This idea has been on my mind this week, and several examples highlighted this idea for me. Once upon a time, the numbers we gathered, as dancers, were about ticket sales, audience numbers, and students in our real-time dance classes.
Now, with mixed feelings, we also seek more numbers:
- Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followers and "likes"
- Number of site visits per month on blogs and websites
- Number of views of Youtube clips
- Users of iTunes U and MOOC dance courses
As I was watching the mockumentary about ballet and modern dance at the University of Utah, my alma mater, I couldn't believe that there were over 93,000 (!) views of the piece. (If you have not seen the piece, click here).
As highlighted in a November 2013 NY Times article, for many of us modern dancers in the United States, our new online presence might be the main way for our work to be seen. Exciting or sad? That is the question.
Here in the Bay Area, we are thrilled to have a weekend of sold out audiences. But, the average house size for modern dance events is usually 200-400 seats.
Is this our new language in press releases, grant applications, and articles? " Choreographer X has theater audiences of ____, an online audience of _____ a year, and ___ followers on Twitter and Instagram."
When considering our live audience and our online audience, are we now giving equal weight to them both? Or are the online numbers taking over?
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