On March 11, 2010 Bay Area arts community members met at CounterPULSE for the Dance Discourse Project 8: Dance in Pop Culture. Co-presented by Dancers’ Group.  The event attempted to sort through the effects of YouTube and So You Think You Can Dance on dance today. To learn more visit www.counterpulse.org/dance_discourse_project/

At the event participants were broken up into small groups where they discussed a variety of pertinent issues concerning how mass media strategies are changing how dance is made today. Below is one person’s account of the discussions.  As you might expect, with memories being imperfect and all, a lot will be missing.  But, fragmented and incomplete as it may be, a lot is here.

[Cue imaginary music from “La Bayadere”]

[five dancers enter from the wings, moving forward in arabesque to reach center stage.  They stumble/bourreé to five seats placed evenly upstage]

Jessica Robinson from CounterPULSE begins with: Thank you very much for coming.  Tonight we are going to talk about “Dance in Popular Culture.”

[they begin talking, passing microphones back and forth]

He wants to “close the gap between who is doing and who is watching.”

Eric Kupers begins with a description of his new/ongoing project with filmmaker Austin Forbord to manifest an “Experimental Dance Reality Show.”  He speaks to inspiration: to a desire to create work that can mirror an audience’s experience, life, hopes.  He seems to push against cultural forces like “So You Think You Can Dance” and the norms they promote.  He is not interested in the homogeneity of physique seen in SYTYCD.  He seeks a more accurate reflection of “reality”, where bodies, personalities and ideas are imperfect, complicated, various and inclusive.

[Eric passes the microphone to Monique]

Over 70,000 people have viewed “Lipstique” on youtube.  Lipstique is a music video by Monique Jenkinson and Silencefiction.  She is at times a dancer, at times an actor, a performance artist and a drag queen.  For her, youtube can be at once a viral marketing tool for getting audiences to her live performances and a venue for work that is made for standing on its own in this medium.

[Monique passes the microphone to Philip]

Philip Huang estimates that he has a few hundred loyal fans.  I would believe it.  That video he showed us (an illustrated story of a boy whose mom gets crabs) was funnier than many of the videos I meander across on youtube.  And in the past year-ish that he has been working in short-format, youtube-uploaded artwork, he has created 55 new works.  That’s certainly more than I have, and probably more than everyone else in the room combined.  And as he observed of himself, the knowledge that there are people out there who regularly covet his videos, the idea that those people expect something of him (soon), has completely changed the way he interacts with the world and his own work.  He is alert and observant for the next inspiration.  And as noted by a man in Eric Kuper’s video, the need to create work quickly trumps the sense of needing to deeply ponder the minutia of possibility and development that so plagues many artists.

[they stop talking, and everyone splits up into three groups in order to discuss three questions posed by the DDP team]

1. Pop Culture, Professionalism, and Legitimacy
When looking at the terms “pop culture” and “High Art” how would dance be defined through these lenses?  What is interesting about the collision of pop culture’s perspective on dance with high art’s perspective on dance?  How does “pedigree” and “professionalism” come into play when looking at artists working in and outside of pop culture?  How are artists legitimized (or not) through the lens of pop culture and high art?

OK, well, I wasn’t at this table.  So, I have no idea what was said, and by whom.  (but, I bet it was great!)  But, if I may quickly: I’m not sure what the standard is that we are using for deeming what is legitimate and what isn’t.  Especially in contemporary dance/performance, have we ever had a legitimizing standard?  Is it a feeling we get that a dancer is “smart”, well-trained, accompanied by the right kind of music, or the right kind of audience in a particular sort of venue?  Now, I have nothing against standards of legitimacy, as they create order, readability and structure (can’t break away from something that doesn’t exist, right?).  But, I have to wonder, when getting into conversations about whether Mia Michaels’ choreography on SYTYCD is more or less legitimate that the work I see at CounterPULSE, how do we know we are, or ever were legitimate (see title).  And, especially now as the internet opens up entirely new forms and ways of thinking about our work, what is this standard?  Or…if we can write our own, what would we want this standard to be?

2. Dance in Mass Media
What are some of the impacts (positive and negative) of So You Think You Can Dance? on contemporary dancemaking/makers?  How does the element of competition influence how we understand what we see?  How do these shows define dance, and how do they created a template for what the broader community perceives is “legitimate” dance?

I was at this table, facilitated by Eric Kupers.  To open the conversation, one person said that he has always thought that reality TV is great, and so clearly reflects ideas of dance performance.  Unlike traditional television programming, reality TV centers around being non-linear and non-narrative, emphasizing surprises and focusing on revealing process.  This perspective was great to me, an instinctive nah-sayer.

Another woman focused on the positive aspects of SYTYCD, and was unabashedly pleased with the talent and passion on display at every broadcast.  And, it’s true, these kids can kick and spin better than I could ever dream of (and I do dream of completing flawless triple pirouettes, don’t you?).  Eric Kupers, however, brought a more sober tone, noting that the techniques and body shapes on display are becoming the point of comparison for many of his young students.   This, he feels, is a detriment to the field, as we attempt to raise generations of artists who aren’t afraid of being unique and boundary-bending.

