Why Does Dance Matter To You?

Why does it matter to your community?

Why does it matter to your nation? To the world?

Why Dance Matters

is a virtual event that rallies the dance community on Facebook and beyond.

UPDATE! The event is over but the conversation continues! Why Dance Matters now has its own “home” on Facebook & Twitter (also see #whydancematters). For more info about the event and how it began read on…

I know why dance matters to me. What’s the point in telling anyone else?

Movement is essential in the lives of all humans. All cultures, all ages, all socioeconomic groups, all peoples dance. Yet dance organizations and artists lack sufficient funding and support from governments, administrators, and the general public. The importance of dance as an art form, in education, and for human health, is largely undervalued.

Some care about who is in the bottom three on Dancing With The Stars. Some care to theorize about the winners on So You Think You Can Dance or root for the Best Dance Crew. You and I and many of the people involved in those TV shows know that dance matters for deeper reasons. Reasons that are sometimes difficult to express. But that does not mean we should not try to convey it.

“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.”  ~Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

For those of us who practice, teach, and create dance, it is fundamental. We live dance. We breathe it. It is powerful, life-changing, and crucial. Communicating the importance of dance to the uninitiated is not a new idea. Organizations and initiatives like International Dance Day (April 29), National Dance Week (April 23 – May 2) and DanceVote2010 raise awareness and affirm the impact dance has on the lives of individuals and communities. In fact, in conjunction with its 50th Anniversary, Americans for the Arts is asking enthusiasts to send videos about why the arts matter. In anticipation of these April events, Why Dance Matters, poses a similar question to the online dance community, specifically those congregating on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The ambition is to harness the power of social media to make sharing, celebrating, and shouting about dance easier.

Others Are Already Joining In

Image by Pink Sherbet Photography via Flickr

The Why Dance Matters event page on Facebook already has around 200 attendees. Leaders in the online dance community like TenduTV and DanceStudioOwner.com are supportive and excited about sharing it with their friends, fans, and followers. Why Dance Matters appeared in a recent Dance/NYC e-blast, and dance schools like the Menomonee Club in Chicago are asking their students to write, draw, and explain why dance matters.

Download a template for your studio here:

Why does dance matter to you (doc)

Why does dance matter to you (pdf)

You can get involved too! Here’s How:

If you are on Facebook, begin by heading to http://tinyurl.com/dancematters and select that you are attending the virtual event.

Once you’ve done so, don’t forget to share and invite your friends to take part!

It is that simple!

This isn’t just about numbers, though.

From updating a status and donning a profile badge to creating a video or blog, you may choose your own level of participation throughout the event which lasts from April 12 through May 3rd.

Click this image, save it to your computer, and use it as your Facebook profile picture during the event.

The idea is to take action and share Why Dance Matters to YOU! Here are some of the ways you can do just that (hint: I’ve started with the easiest ones):

• Upload the ASK ME Why Dance Matters button and make it your profile picture at any point during or throughout the entire event.
• Add the following to your Facebook status once, twice, even every day of the event: “Dance matters because… (you fill in the rest).If you are stuck, please check the event wall or the discussion at DA’s fan page and borrow the ideas submitted by others.
• Write a post on your blog or studio website and let others know Why Dance Matters. Then, share your URL as a link on the event page.
• Create a video about Why Dance Matters. These can also be uploaded to the event page. (If you hurry, you might also submit it on YouTube for the Americans for the Arts, Why Arts Matter Video Contest!)
• Upload photos, share stories, or find new, creative ways to show that dance is important to you and your community!

Not on Facebook? It’s okay, you can still participate. Comment on this post, submit your URLs, videos, thoughts, images, etc. to me (). I would be happy to feature as many as I can right here on Dance Advantage.

This is a shared event. This is our collective voice. This is why dance matters to our children, to our community, to us! Therefore, in the spirit of this event, be true, be professional and courteous, be respectful to individuals and to the variety of dance modalities that enrich our lives and cultures. Dance is more than steps and more than the movements that differentiate dance forms or even distinguish dance from walking, meeting, or breathing.

Dare any doubters to ASK US Why Dance Matters!

Join attendees at the Why Dance Matters event page!

Thanks also go to Marc Kirschner of TenduTV, Suzanne Blake Gerety of DanceStudioOwner.com, Art Intercepts‘ Lauren Warnecke and the Menomonee Club, Maria Hanley, and many many others for their enthusiasm and support.

Why Arts Matter Video Contest –
April 1 – June 30: Upload your video
June: Preview of video submission at Americans for the Arts Annual Convention
July 1 – September 31: Voting period
October: Announcement of winners to kick off National Arts & Humanities Month

Arts Advocacy Day and the Why Arts Matter Video Contest are initiatives of Americans for the Arts. For 50 years, Americans for the Arts has led the national effort to ensure that every American has an opportunity to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Championing the cause of the arts and arts education in communities across the country, they provide programs that help: 1) foster an environment in which the arts can thrive and contribute to the creation of more livable communities; 2) generate more public- and private-sector resources to support arts and arts education; and 3) build individual appreciation of the value of the arts. Find out more at www.americansforthearts.org/

The Coalition for National Dance Week was formed in 1981 by a group of dance related organizations who began a strong “grass roots” movement across the United States to bring greater recognition to dance as an art form. In 1991, the United Dance Merchants of America made a commitment to National Dance Week as a part of the UDMA campaign to actively encourage the growth of Dance in America. UDMA and NDW are dedicated to honoring all dancers, choreographers, teachers, students and their art and invite all supporters to join in their efforts to celebrate their appreciation for the dance arts as they continue on the quest for raising the public consciousness to the inherent benefits of dance. Find out more at www.nationaldanceweek.org

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