers aren’t collectable
Sojournposse
I like the question raised here. The concern raised by My Two Left Feet not only prevalent among dance writers, but other culture writers as well. Do we adapt to the media vessels – ie. print or online – or do we stay faithful to the storytelling – ie. contents? Yes, funding must be taken into account, because writers cannot produce quality analysis without investing into research and presentation of stories. Readers must be aware of this aspect. Dancing, and articulating the art of dancing to the masses are two separate things. They depend on each other to exist. And humanity depends on the arts.