11 minute read
Driving Global Dance Synergies
Picture of Dr Danny Tan in Vancouver 2019. Picture taken by Atanas D. Maev.
by Dr Danny Tan CEO & Founding Artistic Director, Odyssey Dance Theatre Ltd, Singapore
Having attended Dance In Vancouver 2019, Dr. Danny Tan was invited by Dance Central to reflect on his experience and to share his observations on the opportunities and challenges in running the global circuits of dance in the COVID era as the CEO and founding Artistic Director of Odyssey Dance Theatre Ltd in Singapore. This article is extracted from the original paper written in September 2021.
Dance In Vancouver 2019
My highlights of DIV 2019 would certainly be the exquisite moments of physically experiencing the city landscape, urban culture, its art and people, and of course, meeting, mingling and socialising with global colleagues working in the same field. Dance In Vancouver like other markets has regularly created opportunities for like-minded parties, though in a more modest scale of about 30 international presenters being invited for the 2019 edition. The international dance delegates from diverse networks came together and appreciated Vancouver’s charms, exchanging their knowledge and experiences, as well as discussing mutually beneficial projects. The cultural exchanges, cooperation programs, and many initiatives have played a significant role in building people-to-people relationships.
Benefits of attending an international dance platform like DIV
The real takeaway for international presenters, delegates and other parties for attending a dance platform might not just be receiving the financial gain and exposure through the exchanges of dance exports for global touring viabilities, but also other intangible benefits brought upon by social walks and coffee breaks, which gave delegates the opportunity to take a genuine interest in the host’s culture and way of life, exploring strategic exposures designed by the organiser, building up the trust and understanding for multiplying the financial and artistic returns in the long run. The proactiveness to engage international stakeholders could be targeted more broadly with the understanding of the host’s arts and culture and its wide community of artists, rather than focusing on a limited span of designated shows and artists within a short event timeframe of just a couple of days. It is with this shared understanding that the international dance community can be harnessed further.
International platforms for dance
There are web directories that provide recommendations for market presenters and interested dance parties to follow the key drivers in global platforms and dance-related business opportunities such as the following:
• International Consortium For Advancement In Choreography’s website shares information for business networking and potentials. Important networks such as the Association of Performing Arts Presenters in United States of America, CanDance in Canada, European Dance House Network in Austria, Performing Arts Network Japan and China International Performing Arts Fair (known as ChinaSPAF). These prominent international spotlights are each unique in their own propositions.
• The American Dance Abroad website provides resources to American directors, choreographers, administrators and artist representatives to gain access to identified marketplaces, festivals and conferences.
• Aerowaves Spring Forward from Val-deMarne in France organises its festival in a different European city each April.
• ICE HOT presents Nordic contemporary dance at different Nordic locations.
• Internationale Tanzmesse in Germany is dedicated exclusively to contemporary dance.
• Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) in Australia and Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS) from South Korea offer different windows into the contemporary performing arts in Asia Pacific and Asia respectively. APAM like Dance In Vancouver also features a special focus on Indigenous dance.
Dance networks in Asia
There have been some new dance developments in Asia over the years. Apart from the events created by the more established arts markets like International Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama (TPAM) which had its origin as the Tokyo Performing Arts Market founded in 1995, other dance platforms such as HOTPOT have made their international presence too. Since 2017, HOTPOT, an annual East Asia Dance Platform has been co-hosted by Hong Kong’s City Contemporary Dance Festival, Japan’s Yokohama Dance Collection, and South Korea’s Seoul International Dance Festival. This platform has accelerated the intensive exchanges among East Asian countries and other counterparts, with WeiWuYing’s biennial Taiwan Dance Platform (TDP) and China Contemporary Dance Biennale (CCDB) joining the international bandwagon in 2016 and 2019 respectively.
These dance platforms have strategically positioned their directions and program focus according to state funding and alliance interests. They may operate differently in scale with mixed levels of global reach, but they share a similar ambition with their Western counterparts by opening up their venues to connect with arts stakeholders worldwide. Focusing on the creation, dissemination and vitalization of dance, their key interest lies in Asia.
