Apply to Serve on the 2012-2013 Dance/NYC Junior Committee!

We are thrilled to announce that we are formally opening applications for the Dance/NYC Junior Committee for next year! Please see our Apply page to learn more about what we’re looking for, what membership on the Committee looks like, and to apply!

Applications will be accepted through May 15, 2012 for the coming year.

Finalists will be notified in the following weeks & interviewed, and acceptances will be made by the beginning of July. The new committee will meet for summer planning sessions later that month and will convene for its first meeting of the year in August.

Apply here!

If you have questions, please direct them to members Erica Frankel at e.whitman.frankel@gmail.com & Brighid Greene at brighid.greene@gmail.com.

We look forward to your application!

Taking Ourselves Seriously

This year has been eye opening on many levels.  I see the dance community here completely differently than I did 2 years ago.  Junior Committee has been a place where I am re-inspired and invigorated.  This diverse group has really made me think about the future of the field and how we are impacting it each day. I love that we share big ideas; ideas about where we hope our generation can take dance in NYC.  This group of people asks the tough questions, and I want to put one out there for us all to brainstorm around.  What about the current system let’s you thrive and what is setting you back?  When you think of compensation as an artist, how proactive are you in guaranteeing you receive it?

Now… Before we get mopey, what is in our control and how can our discussions and actions constantly work to change things? We all love this thing called dance.  All of us engage this field in multitudes of ways, but we are all hooked.  Yes, you are hooked or you wouldn’t still be here.  It’s a really great thing though; I am honored that I get up every day knowing that I am truly passionate about what I’ve chosen to do with my life.  And then let’s be honest, I think each of us is proud to be here actually doing it; however many side jobs it takes, to make ” doing it ” possible.

So, what I am getting at is this; we are dance in NYC.  We make this community, this field, what it is.  Our action, or lack of action, speaks loudly and eventually sets a norm.

I ask, why is it “normal” to not be compensated, in any form, as a dancer in this city?

Really, why do we think that is?  There are many factors to this equation, but have we considered that we do have a voice, that we are a factor in this frustrating “norm” as well?

When you start working with a new group, to ask for a contract outlining what kind of compensation along with the exact responsibilities you are taking on, is not crazy.  In other fields, that is standard.  One would be crazy to work at all without those things outlined.

I believe we can ask our choreographers to be taken seriously.  Maybe we have to treat ourselves like we want to be treated, as professionals working in a field.   If we don’t demand professionalism, we won’t get it.  We all know work will still get produced.  Don’t get me wrong; I am proud that we are the kind of people who are so devoted that we give ourselves so fully to the work that it can happen on zero dollars.  But, what can we change about how we approach this tendency, or how to we at least rise above complacency and get into creative approaches.

Notice, I’m not using the term “payment”. I realize, as a working choreographer myself, a lot of us are in the same struggle.  We aren’t made of money and may not be able to pay hourly for rehearsal as well as a performance fee.  But what could one barter if they are asking a dancer to come give their time?  Let’s apply our creativity here for a change, maybe?  Can the choreographer give space, teach full class, offer consulting in another area they are knowledgeable in, supplement the cast’s meal after rehearsal, advice in administration, design, or technology.  I think these things are only the surface of what we all may be able to offer our colleagues.

As dancers, we have the right to ask choreographers what they have that they can offer to us for our work.  They may not have given much thought to what they really do have to give that would be worth your time.  Let’s at least get the conversation going, and stop letting it be okay that no value gets put on our countless hours.  I think we all want to be a part of a field of working professionals, not a big group of people who dance as a hobby.

We all want to work in a dance field that is a thriving part of the economy.  Yes, a business, and one that we are fulfilled by, but in turn, compensated for our work in. So, why don’t we all vow to take that first step?  Believe me, this is myself included.  I say, take yourself seriously enough to ask what you can get out of the work that you are doing. As a choreographer, be proud and forward with what you can offer your dancers.  Let’s be creative in the realm of compensation; who knows, this could really catch on and take us somewhere.

The Hide & Seek of Inspiration

Hello everyone, Kaley Pruitt here.  I am a dancer, choreographer, arts administrator, and creative thinker.  I like to include the last one because it’s a part of me that I hope applies to how I am as an artist but also how I am as a person, more importantly.  I’ve been negotiating NYC for just about 2 years now, and it still amazes me how it can turn on you.  Don’t worry, I mean in good ways too.  This place is just full of endless possibilities; pitfalls but also magical moments.  Those are the ones that sustain you until the next inspiration hits.  As a member of Junior Committee, I want to tell you who I am, but I also think we are in a field of showing who we are.  Here is a 2 minute dance film that I created, top to bottom, choreography to filming to the music, at a time when I was truly inspired.  What do you go back to again and again to rediscover yourself and remember what inspiration tastes like? When it is hiding, what do you seek to get yourself back in the game?

I’d love feedback videos of what inspires you all!  Oh yeah, the logistics about me; I currently dance for Natalia Duong in Project Agent Orange, and I am also a dancer for Angelo Dance Project.  I am the Administrative Assistant for Elisa Monte Dance, and also work at Baryshnikov Arts Center.  After all of that, taking class and seeing shows comes next, and then maybe some rest, just maybe.

I really look forward to sharing some thoughts on dance in NYC with you all.  Stay tuned for my post Wednesday, “Taking Ourselves Seriously”.

[Member Blog] Leeanne M. G-Bowley: Sharing Dance Videos

One way that I like to connect with friends and family is to send a youtube video to express a sentiment.  This practice has expanded to sharing “in-spired” videos with the supporters of my dance company via social media.  Also, within In-Sight Dance we exchange videos via e-mail or social media in order to inspire each other, make each other laugh, or share something incredible.  Of course, much of these videos revolve around dance (though the Honey Badger video was an exception to that rule).

I’d like to share some of these videos with you.  Want to join in the fun?  Post your favorite dance video to share with the JComm community!

I frequently trade videos with Cody Potter, one of the dancers I have been working with from the start of In-Sight Dance Company. He shared this video this past weekend.

Here is a video that was shared with me by a great dramaturg after we just finished working on a play that had brought up much discussion about art’s role in social change and action.  The discussion continued with this video–which might be seen as an unlikely source:

A good friend of mine from college posted this on my Facebook recently.  I danced with this friend, and though we’re on different coasts, being able to share dance we see online connects us artistically as well as emotionally.  Like the first video it uses animation and here is amplifies the power of the dancer.

Mishi Castroverde, another dancer with whom I love to trade video, shared this Tedx video awhile back.  Like the Step Up video, it demonstrates how dance can be a tool for change.

Blueprint Call To Action

“Dance is a field with more guerrillas than institutions” –John Munger, Director of research and information at Dance/USA

Dance/NYC’s mission is to strengthen the professional dance field in New York City.  They help to foster a society that appreciates the art of dance and supports the creative process.  In 2007, former Dance/NYC Executive Director Michelle Burkhart created the Junior Committee (JComm) to advocate specifically for young professionals in dance and to serve as a liaison between the organization and its younger constituents.  JComm is a diverse sample of the field’s guerillas and our partnership with Dance/NYC brings us in from the fringes and allows us to effect an institution.  Our relationship is mutually beneficial and we work together to serve the dance community.

[Member Blog] Erica Frankel: Dance & New Media in Universities

My alma mater, NYU, now boasts a Dance and New Media program  housed within the NYU Tisch Dance program. I think it’s a pretty cool, and important, step forward for a college dance program. Check it out:

 

Do you know of any other dance programs doing interesting work with emerging media?