On Regional Dance I've suggested the idea of Regional Dance here online and in the classroom and have gotten some strong responses. So, I thought I'd explore the idea some more here in this blog. The main points seem to be: a)yes, the dance world ignores the community - art making is about community and b)the community is too dumb to get what we do. I will try to make some points and then draw a conclusion. See if you can follow along as I grapple with some ideas. Where MySpace Failed.The fact that MySpace is so popular and yet only managed to be essentially a graphical e-mailing list is significant. People feel a huge need to connect. We don't live in towns where everyone works at the factory anymore, our neighbors don't do the same thing we do and we want to find people with who have common threads, thoughts and belief systems. The keywords MySpace provides is not utilized. That is where it fails; we want to connect with people of similar interests. We need to add to our blogs and websites keywords for locale; "santa clarita", "modern dance", "performance art." Leaving the house. We want to go out. Currently 43% of our "free viewing time" is now online as opposed to watching television. Soon enough we'll see major sports suffer as the impact of dwindling viewers takes effect. Already, after 30 years Monday Night Football has shifted to cable television. Dance On Cable will be another blog, I promise! Our online experiences are about meeting people who are like-minded. Already there are online groups being formed who meet in the community in "real life." Communal Experience. People love to get together in social situations. It's human nature. Currently we go in small groups to the movies, to dinner, to clubs and to sporting events. It's easy to find, always in the same place and the shared experience cements friendships. Dance Theater needs to be more prolific and stable to build local crowds. User Participation. The biggest lesson by far of Web 2.0 is user participation. Dance Companies need to use tools to allow people to feel invested and participatory in their company. Online reviews, donating money, chat, blogs, active websites. The performances need to engage the audience as well. That old "snob trick" of not taking a bow because its art -- is a rip off, pure and simple. Do the math. 1 dancer = 1 boyfriend + 1 parent + 1 friend = 3 audience members. If your company has 6 dancers, you are guaranteed 18 audience members. If you do 5 pieces using 20 different performers you have 60 people coming to see the show. Dance Schools have recitals with packed houses. The Nutcracker uses local talent and packs the house. One time I was in Hobbs, New Mexico touring the Nut (Art to the Sticks Grant). My waitress in the bar said, "If you hear "sic 'em, cowboy!" from the audience, you know I'm cheering my nephew." Dropped jaw aside, it proves my point! I think Regional Dance is a true possibility and at least a partial solution to the incredible numbers of artists coming through the studio and educational system. Like television, one starts by doing the local news and hopefully moves up to national or takes a tangent into cable news. Or even becomes a game show host. The strategy of using the online tools to bring the community of people who enjoy watching the arts together in a physical space is what everyone wants. We want to go to a place where we are welcome and we know someone and have an "inside look" at what is going to happen. I know I read reviews for movies before I go see one. Let's use our websites, keywords, groups, local talent, blogs and even MySpace to build local audiences to see our shows. Let's learn to be gracious hosts instead of aloof artists. I think it is a real possibility.