Screendance 2.0: Social Dance-Media
Screendance 2.0: Social Dance-Media Harmony Bench The Ohio State University, USA Volume 7, Issue 2 (November 2010) Abstract This essay argues that, as dance and screen media conjoined to create the hybrid art practice of dance-media, so too are dance-media and social media converging to produce an area of artistic experimentation I call social dance-media. This essay explores three strands of social dance-media—crowdsource, flash, and viral choreographies—and provides examples of each. Following protocols from social media, each of these modalities represents a form of participatory choreography or performance that evidences social media’s impression upon dance in contemporary popular culture. Keywords: dance-media, social media, crowdsourcing, flash mobs, viral video, choreography, performance When Sherril Dodds wrote her groundbreaking text Dance on Screen: Genres and Media from Hollywood to Experimental Art a decade ago, the primary storage and transmission media of screendance were film, video, and broadcast television. Today, the internet and computer screens are just as likely, if not more so, to be the vehicles of dance onscreen. In particular, the integration of video into social media platforms has enabled dancers and choreographers to create an internet presence for dance, which has ballooned online since 2005. What, then, are the implications of internet technologies and particularly social media for dance practices? What impact do social media have on choreography and spectatorship? How do online viewers participate in dances that have been conceived for or are transported into social media environments? Given the centrality of interactivity to computer use, what role does audience reception play in the circulation, distribution, and spread of dances? This essay begins to articulate the relevance of social media for the contemporary dance Page 183 Volume 7, Issue 2 November 2010 landscape.
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