First, it becomes socially inappropriate to send out links to videos that include the music to “Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy.” Second, every performing arts venue in New York is taken over by the annual Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) conference and surrounding events. Highlights in the dance sector include FocUS Dance at multiple venues, including the Joyce, City Center and Skirball, and American Realness at Abrons Arts Center.

A great summary of the full APAP calendar can be found at CultureBot.

Finally, since APAP represents a time when a critical mass of domestic performing arts presenters gather and look towards the future, TenduTV publishes its annual top 10 list of things that the dance field should be talking about over the next 12 months. How did we do last year? See for yourself.

1. Globalization (#1 in 2011)
Globalization topped the list in 2010 and 2011, and holds its place this year. By the end of this year, globalization in dance won’t be an emerging trend… it will be a permanent state of existence, and every company should be aware of their global positioning, even if they’ve never toured outside of their home city.

Last month, four Nutcrackers were broadcast into cinemas, and the rumored box-office revenue from the Bolshoi’s cinemacasts exceeds the total earned and contributed revenue for all but perhaps the dozen largest domestic dance companies. Exclusivity provisions in distribution agreements can, will and are limiting the potential footprint for other dance organizations attempting to reach new audiences around the world.

Is it possible for one performing arts organization located thousands of miles away to limit the ability of another performing arts organization to reach audiences in its own home city? Yes.

For a fun slideshow, see our summary on The Huffington Post (coming soon).

2. 3D (#5 in 2011)
Last year’s list stated that Pina would drive the domestic conversation on the potential for 3D as a vehicle for the performing arts, and the overwhelming response to the film within the dance community should have everyone paying attention. If you’re wondering what the next project is, the list already includes several dozen entries.

Last year’s list referenced the importance of passive display sets in consumer adoption, and this year’s Consumer Electronics Show should serve as a tipping point for this technology. While there have been a few hiccups along the way, the format is inevitable, and the next TV you buy will be 3D – whether you want it to be or not.

3. Developing Audiences for Contemporary Choreography
While the core ballet audience can seemingly never get enough of the classics – Giselle, Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Sleeping Beauty – it’s hard to imagine that dance can sustain itself by constantly retelling the same story about an otherwise jovial trip through the forests of Silesia ruined thanks to a few selfishly homicidal virgin spirits (unless of course, those virgin spirits develop a thirst for blood). Beyond a certain point, viewer fatigue has to set in, and arguably has already set in for some works. International theatrical broadcasts only compound the situation by offering yet more variations on these well-known classics. In order to appeal to new audiences, access to a a wider variety of works and new works is required.

4: Intellectual Property Rights (#4 in 2011)
The 2010 and 2011 lists emphasized proper clearances and the point is worth repeating, especially with SOPA, PIPA and/or similar legislation destined to pass at some point in the future. While the ramifications of failing to properly clear rights have been almost negligible to date, it cannot be assumed that this will remain the case in the future. Even for Beyonce.

On a related note, dance companies need to take control of their promo clips – especially on YouTube. When a work or company tours, several dozen versions of the same clip end up online, all of which end up competing with one another. Typically, the oldest and most outdated clip gets the most attention and everyone loses – companies, presenters and audiences. Companies should make their channels the lone source of their promo clips.

Presenters – if you do insist on uploading clips, keep those that can be considered current, and ditch the rest. Example of a great presenter who is doing it right: The Joyce Theater.

5. Funder Driven Innovation (#8 in 2011)
Over the course of last year, a number of calls for “innovative” projects were issued and two things became clear. First, there is plenty of interest in innovation. Second, funders (or more specifically, the funding panels) may not be adequately prepared to evaluate or support innovation.

In one instance, a panel couldn’t accept HD work samples, because they didn’t have a Blu-ray player. Another funding panel completely dismissed documented business practices and technological limitations that fatally restricted their desired goals – for example, that distributors are not interested in putting performance films by unknown dance companies into a few hundred theaters or television markets, or that one project of interest was not possible given current technology.

Since it is unreasonable to expect grant panels, even “innovation” panels, to exist on the cutting edge, funders should implement mechanisms by which panelists can gain the immediate knowledge they need to perform the required evaluation(s), rather than assuming a default position of “We don’t understand why this technology is relevant, try again in 12 months.”