Picture of Dr Danny Tan with Executive Director of The Dance Centre, Mirna Zagar at Dance In Vancouver 2019
© Danny Tan
Common trends across international dance platforms
An interesting marketing phenomenon of these establishments would be the projecting of an image of connectivity and international presence. They compete to display their credibility of success by generating high records of participation from all over the world, together with a strong line-up of events, dialogues and even galas. Taking China Shanghai Performing Arts Fair (ChinaSPAF) as an example, their success in organizing their annual mega affair is attributed to their high level of influence, connection and impact based on scalable results. ChinaSPAF is a major highlight of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival which is a state-level event hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism and organized by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government since 1999. As a leading annual marketplace in Asia, ChinaSPAF champions new works of Chinese artists for export. Its 2019 edition garnered huge success in attaining a high participation rate of 1,000 delegates, with 400 organizations from 47 countries and regions. It hit a record high of 26 live showcases and 10 professional development sessions.
In the Canadian context, CINARS from Montreal did very well on its marketing efforts with the recent CINAR WEB 2021, held from 25 to 28 May 2021. CINAR WEB 2021 survey results revealed analytic data which a normal live event would not be able to capture. They had 869 delegates from 49 countries, including 285 presenters and 339 exhibitors. It attained a record of 15,890 contacts made, with 26,279 messages being exchanged among its delegates. Other details included 788 meetings conducted and 51,146 pages views obtained. These are very good indicators of their successful engagement with their stakeholders for online participation.
How COVID-19 changed the international markets for dance
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought international dance relations to a point of recalibration with the tightening and easing of travel restrictions. These have caused some disruptions to the delivery of dance platforms, arts markets, and festivals, which facilitate agendas such as public performances, speed meetings and people diplomacy. Performing Arts Market In Seoul and Internationale Tanzmesse in Düsseldorf had to cancel their in-person deliveries abruptly in 2020 and moved their arrangements online. The usual international markets, festivals and conferences which had previously involved audiences’ live interactions have evolved with changing times and technologies, resulting in new curation with innovative artistic offerings, due to competing priorities and limited resources. International organizations’ interactive platforms that assemble different interest groups such as artists, promoters, festival directors, funders, policy makers and embassies, around the world must re-assess their values and purposes. To drive global dance synergies in the new normal, relying on more technological knowhow to support hybrid models of presentations seem to be the way forward.
International Society of Performing Arts Conference in New York 2019
© Danny Tan
Innovation with technology in the COVID era
With COVID-19, digitalization has been a rising trend for many international events. To capitalize on new technology for cost saving efforts and to drive engagement through the exploration of new online platforms, key events like ChinaSPAF and 2021 Sibiu International Arts Market which have strong focus on dance, have chosen a hybrid mode for 2021, presenting both physical and virtual programs. There are challenges in going hybrid but the organisers are carefully catering to the different needs of their delegates with live performances for in-person audience and streaming for online participants.
ChinaSPAF has created its E-Pass for delegates to access live streaming and on-demand videos, which are trendy for online platforms to engage those parties who cannot travel. CINARS Web 2021 adopted its new online platform – Swapcard, while International Society for Performing Arts (ISPA) Congress 2021 chose Pheedloop for its online platform. Both Swapcard and Pheedloop offer a comprehensive suite of live and pre-recorded programs such as Panel Discussions, Pitches, Meeting Activities, and other online networking opportunities, which have successfully retained its members’ interest. CINARS Web 2021’s Swapcard platform, unlike others, has provided a seamless list of participating opportunities for its delegates. It has created a new set of ‘live’ videoconferencing tools for instant engagement by its delegates. Its creative interface simulated an animated networking opportunity within a building of various levels, allowing delegates to navigate the various floors of different lounges, connecting with other delegates of their choices. Delegate could choose to roam, sit, or engage in live chat through the video conference tool.
