CriticalDance Forum

You have a clean design and the content is of interest to me.<P>

Hanna, welcome! We're trying to get word out about the site, so tell all your friends!

Hi Hannah<BR>Welcome to criticaldance!!!<BR>We are glad you are here.<BR>Cygnet<BR>PS Are you a dancer/teacher/student/fan??

azlan, i love the website. it conveys quite a professional image for the dance community. (i might even be tempted to learn more about dance.) great job and thanks again!

diophantus, thanks. But a correction. Others, including dancers and dance writers, also helped create this site.

azlan - maybe i have been too lazy in reading the various welcomes, introductions, etc.,.....but can you tell me why you chose this name for your board? <P>what exactly are you aiming to do? i.e who do you want to serve/ who is your 'target audience' etc. and what do you intend the focus of the site and its discussions to be?

Grace, forgive me for stepping in, but one of the key aspects of criticaldance is that it is a co-operative with a number of people involved, so perhaps I'll try to answer some of your points, while Azlan is busy earning a crust. I copy below our mission statement from 'who we are':<P>'criticaldance.com, a work in progress, is an inclusive site, administered by dancers and dance fans and dedicated to all types of performance dance, but especially ballet and modern. The site includes a moderated bulletin board, news articles, interviews with dance celebrities, performance reviews and links to popular dance sites.<P>We are particularly keen to encourage wide ranging debate on dance and dance issues in an atmosphere where people can make their views courteously and sometimes with good humour. Dissent from the views of the moderators will always be welcome.' <P><BR>In the initial group there was a feeling that there was a need for a site that went beyond ballet coverage and also one that was dance and dancer friendly. While there is a place and need for constructive criticism, we had a concern that some sites were overly negative about the work of current day artists and choreographers. We have been going about 4 months or so and are keen to build up the discussion side of the Board and spread the coverage. As you may have seen we cover various areas outside of the US.<P>The site is aimed at dance fans, critics and professionals and we have some of each, but would love to have more. So I really do hope that we shall be hearing from you regularly.<P>Why 'criticaldance'? This one is for Azlan as he thought it up, but it is certainly intended as constructive critical rather the the reverse. What do you think about it as a name? Do you think we should call the site something else?<BR> <BR> <P><BR><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 02-29-2000).]

thanks for your reply, stuart. i have seen your posts on at least one other board.<P>yes, i DID read that welcome stuff, but still didn't feel i had a clear grip on EXACTLY (!) what you're about. aren't the public (i.e. me) frustrating?!<P>why i ask is, because i also would like to see the board succeed, but i notice:-<P>1. activity is pretty slow, compared to some boards (but compared to others, it is positively racing along!, so "well done", so far),<P>2. there don't seem to be a lot of posters, but there DOES seem to be quite a bit of too-ing and fro-ing between people who appear to know each other (which begins to create the atmosphere that it may be a bit of a closed circle...). i know this is not intentional.<P>3. to me, 'criticaldance' implies an emphasis on criticism - on writing, or on assessing things. this does NOT appear to be what you are actually about, so i wondered if there was a mis-fit between your aims and your name?<P>4. i hope to remain on this board, but i know that one tends to stay where one can be regularly actively involved, and, as yet, i can't quite see where my niche is! i'm patient, though! and i respect what you're trying to do, so good luck.<P>------------------<BR> ~ grace.

Grace, maybe I can answer some of your questions/concerns. I am not a "founder" of the board, but have been doing posting for a few months. As far as us all knowing each other, actually, I don't know , i.e. have not met anyone on the criticaldance board! We are merely dancer lovers who are keenly interested in staying in touch with latest devlepments in dance--performing, teaching, choreography, dance companies, and what's being written or said about dance in various areas of the country/world. I have looked in on several other dance boards and find most of them more geared to younger students and people coming up in the field. Most of the things that are discussed on the other boards are more geared more to younger dancers in the field. I'm not that intersted in during this phase of my life/career. After 20 years in the field, I have other areas I want to explore, and critical dance seems like the format for that. Actually, criticaldance tries to appeal to all who intersted, regardless of their backgrounds. So I think it's a great board...I don't know the origin of the name "criticaldance"..you would have to ask Stuart Sweeney or Azlan.

thanks, trina - yes, waiting on azlan for the definitive answer re the title now!