6. Moneyballet
The ballet world was shocked by a series of high profile moves this fall. First, David Hallberg went from American Ballet Theatre (ABT) to the Bolshoi, and was promptly cast in the lead for their cinemacast of Sleeping Beauty, while audiences swooned in preparation for his partnering with Bolshoi-starlet Natalia Osipova. Those dreams were immediately placed on hold, however, as the Vladimir Kekhman-led Mikhailovsky made an audacious swoop for Osipova and her fiancee Ivan Vasiliev only a few weeks later  and Kekhman took little time to launch speculation that Hallberg was also on his shopping list. While Kekhman’s ownership/management style may have its critics, it’s hard to deny the potential benefit to the art of having management with the passion, business savvy and personal bank account to support a company’s mission.

New York audiences won’t have to wait too long to get a glimpse, as the Mikhailovsky comes to Lincoln Center in June.

With ballet becoming a bigger and bigger business, 2012 may bring more big moves. Domestically, the surprise beneficiary of this trend may be ABT, whose heavy use of featured guest principals (including Hallberg and Osipova) makes them the defacto supergroup of the dance world. It should also be interesting to watch post-season activity around the Miami City Ballet (MCB), thanks to their positively abysmal handling of Edward Villella’s departure. Artistic directors looking to add depth to their Balanchine rep likely spent Nutcracker intermissions combing the MCB roster for promotable and soon to be unsettled talent. We recommend MCB gets hold of a suitcase full of non-sequential and non-traceable $100 bills and Suzanne Farrell’s phone number.

7. Dancer Wellness
At a time when resources for presenting work are scarce, the number of companies creating work is actually growing. This is concerning on multiple levels. True, many companies have scaled back, in some cases significantly, but not many doors have actually closed. The mantra continues to be “doing more with less”, when it should be “less doing with more.”

Unfortunately, too much of “less” is being pushed onto the dancers, especially among small and midsize companies. They are working more jobs, struggling more to make ends meet, and increasingly likely to be underinsured. That we place the physical demands of professional athletes on our artists and then allow them to go without proper healthcare is our greatest failure as a field.

8. The New Dance Press Corps (#9 in 2011)
In 2011, the foundations were laid for a new voice to emerge in 2012–New York’s up-and-coming Collective for Dance Writing and New Media,” which we hope will fill the critical need for diverse voices on the art, in-depth features (the end of Sanjoy Roy’s “Step-by-Step” guides is perhaps the greatest loss of 2011), investigative reporting about the dance field and support for writers. Dance is badly in need of writers that can spark conversation by objectively covering the field, and a dependable vehicle by which to distribute that information to readers, and this new group will be something to watch.

One of our favorite moments from 2011: the twitter conversation among UK-based critics in the wake of Dave St. Pierre’s show at Sadler’s Wells. While we can’t link to the entire conversation, Luke Jennings’s review should provide a glimpse as to the meat of the discussion (Warning: Link contains images that may not be appropriate for younger readers).

9. The Election
With the Presidential election coming up in November, expect plenty of jawboning about how wasteful federal funding for the arts is, even though the NEA’s $147 million annual budget is less than half the size of the recent culture cuts in the Netherlands.

Alyssa Rosenberg at Think Progress summarized each candidate’s stance on the arts over the summer, and you may feel a slightly dirty twinge of hope when you realize that the two most pro-arts candidates in the Republican presidential hopeful clown car are Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum.

With the arts abolitionists out of the way, we may actually have the opportunity to stop fighting for nickels and dimes, and to start laying the groundwork for real federal funding for the arts. Is it too soon to propose pegging per capita arts funding to the price of a gallon of gasoline? At today’s pump prices, the NEA budget would be close to $1 billion.

10. So You Think You Can Dance – Coda?
On New Year’s Day, SYTYCD Executive Producer Nigel Lythgoe tweeted that Fox cancelled the weekly results show, and therefore the reality/competition show would undergo something of a format change – not good news in the context of the program’s declining ratings, and the 2011 cancellations of international versions of the format.

While some might cheer the fact that after this summer, dance professionals may no longer have to wonder what the hell “lyrical” dance is; we can’t ignore that SYTYCD used its platform to introduce audiences to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New York City Ballet and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet. In fact, more people saw those companies on SYTYCD than saw them live over the course of (several) decades, and there’s nothing that can replace that impact.

Other predictions for 2012:

Although we said goodbye to the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 2011, expect the company to still be the topic of many conversations, especially when the Merce Cunningham Trust assumes control of the late choreographer’s works mid-year. It is fair to assume that the Trust’s every move will be second guessed, fairly and unfairly, despite the fact that whether or not the Trust has been truly successful won’t be known for years to come.

Expect a huge decline in the number of pirated dance recordings on YouTube in 2012. Although this will hurt educators short term, it will strengthen the field in the long term. On the plus side, expect more legitimate content on the site.

