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I really didn't know what to expect from the On the Move conference aside from the assumption I'd feel like an outsider. After all, I'm at least a decade older than the average participant, I don't have a western dance background, and I've never attended a school of dance. But much to my surprise, I found the conference useful on several levels.
First of all, the networking opportunity is fantastic. I hooked up with other world fusion dancers, and other people from the "freak" scene. I was not the only dancer there who'd performed to classical Egyptian orchestral music and heavy metal. I was not the only martial artist. And I wasn't the only fire dancer. If there were other pole dancers, I didn't meet them, but I'm sure there were a couple amongst the 190 or so participants who'd braved the blizzard to attend the conference. I traded contact information with other dancers, gained performance opportunities, and told others about upcoming music festivals they'd not heard about.
Secondly, I found out about numerous arts organizations and resources I'd never even suspected existed. CADA provides accident insurance for dancers and dance instructors, and will also reimburse a good percentage of dance and physical training costs. DUO offers free consultations for dancers in a wide range of ideas, including grant proposal writing, mentoring, etc. The CDA acts as an advocacy group for dancers. And other organizations provide emergency funding for artists experiencing financial difficulties. I had no idea there were so many resources out there!
Thirdly, I got to experience the charismatic brilliance of Sashar Zarif. Although I'd had an introduction to the dances of central Asia and the Silk Road through a few other instructors, I was blown away by Mr. Zarif's charms and contagious energy. Hussa!
Fourthly, I found the Dancing With Words workshop very useful both for the purposes of developing my own artist's statement, as well as for interviewing other artists (whether they're in dance or some other creative field). Applying the sample questions to Mexican ballerina Lillia reawoke my past experiences of being a radio documentary producer. I really need to get back into interviewing.
I didn't find the second day quite as useful. The workshops I went to seemed far more applicable to company dancers than it did to independent artists. And the dance class I attended (Luigi jazz) assumed a familiarity with western dance terms I just don't have. After the warm up exercises, the instructor (Alex Cilic) said, "I feel a grungity."
"Grungity?" I thought, bewildered.
And then she leaped in the air, and all was revealed. Ah. A grande jettée. And then I knew I was in trouble. My four or five hours of ballet training had not prepared me for this. So I sat the jazz class out and watched some truly marvelous dancing done by the next generation of Canadian performers. This country is in for some great dance. I wish you could have seen these young men and women. They move with such grace and fire.
I left the conference feeling energized and encouraged. I will be taking full advantage of the resources revealed to me. And next year, I plan on attending the conference again.
First of all, the networking opportunity is fantastic. I hooked up with other world fusion dancers, and other people from the "freak" scene. I was not the only dancer there who'd performed to classical Egyptian orchestral music and heavy metal. I was not the only martial artist. And I wasn't the only fire dancer. If there were other pole dancers, I didn't meet them, but I'm sure there were a couple amongst the 190 or so participants who'd braved the blizzard to attend the conference. I traded contact information with other dancers, gained performance opportunities, and told others about upcoming music festivals they'd not heard about.
Secondly, I found out about numerous arts organizations and resources I'd never even suspected existed. CADA provides accident insurance for dancers and dance instructors, and will also reimburse a good percentage of dance and physical training costs. DUO offers free consultations for dancers in a wide range of ideas, including grant proposal writing, mentoring, etc. The CDA acts as an advocacy group for dancers. And other organizations provide emergency funding for artists experiencing financial difficulties. I had no idea there were so many resources out there!
Thirdly, I got to experience the charismatic brilliance of Sashar Zarif. Although I'd had an introduction to the dances of central Asia and the Silk Road through a few other instructors, I was blown away by Mr. Zarif's charms and contagious energy. Hussa!
Fourthly, I found the Dancing With Words workshop very useful both for the purposes of developing my own artist's statement, as well as for interviewing other artists (whether they're in dance or some other creative field). Applying the sample questions to Mexican ballerina Lillia reawoke my past experiences of being a radio documentary producer. I really need to get back into interviewing.
I didn't find the second day quite as useful. The workshops I went to seemed far more applicable to company dancers than it did to independent artists. And the dance class I attended (Luigi jazz) assumed a familiarity with western dance terms I just don't have. After the warm up exercises, the instructor (Alex Cilic) said, "I feel a grungity."
"Grungity?" I thought, bewildered.
And then she leaped in the air, and all was revealed. Ah. A grande jettée. And then I knew I was in trouble. My four or five hours of ballet training had not prepared me for this. So I sat the jazz class out and watched some truly marvelous dancing done by the next generation of Canadian performers. This country is in for some great dance. I wish you could have seen these young men and women. They move with such grace and fire.
I left the conference feeling energized and encouraged. I will be taking full advantage of the resources revealed to me. And next year, I plan on attending the conference again.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-05 06:50 pm (UTC)From:I'm glad you had fun.
Hey, you should email me your contact info. If your coming in to Toronto semi-regularly then we should meet up sometime.
from sadie!
Date: 2008-02-06 04:50 pm (UTC)From: (Anonymous)-----------
Hey! I agree!
Reading this note also reminded me to get all the info out and onto paper now :) Next time you're in town, let's trade notes.
In addition to the point on Sashar (hhhhhhhhasssssssssssssssssssssssa!) and dance organizations, I would like to add my favourite points
1. Clarity. Spend time on your artistic mandate. It will pay off in grants, gigs, and informed students
2. Set priorities for commitments and gigs. Being professional means being present and fully committed in everything you've agreed to, and it also means turning away amazing opportunities to maintain previous commitments.
3. Contracts. Every gig, every commitment, especially if it's free and especially if it's between friends.
4. This business is kinda f'd. You spend years working on technique and artistic expression, pulling deep deep from your heart, building a life where you have the energy and freedom to let creative juices flow. And then, you need to be a small business. You need to network and market and brand and do taxes and be competitive and WHAT? I was really glad to find the resource centers and to hear speakers being open for questions, during and after the weekend.
I'm still dragging my feet a little, but feel much lighter, and ready to take on the challenge :)
How could they improve on the conference? More metal bellys :)