This refreshing networking facility has heightened the human-centric approach in allowing for more accessibility to meet people. It has created a new layer of personal intimacy for users to avoid awkwardness, and to experience new and fulfilling chats with new and old friends. This new networking approach could possibly be more time and cost effective than the normal live event reception. The system has also provided a constant prompting facility to encourage delegates in continual engagement in diverse activities. The shift from just product-centric in terms of focusing on shows for the old model of programming, has clearly opened new dimensions of human connectivity, in a playful and refreshing way.
Integration of technology in dance presentation
Embracing new technology to support a new level of networking is the key to facilitate successful international relations in these times of travelling inconvenience. Online tools have allowed delegates to view each other’s works and portfolios more readily before the actual market events take place, and business deals and meetings can be settled outside of the market schedule. Organizers will now have to think of new ways to retain their delegates with new value-added features. The element of gaming may perhaps trigger new thoughts for organizers to think about a whole new level of engagement other than the usual programming structures of ‘buy’ and ‘sell’.
Online booths, which merely have links to promoters’ websites and possible zoom chat are not uncommon for many larger online events used at CINARS Web 2021 and ISPA 2021. However, ChinaSPAF attempts to market a new hybrid booth, offering the delegates to achieve real-time promotion and customized communication through online platforms and live events. PAMS 2020 has created an innovative PAMS Ground, a digital booth exhibition platform to engage its delegates in virtual reality with delegates simulating like a warrior within a maze, having the choice to run on different tracks to visit different booths based on different routes. The upcoming PAMS 2021 is currently promoting Air Meet for its new edition with new technological surprises without doubt. The 13th biennial Dance In Vancouver will also be available fully online.
With the future arts market having to focus its engagement with their stakeholders through regular online meeting places, the move from product-centric to human-centric must be heightened, as the pandemic pushes organizers to mitigate a new way to re-negotiate the idea of meetings for international events. The old methods of human engagement will be enhanced with new capacities brought by innovative technologies, perhaps deepening our sensual urge to interact as human beings more. It is the how to interact best that may pose a major challenge for the new touring world.
Future of dance presentation
Whether the international events are labelled as dance platforms, arts markets, or festivals, they seem to overlap in their offerings of performances, panel discussions, pitches, and other networking activities. Future international dance events call for bolder and more creative curation that is direct, succinct, and impactful, aiding delegates’ accessibility to navigate quickly online, and staying curious and excited at the screens for some time now. The usual way of live engagement in person among international colleagues may happen over time, but the size of events may shift from large mass gatherings to intimate sharing and exploration due to the constant threat of the pandemic. New hope for the international dance circuit to be active calls for a new shift in paradigm for stakeholders to prune excessive programing and extravagant displays of accolades to purely “back to basics”—human connectivity.
Since COVID-19, the trends in which international events operate have suggested to us some interesting insights: 1) The call for simple and more direct programming online; 2) A clear target audience base is encouraged; 3) A succinct theme for clearer direction and goal setting; 4) Harness close and personal relationship building internationally; 5) Focus on user experience and engagement; 6) Shorter, quality time being advocated; 7) Promote intellectual discourse with more dialogues; 8) Openness to support inclusivity; 9) Embracing new technology for “human touch” and lastly; 10) The need to bring in new blood.
The ability to form long term relationships between different international stakeholders calls for an inclusive, sincere, and supportive playing field, harnessing longlasting friendships to enrich lives and effect positive changes. With the cross-cultural interactions that provide insights to strengthen understanding and beliefs, more international dance collaborations will be enhanced for better lives and business prospects in the near future.
2019 Sibiu International Performing Arts Festival in Romania
© Danny Tan
A respected Singaporean cultural ambassador, Dr Danny Tan has received accolades for dance education since 1994. A multidisciplinary arts maestro for 30 years, he has produced more than 100 dance seasons in major venues in Asia and Europe and directed 30 editions of festivals since 2001. As a mover and shaker in Singapore’s arts scene, he has choreographed 150 original works and has toured his Odyssey Dance Theatre extensively with his authentic Singaporean Classics since 1999. Awards he received include Singapore National Arts Council’s 2004 Young Artist Award and 2017 K-Fellowship offered by South Korea’s Ministry of Culture and Sports.