In all this conversation, I began wondering why we feel compelled to discuss shows like SYTYCD so frequently in the first place.  And we really do.  We love it.  The DDP people aren’t the only ones.  We love talking about how much we hate that they call it “contemporary” instead of lyrical jazz, love the popping and locking, can’t stand the musical selections, and think that all those pirouettes don’t mean anything.  Where is the artistry? (or at least, this reflects many of my own personal conversation over the past few years)  But, my question is, why do we care so much?  Are these shows really bringing anyone to a live modern dance performance in San Francisco for the first time?  Are they actually impacting the field in a serious way?  I don’t know the answer, but I think they are important questions regardless.

The idea I proposed to the table was that we care because, as a lesser-known form, what the general public sees the most is what begins to be the point of comparison for all dance they encounter.  Much like the frequent “is it like Ballet?” question I answered ineffectively for so many years.  But while the “is it like Ballet?” question was admittedly annoying, I understood that many people were more familiar with it, and it didn’t reflect at all on the Ballet itself.  I never thought that Ballet’s existence was good or bad for the status of modern/contemporary dance.  So, why then, does this new point of comparison bring such passion?  Is it a fundamentally different form?  Am I missing something?

3. Viewing Dance Online

The growth of dance video clips available on sites such as youtube is staggering.  How is this impacting the field and how work is being seen?  How are artists working with these new possibilities?  How does it affect the immediacy of an artists’ work, or the control an artist has over how they are represented and the context of their work?  How does youtube help artists find new audiences…and how can it turn people off from work?  It used to be that we had to wait for a company to come to us to experience it, now we can watch a clip online – is this reducing “provincialism”?

4. Presenting Work Online

How does youtube allow of DIY careers that do not rely on traditional means for artists to establish themselves and present their work?  How has youtube impacted the relevance of presenting institutions and the audience’s engagement with presenting institutions?  How does youtube (in particular when related to flash mobs) encourage/discourage participation in dance?

After my thought-provoking conversation at the #2 table I wound my way to Philip’s table (a combination of questions 3 & 4.  But we quickly got sidetracked from conversation to make an impromptu performance, inspired by Philip’s DIY attitude that work can be made anywhere, anytime, and quickly.  I often criticize myself for being too precious with my work, for getting bogged down in it, and afraid to let it out in the public for fear that it isn’t yet ….perfect?  So, we as a group leapt at the make something – anything – and have fun doing it mentality.  So, 20 minutes later we presented our masterpiece of performance art in the side hall of CounterPULSE, much to the entertainment of ourselves.

[the crowd goes wild]

[everyone returns to the room, and wraps up the conversation]

One woman mentions that viewing dance is all about context, and we should be flexible with allowing ourselves to enjoy and engage with different kinds of work in different contexts.  I completely agree, even if that is more complicated than it seems.  And, it is always more complicated than it seems.

I mention this article I read recently by conceptual poet Kenneth Goldsmith entitled “If it Doesn’t Exist on the Internet, It Doesn’t Exist.”  His not entirely serious argument is essentially laid out in the title.  If you google yourself and you aren’t on the first page, well, sorry…but you don’t exist.  So, if you really want to be subversive, take everything off-line.  This is a bit of an exaggeration, no doubt, but somehow I keep thinking about it.  I love searching for video, dance and performance on youtube.  I can promise you that if I see a show, I searched for it on youtube before I went.  I know some people don’t do this, but I think a lot (and a growing number) of people do.  And this is not a bad thing, but rather an opportunity to both market our live performance, and create stand-alone work that defies the traditional modes of creating dance and performance.

Because, in the end, we all just want to get our ideas and our bodies out there to impact and share with our audience.  And if there is an additional option for how to do this, I think we can all agree that it warrants some looking into.  And I personally find all of this very exciting.

[the group disperses to drink wine, nibble on wasabi peas, and continue talking]