Until 2013…

NEW YORK, NY- August 23, 2011
TenduTV, the leading multiplatform network for dance programming, and Dance Films
Association, producers of the annual Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center, announced
today a partnership to produce three dimensional (3D) and high definition (HD) films of dance
performances for worldwide theatrical, broadcast and home video distribution. The partnership
also announced that their joint project, “NYC Dance Export”, has received initial financial
support from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Cultural Innovation Fund. “NYC Dance Export” will
focus exclusively on the production of performance films by dance companies that reside in
New York City.

In this partnership, the Dance Films Association will manage the production process and
oversee dance companies as they build their internal capacity for film production, while
TenduTV will select individual projects and distribute the partnership’s output.

“Today, audiences are able to watch great dance performances from around the world in
theaters or on demand through TenduTV’s vast partner network, which can reach virtually any
screen imaginable. There has never been a more exciting time for both artists and audiences,”
said Marc Kirschner, founder and General Manager of TenduTV. He added, “Unfortunately,
despite New York City’s long-standing reputation as an international center for dance,
local companies have been unable to take advantage of these new opportunities.” He
concluded, “NYC Dance Export represents the beginning of our action plan to reestablish the
global presence of New York City dancemakers. We couldn’t be more grateful to the Dance
Films Association for their partnership and the Rockefeller Foundation for their support.”

“Audiences should not have to sacrifice quality of experience when watching filmed dance,”
said Christy Park, Executive Director of the Dance Films Association. “For years, the Dance
Films Association has worked to showcase directors who excel in capturing all forms of dance
on screen. This fund will be a great opportunity to bring their talent to a higher level and a wider
audience.”

Initial response to the partnership from the dance community has been strong, with one dance
writer calling it, “the most important step for American dance in the last five years”, while
another claimed, “(the partnership’s mission) is akin to Kennedy proclaiming we will walk on the
moon.”

TenduTV and Dance Films Association are currently evaluating potential productions, as well
as theatrical and broadcast partnerships. TenduTV will also distribute each title across its global
network, which is capable of reaching over 500 million connected screens, televisions, tablets
and mobile devices through outlets such as iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, CinemaNow and
Hulu.

ABOUT DANCE FILMS ASSOCIATION

Dance Films Association, Inc. (DFA) is dedicated to furthering the art of dance film. DFA is a
catalyst for both the innovation and preservation of dance on camera by connecting artists and
organizations, fostering new works for new audiences, and sharing essential resources.
DFA was founded by Susan Braun in 1956, and included Ted Shawn, the founder of Jacob’s
Pillow, as its charter member, as well as modern dance pioneer Jose Limon and ballerina Alicia
Markova as members of its first Board of Directors. A tireless advocate, Ms. Braun devoted her
life to finding, showcasing, preserving dance films and videos until her death in 1995. Today,
DFA carries on the spirit of creativity and collaboration in a time of extraordinary transformation.
The Dance Films Association produces the Dance on Camera Festival, which will be celebrating
its 40th Anniversary in 2012. Recognizing excellence in the art of capturing dance on film,
the Dance on Camera Festival tours to over 50 venues around the world, and has been cosponsored
by the Film Society of Lincoln Center since 1997.

ABOUT TENDUTV

The TenduTV network delivers dance-focused programming including performances, dance
films, documentaries and original programming to connected screens around the world.
Called “Arts Ambassador for the Future” in The Huffington Post, TenduTV’s programming
reaches televisions, mobile devices, tablets and computers through major digital video stores
including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video and CinemaNow. TenduTV works closely with
producers of dance programming to navigate today’s fast-changing media landscape, believing
that the world’s best dance performances should be available to as many people as possible.
With access to the most current digital technologies, TenduTV aims to ensure that dance
companies are able to grow and prosper in the context of today’s cultural market.

TenduTV’s Essential Dance Film is a compilation of 9 acclaimed dance films from around the world. Among the collection are 2008 Dance on Camera Festival winner, Flying Lesson, and 2010 Dance on Camera Festival jury prize nominee Little Ease [outside the box]. These 9 selected shorts range in style from ballet to butoh and the artists represent some of the most internationally renowned companies including National Ballet of Canada, Martha Graham Dance Company, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Tanztheater Wuppertal, and Stephen Petronio Company.  Essential Dance Film is now available on Amazon Instant Video at $14.99 to buy and $3.99 to rent, and on CinemaNow for $3.99 to rent.