Grace - many, many thanks for your considered comments. Rather like dance, constructive criticism is valuable and certainly welcome. Concerning some of your points:<P>1. Yes, I would like to see more activity, but I take consolation from the fact that we have about the same number of Postings as a site, which I respect greatly, ballet.co, after it had been open for business for 18 months. However, I acknowledge that the current activity on ballet.co is much greater than ours.<P>To be positive, although there are sites which have a much higher volume of ballet comments, I'm not aware of a site of this sort which has our volume of modern dance Postings. <P>2. The point about the closed circle is well taken. It's really linked to 1. as we feel that we need to maintain a flow of material. On Bulletin Boards more than anywhere else - nothing succeeds like success. But we need to watch out that the site does not look like a private club. Good point.<P>3. Thanks for your comments on the name. Food for thought there.<P>4. Thanks also for your good wishes. We hope very much that you stick around. What would you like to see on the site? <P>Trina, many thanks for your helpful comments. If we had a frequent flyer scheme, you would have Platinum membership. <P>What other comments, thoughts, gripes or wishes does anyone else have about the site? All suggestions welcome - we promise not to sue. <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 03-03-2000).]

thanks, stuart: food for thought.<P>is ballet.co the UK site? i guess that's the one you mean: i have only been keeping tabs on one part of their board, which seems to be pretty dead....disappointingly so - but i'm sure these things have ups and downs, and also that it depends what one goes looking for.<P>for example, i don't think i have been looking at your modern dance section - which you say is busier than the rest - because being in australia, i know that most of what you people will talk about in the east coast american modern dance scene is not necessarily going to have much instant relevance to me here...<P>but THAT's just the point: for the people participating in THAT, this board IS fulfilling it's mission. that's what my question was about. (this board doesn't necessarily have to be for ME!...)<P>i'll take a look at that modern dance section now. thanks for your responses. where's that azlan, then?<P>

Grace, regarding the geographic mix in the Modern Dance section - for this year to date it is about 2/3 US (both East and West Coast) and 1/3 rest of the World. I for one would be interested to read comments or newspaper reviews from you about Australian companies, as a number are finding their way to the UK these days and it is useful to have some reference points. To avoid boredom on the part of US readers, for the UK modern companies, I try to keep it to the best ones and the ones most likely to travel, although my monthly Newsletter covers more examples.<P>By the way, on this Board I talk about 'modern' dance, but in the UK we call it 'contemporary' dance. Which convention do you adopt in Australia?<P>Regarding Azlan - sparing no expense, criticaldance has hired a leading firm of private detectives to search the demi-monde dives that he habitually frequents to ensure that you receive an answer to your question.<P>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 03-04-2000).]<p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited 03-04-2000).]

wooh, stuart: what exactly are you divulging about azlan's habits here?...... (only joking).<P>re 'contemporary'/'modern' : what a can of worms you ask me to open!!!! i will try to AVOID doing so! answer (of sorts): MY definition is that 'modern' NOW refers to the legacy of humphrey, laban, graham, limon, etc (!), whereas 'contemporary' means 'of our time' - and therefore means whatever's happening today.<P>this of course also means that 'contemporary ballet' means ballet of today. <P>but i am a dance writer (amongst other things) and therefore have had to develop care with words and use of precise terminology. most people would be hard-pressed to differentiate between these two words in common dance usage.<P>so - YOU are in the UK then? i understand what you mean about just posting re significant companies or people, likely to be seen internationally. <P>in terms of posting reviews: that sounds too much like WORK to me ! but i understand that its valuable to pass on tips, of -for example- the 'must see' variety. i'll endeavour to do that.<P>my best 'must see' tip from last year is actually one which i think londoners have already had the chance to see: compagnie montalvo-hervieu in paradis. but that's getting off the topic of this thread, so i'll desist!<P>thanks for responding.

Alright, I have been following with much interest the points that Grace has brought up. Sorry for not replying sooner but I have been covering dance within the full extent of the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, trying to enjoy dance as much as I can without getting into trouble.<P>Since trina and Stuart have covered most of the important issues, I will focus on the couple that have yet to be addressed.<P>Firstly, the name criticaldance.com... in my mind, it really came from the term "critical mass." I felt that if we could get a consensus of serious dance fans/dance writers/dancers/dance makers together, we could create a critical mass of knowledgeable dance fans on the WWW who would otherwise have no other means of coming together to present their thoughts and to learn from each other.<P>Now, in the tradition of modern and contemporary dance, the meaning of the name can be anything you take from it. Michael Phelan of Bay Dance who co-conceived of the name (sorta) thought it could be a reference to a critical juncture in the evolution of dance, since dance has to come out from being a stepchild to the other arts and appeal to a bigger audience base. Already we see dance being cut out of schools and even the Oscars. If we don't stem the tide now, the damage could be irreversible.<P>A critic in NY thought that criticaldance stands for CRITIcs from CALifornia in DANCE. Not quite... I don't think we are critics. We may critique performances from time to time but we are really focused on having intelligent discussions on dance. And I personally make it my mission to promote this art form as much as I can.<P>Now, as for the "private" nature of the discussion board, I think it may have to do with the personalities we have attracted. Would you be surprised, Grace, if I tell you I have never met trina, Stuart, pidge, bek, shag, etc. etc.? It's just that our positive and happy personalities give the appearance of a certain sense of camarederie... which leads me back to the critical mass idea. We are bringing people together who would otherwise have no means of communicating with each other.<p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited 03-06-2000).]