-by Michelle K. Lynch, 3/7/2010

By José Navarrete
In 2007 I went to India, and on that journey I experienced everything from horror to beauty: magnificent palaces and temples contrasting with the utmost human misery. Throughout it all, water was at the core of this gigantic human drama. On the one hand, there is a scarcity of the resource due to industrial overconsumption, and on the other, there is flooding due to the building of dams which, far from satisfying the thirst of millions of people, have forced complete displacement of thousands of towns around India.
For the past few years my dance work has shifted in terms of its context and actions. There is a strong need to use spoken words, theater, movement and visual installation to create work that speaks to our time. I feel that is necessary to address the ecological disasters we are creating, and water has been at the top of my interest and preoccupation.
The challenge I face is how explicitly I want to present those issues. What metaphors should I use or how many facts do I need to present? What do I want to communicate to the audience? Will I overwhelm them with data? Can pure entertainment accomplish my goal of “mobilizing” people? Can my imagination capture the horror of misery in a profound metaphor that will touch people’s fiber?
What is the political role of an artist? The truth is that more often water is becoming a big issue for all of us. Anywhere I go I see this issue. I have seen people carrying buckets of water for almost five kilometers and thousands of empty plastic bottles floating in oceans, rivers or on the side of the roads. People are taking baths on the streets of Kolkata with a small bucket of probably highly contaminated water, while LA swimming pools are continuously sucking the waters of our Northern California rivers. Everywhere, in what are called developing countries, one sees long lines of people waiting to fill their containers with the precious liquid. One time in Mumbai, next to the Palace Hotel that was attacked by terrorists a few years after my visit, I witnessed a quarrel between people who were saving their spots in the line to fill their containers. They started screaming at each other while others tried to prevent a big fight. I saw the anger in their faces. I heard their screams. I saw their fists. Maybe that was the same anger of those who wanted to stop the absurdity of prioritizing the provision of water to the hotels rather than to the common people—that feeling that you want to destroy everything and everybody in reaction to a system that, at its best, ignores you, and at worst, is destroying you and your people.
The project that I am now embarking upon in collaboration with Mexican performing artist Violeta Luna, New Rituals for a Desperate Era, deals with the assault of multinational-corporations’ control of water. This is how I cope with the feelings of powerlessness and defeat. I do it by involving myself and others in the struggle for real change. I will use comedy in the work because if we do not laugh about the enemy and ourselves, we will die of melancholy.
I have studied water rituals based on the traditions of tiemperos and graniceros (Mexican shamans) who specialized in balancing water provisions for their agricultural needs. They are mediators between the humans and the God of Rain, represented by the Popocatepetl Volcano, located in the outskirts of Mexico City. The shamans’ rituals help manifest the right amount of water for their agricultural needs. These shamans remind us of the connection between humans and nature. I believe the more disconnected we are from nature, the more harm we produce in the world. This is the time to find the dances that once spoke of our interrelation with nature. Let’s bring them back with the language of the present. Let’s dance them. Let’s make the sun dance, the rain dance. Let’s dance until we are exhausted. Let’s remember that without Nature we are nothing; without Water we are nothing.
Rituals WIP

Lily Taylor performs a full length concert with guest performances by

Rain Willson- aerials

Sasha Baskina- shadow movement

Jeanne Pfeffer- dance

Vivvyanne ForevverMORE! and Elijah Minnelli- drag performance art

videos by Sean Miller and Loren Robertson

CounterPULSE was pleased to host the re-incarnation of Carpetbag Brigade’s “You Don’t Know Jack” in conjunction with Bad Unkl Sista’s “Study of Soft” this past weekend.

Carpetbag Brigade writes, “This is without a doubt our best show and it has had a 3 year maturation process with exquisite direction from Varrick Grimes, formerly of Toronto, Canada’s Number 11 Theater. The Carpetbag Brigade adds a Jungian twist with a dash of PTSD to Jack and the Beanstalk. You don’t know Jack is the surreal tragic comedy of an alcoholic dead man and the shadow of his wild dysfunctional family. Inspired by Robert Bly’s The Sibling Society, this funny nightmarish fairy tale excavates the echo of trauma created by the casual and constant contact soldiers have with war. Young Jack grows up in a world overshadowed by the ghosts of his grandfather’s death from alcohol and war-induced Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Trying to make sense of a mother who sings disturbing lullabies, teachers who eat children and a puzzling world of contradictory voices and dreams emerging from the grave, Jack plunges into a parallel inner world. Here, amidst a crew of grotesque characters shipwrecked between myth and reality, for whom life is a struggle not to become monsters, Jack penetrates the upside-down fairy–tale world enveloping him.

With original and traditional music played live onstage by the performers and a rich tapestry of objects and poetry, YOU DON’T KNOW JACK is a theatrical response to the moral and emotional wars that soldiers return home with.”

Explaining the unexplainable, Bad Unkl Sista self-identifies as “a continually evolving Butoh based performance experience. Each performance is an authentic and vulnerable offering given by performers of all skill levels of Butoh study. Bad Unkl Sista fuses multi-genre dance forms, live and original music, art installation, video and couture costuming to provide a stimulating, thought provoking journey into our human mindscape. For 2010 Bad Unkl Sista has begun a year long study of soft and will present a different performance each night at CounterPULSE.”

What did YOU think of the performances?

How Do YouTube & “So You Think You Can Dance” Both Help and Hinder?
Join us for Dance Discourse Project #8 as we delve into the popping of contemporary dance – the effects of YouTube, “So You Think You Can Dance” and other mass media stratagems on making dance today. We will create a hybrid discussion, part panel talk with Eric Kupers, Monique Jenkinson and other special guests, part world cafe with YOU, as we investigate how these new tools and opportunities are influencing how we make dances in today’s world.

No Reservations Necessary