TENDUTV SCORES OSCAR NOMINATED MIKE FIGGIS HELMED CO(TE)LETTE

LOS ANGELES – June 16, 2011

TenduTV (http://www.tendu.tv), the leading digital network for dance programming, announced today at the Dance Camera West Festival in Los Angeles that it has acquired exclusive digital rights in its territories to The Co(te)lette Film, directed by Academy Award(r) nominated director Mike Figgis. The Co(te)lette Film will have its US premiere as part of the festival on Saturday night at the Hammer Museum. In addition, TenduTV announced the release of Essential Dance Film, a collection of festival award winning dance films from around the world, for digital download on Amazon Instant Video and CinemaNow.

The Co(te)lette Film is a cinematic adaptation of the award winning dance production, Co(te)lette, by Flemish/Dutch choreographer Ann Van den Broek. Both the original stage and film productions were performed by Van den Broek’s company, WArd/waRD. “This is a film audiences won’t be able to stop talking about”, said Marc Kirschner, General Manager of TenduTV adding “Although the public was alerted of the potential for collaboration between film and dance through Hollywood films over the past year, The Co(te)lette Film takes this collaboration far beyond mere dancing before a camera, exposing the rawness and brutality of the dancers’ performance.” Said Figgis, “the basic structure [and] the ideas inherent in the piece are very strong and will benefit hugely by transferring to [the] film genre. Co(te)lette is a remarkable piece of work and it is important that it is recorded.” The Co(te)lette Film will be available on demand across the TenduTV partner network on a yet to be determined date.

Contact: Kathleya Afanador
kafanador [at] tendu.tv
(212) 593-2285

Wayne McGregor's Entity is now available in iTunes UK Store

Dance lovers and first time dance viewers can watch Entity on any device connected to an iTunes account, including iPads, iPhones, iPods, personal computers and AppleTV connected televisions.

“For the first time, audiences in the UK can access great choreography as easily as they can any other form of art or entertainment,” said TenduTV Founder and General Manager, Marc Kirschner. “We’re excited to take dance forward into the digital world, and we can not think of an choreographer, company or work more appropriate to take this step with than Wayne McGregor | Random Dance and Entity.”

Wayne McGregor, the Artistic Director of Wayne McGregor|Random Dance added, “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with TenduTV and we appreciate their ambition to put cutting edge dance within the reach of all of the United Kingdom.”

Upcoming programmes from TenduTV include:

*Dutch National Ballet’s Hans van Manen Festival, which also includes performances from NDT II, the Mariinsky’s Uliana Lopatkina and Ivan Koslov, and Bavarian State Ballet’s Lucia Lacarra and Alen Bottaini. Dutch National Ballet just performed an all van Manen program at Sadler’s Wells to critical acclaim.

*Alexei Ratmansky’s new production of Don Quichot, performed by Dutch National Ballet

*40 Years of One Night Stands: The Story of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, a documentary about the founding of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet in the 1930′s, and the journey the company took to rise to international prominence.

TenduTV also plans on making these titles available in Eire over the coming months.

ABOUT WAYNE MCGREGOR, CBE
Wayne McGregor CBE is a multi award-winning British choreographer, renowned for his physically testing choreography and ground-breaking collaborations across dance, film, music, visual art, technology and science. He is the Artistic Director of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, Resident Company at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet (appointed 2006). In January 2011, McGregor was awarded a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). From 2008-2010 McGregor was appointed the governmentʼs first Youth Dance Champion. In 2004 McGregor was a Research Fellow at the Experimental Psychology department of Cambridge University.

McGregor is a frequent creator of new work for La Scala, Milan, Paris Opera Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet and English National Ballet; as well as movement director for theatre, film (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and music video (Radiohead’s Lotus Flower). His upcoming productions include new work for The Royal Ballet (May 2011), Paris Opera Ballet (June 2011) and an opera/dance collaboration for Wayne McGregor | Random Dance at Sadler’s Wells (November 2011).

ABOUT WAYNE MCGREGOR|RANDOM DANCE
Wayne McGregor | Random Dance was founded in 1992 and became the instrument upon which McGregor evolved his drastically fast and articulate choreographic style. The company became a byword for its radical approach to new technology and incorporating animation, digital film, 3D architecture, electronic sound and virtual dancers into the live choreography. In Nemesis (2002), dancers duelled with prosthetic steel arm extensions to a soundtrack incorporating mobile phone conversations; in AtaXia (2004), McGregor’s fellowship with the Experimental Psychology department of Cambridge University fuelled the choreography; in Entity (2008), choreographic agents are imagined to a soundscape created by Coldplay collaborator Jon Hopkins and Joby Talbot (Chroma); and in FAR (17-20 November, 2010), cutting edge design is fused with choreography made from a radical cognitive research process.

Wayne McGregor | Random Dance is Resident Company of Sadler’s Wells, London.

