Hope you have a good Easter

Kind Regards,
Antonia

I’m afraid I can’t think of posts here that specifically explore the relationship between performers and audiences. That sounds like a great term paper or thesis though! It also reminds me of an interview I did with Australian choreographer, Clare Dyson when she was here in Houston. She has done study in this area, so you may be interested in her work (check the articles at her website specifically).

As for posts on Dance Advantage, the postmodern process has been mentioned in regard to the college/university experience: http://danceadvantage.net/2008/07/01/tips-for-college-part-two/

Also, I’ve talked a lot about creative dance and artistry for young dancers which (again) I feel is directly related to postmodern principles of dance-making and exploration. Many of the posts written on this subject might be applied in some form to older dancers as well – as the concepts of dance (manipulation of space, time, and energy) remain the same for inexperienced or experienced dancers.

Thanks for reading! I hope this was of some help to you.

This is brilliant information and was just wondering if you have any more blogs on the post modern dance process and how it allows/explores intimacy between performers and their audiences?

Thanks for the above information

Warm Regards
Antonia

I agree, the more dance artists we get in our communities, the stronger the studios and educational opportunites will be. Young dancers deserve a creative outless for free expression in movement. I hope one day this will be available to all before they hit their college years.

Great post! Your passion is contagious…

I think one of the very challenges to dance studio owners is that they are torn between their love for a particular genre or style and then the current demand and interest of what the market wants.

I also think that the general public (I’ll call them the non-dance/very little experience with dance) has had very little exposure to postmodern dance – therefore they seek dance training for their children that they ‘know’ like tap, ballet, jazz, etc.

A dance studio owner often has to lean on their ‘bread and butter’ programs to pay the bills – which when I read your post makes my heart break because I appreciate this style very much.

If we could bring more awareness to postmodern style by exposing the consumer…that would be ideal. So much of the early dance training decisions are made by the parents who are paying for and supporting their children’s dance training. Perhaps by empowering the studio owners to showcase, expose, and educate their families, students, potential students on this style and how it can benefit the dancer as they train – would be a great start.

Love your 5 points of how postmodern dance can benefit your studio. It might just be the inspiration needed for a studio owner to re-energize a creative dance program for young dancers or bring in a guest artist and get the awareness raised for the benefits.

Thanks so much!
Suzanne

I want to disagree with this one point made in Ms. Langan’s quote above: “despite the difficulty in translating some of the complex principles at a beginning level for children.”

I would argue that it is not really that difficult at all to translate the principles of postmodern dance for children. I just think it often goes by other names, in particular creative dance, which has been taught by dance educators in the US and elsewhere for decades. This conceptual approach to dance is at the heart of postmodern ideals and principles. There are leaders we have looked to and who are innovators in dance studio instruction, with a history of success in translating these ideas to children… Anne Green Gilbert and Virginia Tanner are some of the big names but there are many links in this chain, including my own instructor and mentor, Joan Kennedy.

I’ll reiterate what I said on another blog just the other day…

The problem as I see it is a lack of private studio teachers versed in facilitating creative movement/postmodern dance and probably because of this, it is rare that students are offered the opportunity to explore creatively.

I was a rare case – raised in a studio where creative dance was offered to all age groups, side-by-side with the traditional trio, ballet/tap/jazz. Ultimately, I would love to see more studios adopting this model but in the meantime I think creative movement concepts (for all ages – not just the little ones) have to find their way into teacher training in places beyond higher education and K-12, though these are crucially important as well.

The benefit (as Roger stated above): we’d not only see more choreographers but more dancers prepared for the postmodern/contemporary requirements of academic study of dance as well as the versatility required in professional careers. And, I’ll add another benefit… a community of dancers past and present (working as dancers or in other fields) who are more educated viewers and appreciators of dance and art, and therefore recognize dance and art-making as having a vital role in a community and who will lend support with their time, money, and vision.

Roger has mad talent, and someday, I KNOW I will be able to say “I know that guy!” when he is on TV, or broadway, or even in the movies.

Roger excels on so many levels, he has created a standard every person should try to achieve.