Viewership, and the 21St Century
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School Internet Video Dance Brands, Online DLeigahn-Alcice W V. Cliaerkwership, and the 21st Century Follow this and additional works at the DigiNole: FSU's Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS INTERNET VIDEO DANCE BRANDS, ONLINE DANCE VIEWERSHIP, AND THE 21ST CENTURY By LEIGH-ALICE W. CLARK A Thesis submitted to the School of Dance in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts 2019 Leigh-Alice Clark defended this thesis on November 18, 2019. The members of the supervisory committee were: Jennifer Atkins Professor Directing Thesis Hannah Schwadron Committee Member Antonio Cuyler Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the thesis has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. iv Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ v INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE: UNIFICATION WITHIN COLLABORATION, MILLENNIUM DANCE COMPLEX AS GLOBAL NETWORK ........................................................................................ 14 CHAPTER TWO: PLAYGROUND LA: PERFORMING PLAY ............................................... 33 CHAPTER THREE: IMMA SPACE: TERRITORIALITY AND OWNERSHIP ....................... 56 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................. 79 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 84 Biographical Sketch ....................................................................................................................... 94 1 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Feature clip of choreography with title overlay. Screenshot taken by the author ............ 9 Figure 2. Dancers in “Rhythm of Love” in sync. Screenshot taken by the author .......... 22 Figure 3. Dancers follow each other in a formation in “Bad Guy.” Screenshot taken by the author ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Figure 4. Gomez “crowns” herself in “Level Up.” Screenshot taken by the author ..................... 45 Figure 5. Janelle Ginestra draws a line physically with her arms. Screenshot taken by the author ....................................................................................................................................... 58 Figure 6. Dancers make eye contact with the camera. Screenshot taken by the author ................ 65 Figure 7. Janelle Ginestra and WilldaBeast Adams moving in syncopated gestures. Screenshot taken by the author ................................................................................................................. 70 Figure 8. Dancers glide backwards in a walking motion. Screenshot taken by the author ........... 74 iv ABSTRACT My proposed MA in American Dance Studies thesis analyzes the power and reach of the online dance world in the 21st Century. The project specifically engages with the past decade’s trend of dance spectatorship’s online presence, fueled by the viral nature of social media and fast-paced, snackable videos on social media. I seek to understand how dance becomes visible through social media and popularized across platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. To this end, I highlight the branding methods utilized by the social media accounts that post online dance content in a time when users, especially millennials, are increasingly reliant on computers and mobile devices to access information and entertainment. Because we live in a technologically capable, capitalist society, it is important to look at dance’s capitalist output. A clear example of this is the viral dissemination of commercial dance. Commercial dance revolves around the core idea that dancers’ performances are geared towards selling a product, idea, or experience using a range of movement foundations, predominately riffing on jazz and hip-hop styles.1 Ultimately, I ask: what is the relationship between 21st Century modes of communication and the online commercial dance world? Why is online commercial dance so popular and how is it relevant for audiences? Through a synthesis of scholarly research on marketing, social media, and viral commercial online dance, this thesis delves into the phenomenon of online dance in the 21st Century and explores commercial dance’s role within that realm, fundamentally questioning how popular dance is an insightful tool for understanding larger questions about the role that marketing plays in influencing and reflecting current sociocultural attitudes and trends. 1Vincent, Christian John-Devi, “Bridging the Gap: Between Commercial Dance and Dance in Higher Education,” (MFA thesis, University of California, Irvine, 2015), 2. v INTRODUCTION Viewers flock in waves to Kyle Hanagami’s “Señorita” hip hop choreography. “Señorita” has fluid quality with accents of sharpness, and it boasts a clear popularity due to its 13 million views.2 The slow and sultry nature of the song instructs the dancers to flow through every inch of their bodies, in every movement. Dancers surf the rhythm of the music, constantly finding their way back to a wavy sensation. They flare their arms out to their sides in unison--creating a ripple throughout the studio--before caressing their bodies. Undulating through the music in groups, dancers smoothly transition from one movement to the next, accompanied by sharp arm isolations. Other dancers peer from the back window watching from another part of the studio along with dancers watching inside the studio itself. These are not the only voyeurs in this scenario. The amounts of comments about trying to learn the dance cascade throughout the Internet, causing a viral effect. This is the trend for online commercial dance for L.A. based studios Millennium Dance Complex, Playground LA, and IMMA SPACE. This is typically how the online commercial dance video spreads in the new millennium, or the temporal space for video sharing from 2005 onward; studios post for millions of followers, spurring likes and comments and shares. The constant evolution of new and fresh technology creates a “new millennium” way of interacting with media online, including dance. This approach praises technology and constant newness and revolves around a time span of almost two decades. This approach does not involve a single population, rather it encourages all generations to interact, but especially those who are technologically savvy. Millennium Dance 2 SHAWN MENDES & CAMILA CABELLO- Señorita / Kyle Hanagami Choreography, YouTube video, 3:59, posted by KYLE HANAGAMI, June 26, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKrBSVUL1so. 1 Complex, Playground LA, and IMMA SPACE all use the new millennium ways to their advantage, incorporating technology alongside the creative process. These studios capitalize on the fact that their videos are easily accessible and impressive to watch, engaging viewers in participation by simply watching. If dance studios can constantly put out new material via the Internet, they give virtual consumers a way to live out their desires. Dancers and viewers crave a world where they can be whoever they want to be, and these studios create these fantasy worlds. This is a necessary investigation for the field of dance studies as it is an emerging and rapidly growing phenomenon in our industry. While dance is, and always has been, constantly evolving, it is important to stop and understand what its interaction with technology does to the art form. This is the new millennium. And this is dance in the new millennium. What is so impactful about these viral videos and studios, aside from their new age ways? This question directly affected the trajectory of my research. My relationship to this material is that of purely a viewer on social media. I have not interacted with these studios in the physical realm, only in the virtual. This fascination of the videos in the virtual realm led me to pursue my research on the three studios, as I constantly questioned what their role is in the dance world currently. Although I have not visited the studios physically, I feel that the importance of researching the studios purely from an online standpoint helps me understand the perspectives of a common viewer of the videos. Furthermore, the fascination with these videos led me to understand the importance of virtual and commercial dance in the world of academia in a non- hierarchical setting. Dance on social media does have a place in research-based interests, as it has value in community engagement as well as teaching value compared to concert dance. The three studios fill a way for people to connect through a virtual interface. 2 I look at each studio with an emphasis on how the power of each body translates to a viewer. I constantly question who holds the power within the studios and their production of videos. There are differing degrees