ABOUT TENDUTV
Called “The place to go for dance” by the UK’s Guardian newspaper and “Arts Ambassador for the Future” in The Huffington Post, TenduTV delivers dance programming through a network of nearly 70 of the highest quality digital platforms delivering video today, including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu and BestBuy/CinemaNow and Vudu. TenduTV hopes to empower dance companies of all sizes to transport their art from the physical theater to not only viewers watching dance on their computer, but also to those watching on over 500 million connected screens, including televisions, portable video players, mobile devices and tablets.

For many in the dance community, all questions were answered with a quick scan of the credits: Choreographed by Wayne McGregor. If you’ve just happened to stumble upon this article, here’s a quick primer.

Wayne McGregor, CBE is a big deal in the dance world. He’s the resident choreographer at the Royal Opera, his works are performed by New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, La Scala and the Paris Opera. He serves as movement director for Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. He also has his own company, Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, which is at the core of his movement style. Just as Balanchine collaborated with and created works set to the great composers of his era, so has McGregor. Chroma features the music of the White Stripes, orchestrated by Joby Talbot. For Entity, he worked with Talbot and Coldplay and Massive Attack collaborator Jon Hopkins

Now to the shameless plug part: if you like the music, and you’re intrigued by the music, perhaps you might consider renting Entity, which can be found on iTunes, Amazon Video on Demand, and CinemaNow

Watch the video here:

This is going to be a great season of DancePulp, and here’s what viewers can look forward to over the next few weeks:

Matthew Bourne: Refreshing the Classics and Winning Audiences Over
FEBRUARY 15 – Choreographer Matthew Bourne talks about making dance accessible, commercial success, and re-creating classic stories by making them relevant for today.

Maria Kowroski: The Evolution of an Artist
FEBRUARY 22 – NYCB principal ballerina Maria Kowroski speaks about the pros and cons of being tall, the advantages of having choreographers create on you, and thoughts on personal struggle and inspiration.

Raphael Coumes-Marquet: Learning to Believe in Yourself
MARCH 01 – Dresden Semperoper Ballett principal Raphael Coumes-Marquet describes his early training at Paris Opera Ballet school, how adversity sometimes brings blessing, and the importance of having a fresh approach to work even after a long career.

While we’re at it, we’ve also added some new documentaries to our Dance on Camera channel over on Hulu, including “The Restaging of State of Darkness”.

Directed by Ellen Bromberg, this intimate and exciting documentary reveals the challenges of blending two dance cultures through Peter Boal’s restaging of Molissa Fenley’s critically acclaimed solo “State of Darkness.”

Note: This documentary contains nudity and is intended for mature audiences only.

Now available on iTunes

Buy or rent at:

iTunes (US and Canada)

Featuring stunning performances from internationally renowned ballerinas Uliana Lopatkina (Kirov Ballet) and Lucia Lacarra (Bavarian State Ballet – Munich) and the brightest stars of Dutch dance including Larissa Lezhnina of Dutch National Ballet and Roger van der Poel of Netherlands Dance Theater. Recorded in September 2007 at the Music Theater, Amsterdam, in the presence of HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

Hans van Manen is an internationally renowned Dutch choreographer whose ballets are performed by companies all over the world. He has won numerous awards including the Benois de la Danse Lifetime Achievement Award and the prestigious Deutsche Tanzpreis (German Dance Prize) for his contribution to the German dance world. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Van Manen has created over 120 ballets and has worked with many of the great names of the dance world, including Anthony Dowell, Marcia Haydée, Natalia Makarova en Rudolf Nureyev. His ballets are currently performed by around 50 companies, including Stuttgart Ballett, Bavarian State Ballet (Munich), Berlin Opera, Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Kirov Ballet, The Royal Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Compañia Nacional de Danza and Alvin Ailey. The former artistic director of Netherlands Dance Theatre, van Manen is currently resident choreographer at Dutch National Ballet. The clear structure and refined simplicity of van Manen’s work have earned him the nickname ‘the Mondrian of dance’. Alongside his choreography, he is also an acclaimed photographer whose work is exhibited all over the world.

Wayne McGregor | Random Dance: Entity

Buy or rent at:

iTunes (US and Canada)

Amazon Video on Demand

The Entity Reading List:

Entity @ Random Dance Website
TenduTV Press Release

On the road: International Performances
The Australian – Sydney Festival
New York Times – Peak Performances
Albany Times Union – EMPAC
Time Out Chicago – Dance Center at Columbia College

April 2008 – The Sadler’s Wells Premiere
The Guardian
The Independent
The Telegraph
The Sunday Times
The Times