This year, I decided to create a website to capture all of the local high school programs that my middle school students usually apply to. I used a simple blog template from Typepad, though I refer to the project as a "website."
You too can create a site very easily that can be a great information hub, advocacy tool, and opportunity for program visibility.
Check it out here.
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I am always on the lookout for well-done websites for companies and individual artists.
Today I would like to highlight two dance websites.
The first one is for the San Francisco Bay Area artist Mo Miner. I love the color choices and the three clear categories - of Dancer, Choreographer, and Teacher. As a devoted student of hers, I especially love the "class playlist" that can be accessed on the homepage each week. The website was designed by dancer Jai Arun Ravine. Check out Jai's work here.
I also have really enjoyed viewing the website of NY-based artist Anna Sperber. Anna's site is mainly white with black text and gorgeous photos. The text is all a reasonable length and easy to read. The site is super easy to navigate.
I recommend checking out both sites for ideas and inspiration!
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From Blog Director Jill Randall:
I am excited to launch another project for 2015 - MFA Dance in Review. This online publication will fill a unique niche, providing a place for dance criticism and writing about MFA Dance performances. To find out more and to submit writing, please click here.
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I am reposting from my other blog, Life as a Modern Dancer, here:
Image respectfully pulled from the Kate Weare Company website; http://www.kateweare.com/
From Blog Director Jill Randall:
I am pleased to add another component to the blog. Once a month, a post will share ideas and details for dancers building their own company.
I have a stellar group of advisors for this project:
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Your Online Presence - By Jill Randall, with additional writing by Nina Haft
Icons found on the Petronio Company website - http://petron.io/
The concept of your dance company is now officially real and off the ground.
What are a few easy steps to take to get your name out there? Several ideas are of little or no cost to you.
Facebook Page
Want to build a page to get the word out about your company? Setting it up now will allow you to easily post events and updates in the future.
In addition to posting about your own work, try posting about other up and coming (as well as established) dance companies, and about arts events in other genres that inspire you. Posting approximately 1/3 of the time about other people/groups helps build partnerships, as well as drive traffic to your FB page.
Twitter or Instagram Accounts
Do you like the idea of documenting your artistic process and sharing it with others?
Twitter and Instagram are easy platforms for this. Twitter also gets you connecting ("following" and being "followed by") with many other dance artists.
Website
Building a website can be a daunting and expensive endeavor. First, do you know anyone who does web design who can help you out, or is there someone you could possibly barter with for web design work? Check out options such as Popslice to build a simple website yourself ("pre-fab" site with templates to use). Other free options include: Wix.com, Weebly.com, Yola.com, and Moonfruit.com.
Youtube and Vimeo Channels
Set up a Youtube or Vimeo Channel with videos of your best performance clips, or with short clips from rehearsals. Link to this in your other accounts, and also like other people's dance videos on your Channel.
Post high quality photos of your dance company - these could get repinned all over the world! Pinterest is also a great way to collect ideas for costumes, set designs and other images for your look book.
Email Announcement
And, if you have not done so already, do you want to write an email to close family, friends, and colleagues, sharing the news about your company and your goals for the next year's time?
You can also include the information about your Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram account, and website so that people can start following you and your company's work.
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This week on Facebook, I was excited to see a post from my alma mater (the University of Utah), saying that all students now have free access to the Adobe Creative Cloud. What a gift for dancers.
Techwise, I think it would be valuable for college dance majors to leave school knowing how to create and design his/her own website, a postcard for a performance, a flyer promoting a class, and a program for a performance. These skills will come in handy again and again.
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Last night I was browsing the Stephen Petronio Company website. Since I last viewed it, the site has been updated in its look and content. Check it out!
First, it is a great example of a dance company website, in terms of the images, look/feel, categories, and social media links. The color scheme includes color photos and writing in black as well as a bold magenta color.
Second, the use of social media is quite extensive. Browse the site, but also click on one of the dancer's bios. For each dancer, you can follow him/her via Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and more. This is the first time I have seen this for a company and each dancer. Looking at this site leads to a great conversation about the intersections of dance and social media. How and why should we be using social media? Is it publicity, hype, conversation, or connection?
Stephen Petronio Company website
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I am always curious which websites, email lists, newsletters, blogs, etc. dancers read on a regular basis. Today I want to share what I look at each week.
I have the ArtsJournal website on my bookmarks bar. I love checking out the website once or twice a week. This website is a great gathering place of articles about professional dance from around the globe. Articles come from The Guardian, New York Times, regional newspapers, and online sources.
Email Lists: Dancers' Group, Dance/USA, and the California Arts Council
I have paid for a membership to Dancers' Group and Dance/USA and receive their wonderful, comprehensive emails each week. Dancers' Group is the San Francisco Bay Area's service organization. Their weekly email includes information about jobs, auditions, performances, workshops, and relevant articles. Likewise, for the national scene, Dance/USA creates weekly emails with job postings, grant information, and thought provoking articles.
Each Friday I also take a quick read of the California Arts Council's artbeat e-newsletter for a pulse on the arts scene in the state.
As a Dance Teaching Artist.....
To support my work as a dance teaching artist, I am a member of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). Its email list announces jobs but also is a venue to pose a question and receive responses from fellow educators around the country.
I also have the Edutopia website bookmarked on my computer. This site is geared towards K-12 educators, but much of the content applies to our teaching work. Edutopia also has a fair amount of articles on arts in education as well.
As a busy artist and educator, these websites and email lists are gifts of information. It is, now, more a matter taking the time to read on a regular basis about the field.
Which websites, email lists, blogs, etc. are on your weekly reading list? Write in at [email protected]
I have yet to find a book on symmetry that I can keep on hand when exploring the concept with students in dance classes. Today, I would like to suggest a beautiful website to bookmark, to have on hand when needing images to share in a class.
Artist Christopher Marley makes some wild art using butterflies and bugs. Check it out!
*I also have started a Pinterest board to capture "symmetrical images" for future reference.
Today I was searching for research done years ago by Shirley Brice Heath. It was my first time trying out the ArtsEdSearch site.
It is a clearly organized search engine for research about all arts forms, looking at both in school and out of school programs.
I definitely recommend that teaching artists, arts administrators, and future dance teachers check out the site for 5-10 minutes. Give it as an assignment within a dance education course - search the site and find one document that caught your attention. Review the document and share a few key findings.
It is always important to stay abreast on arts education research as we continue to grow as teaching artists, support future artists, and develop and advocate for arts education.