When the San Francisco Ballet last month added a dancer blog to its website, the company accepted the inevitable—dance fans are increasingly flocking to the internet homes of major dance organizations for more than performance schedules or ticket information. Companies—and increasingly, individual dancers—are putting up performance clips, personal narratives and background features on the electronic billboard. The idea of the latter is to rouse interest and stir enthusiasm for a troupe’s live performance activity. But, even if there’s no possibility that you’ll be a ticket buyer, there’s still much to enjoy and learn here.
The rewards of the web for the dance fan really hit home last spring when the New York City Ballet mounted on the web a series of memoirs of Jerome Robbins by sundry dancers and choreographers. I understand that these vignettes, alternately tender and witty, were worked up to accompany the major Jerome Robbins retrospective that the company produced last spring at the New York State Theater, where they were projected before performances. More recently, NYCB has put up a series of reflections by company dancers who are graduates from the affiliated School of American Ballet. I have no idea where the director, dancer Ask la Cour, found all that archival footage. But seeing these dancers’ mature selves performing in alternation with their younger guises is fascinating, raising questions about career predestination. I hope these brief films can be extended to feature length. The channel also includes video previews, diaries and behind-the scenes footage.
http://www.youtube.com/user/newyorkcityballet
Recently American Ballet Theatre has added to its site a sub-site devoted to Antony Tudor, the great, prickly English choreographer whose centenary is being observed this fall and whose American career is inextricably tied up with ABT. The site abounds in reminiscences by artistic director Kevin McKenzie and others, historical footage and an invaluable archival interview with Tudor and Dick Cavett. The company’s New York City Center season, Oct. 21-Nov. 2 features much rare and classic Tudoriana. http://www.abt.org/tudor
Maria Kochetkova and Joan Boada in Wheeldon's Within The Golden Hour. Photo by Erik Tomasson.
Individual dancers have begun to put up their own websites, which include both performance material and blogs. The San Francisco Ballet’s newest ballerina, Maria Kochetkova, has put her career online and welcomes comments and greetings from her fans. http://www.mariakochetkova.com
Daniil Simkin, ABT’s latest stellar hire and a frequent tour partner of Kochetkova’s has his own site, too. What do the Russian dancers know about self-promotion that their American colleagues do not?
http://www.youtube.com/daniils
Other company and presenter websites are as follows; readers are invited to point our way to additional sites.
