The Pulse of Cyberspace – The Digital Evolution of Dance

The dancers’ feet beat at the speed of light. Their technique is unparalleled. When they jump, they fly, and they could pirouette for days without effort. But there’s no chattering audience, no house lights fading, no scarlet curtain, no rumble of the orchestra, no spontaneity – and no third dimension. Founded by former professional dancer and choreographer Inarra Saarinen, Second Life Ballet mimics a real dance company but within the virtual space of Second Life, an internet program where users maneuver avatars through simulated experiences.

Dance is conquering a new stage. The footlights of pixels, the wings of windows, the rhythm of the keyboard – dance is going digital and shifting a stifled culture into the 21st century.

New Media, New Worlds: Second Life Ballet

“My imagination was captured by the possibilities of the new virtual medium,” says Saarinen. There are currently 20 online dancers, all handpicked by the artistic director like human dancers are chosen. They rehearse in real time, incorporate understudies, and make corrections as though they were dancers in true physical space. “The only difference might be ‘Can you fly higher on that exit!’” boasts Saarinen, whose dancers defy gravity on the computer screen. Real life audiences masked by Second Life avatars frequent their performances, giving dance a two dimensional home and a fan base. “We hear things like ‘We like Second Life Ballet better than real ballet!’”

With animation programs and motion capture software, the need for the physical dancer to exist is slashed in the digital age. Technology is being developed to directly transport human movement into avatar movement in virtual space. If the user walks, their character will walk. Perhaps, with this, the screen actually will become the separating proscenium between performance and audience. Even video games like Nintendo’s Wii system allow bodies to dive into digital places on a realistic level, by hitting a golf ball or sweating through fitness routines. Can the nuances of dance be translated with Wii?

Communication Technology Gives Dance a Voice

Dance is inherently non-verbal. Yet every dancer has a story to tell, and the internet has become a microphone to thousands of silent stars aching to share their passion. The nature of the internet begs for interactivity, and dancers are raised to be opinionated – “This is good technique. She has a perfect body. He shouldn’t get that part.”

When given the option to speak out we eagerly want to do so. Blogs allow artists to express their process, struggles, laughs, and preparations behind the scenes to a worldwide audience that is anxious to listen and respond. They humanize the artists who appear ethereal, untouchable, and otherworldly onstage.

Mouthing off fans of dance television shows find listeners online, too. As much as the artist has a message to relay through movement, audiences have an equally strong, outspoken reaction they can share via message boards. Television Without Pity and other websites don’t necessarily cater to the dance world, but the connection is clear.

Besides giving the audience a leak into the dance world, the internet connects artists within. Social networking websites serve the way dancers naturally build friendships. We grow up meeting others at summer intensives, annual competitions, or group performances. We see new faces and relationships remain for life – those we admire, those we can’t stand, those we compete with, and those we love. As growing artists we draw on these human resources cultivated in the past, allowing for future familiar collaborations. With Facebook, maintaining and building these networks is easier, and the dance world has eaten up the opportunities. Not only can we “Friend” those we already know, but we can meet others through our acquaintances with the ease of a click, expanding our artistic circle in echoing ripples.

Global Sharing of Movement Through Online Video

If blogs have been the microphone to dancers, online video has become the megaphone to dance companies, projecting their work to an audience greater than one that can fit in any theater. Online videos serve the collaborative predisposition of the dance community, which harvests sharing amongst artists. What better way to archive work, spread buzz, and teach the art form, as so many dancers have done on YouTube.

Yet the quality of dance videos available today remains questionable. Elements of live performance can be lost when translated to the screen. “Especially in a visually artistic medium like dance, companies are crippled by the tools available right now,” says Marc Kirschner, General Manager of Tendu TV, a dance video website to be launched this summer.

“We’re different than the free-for-all ecosystem that already exists online,” referring to the abundance of user generated content showcasing any computer owner’s dancing skills, professional (like New York City Ballet’s season previews) or otherwise (“The Evolution of Dance” amateur viral wave). “We will have respectful presentations of content,” says Kirschner. “Right now the work of some great choreographers is online, but do they really want their work shown next to videos of monkeys having bowel movements?” Or should they be grateful their art is being seen widespread at all?

High definition is down the line, upping the quality of dance video to compare with the real thing. Distribution remains an unthread territory as well. Could there be a global Wiki database where choreographers host archival clips of their work? Exclusive opportunities to air dance online where viewers have a night at the screen like a night at the ballet? Streaming videos of live rehearsals for a true peek into the creative process?

With new media it is also difficult for companies to draw the line on intellectual property rights. Many companies barely have contract precedents in place for television appearances, let alone an internet presence. When does it stop being okay to reproduce dance art without monetization?

A Digital Future?

Even though dance is going digital, it is still a human art form, a three dimensional execution of movement as a performing art. Perhaps the live aspect has been removed through new media, but the life behind the keyboard remains the driving artistic factor. It is the personal connection the community extends online that complements the physical art in a way unique to the dance world. Digital dance won’t replace real performance, but it certainly is testing what’s in the spotlight.

Taylor Gordon

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