We just finished the run of our annual Dance Concert. It has gotten some press even. It was mentioned in the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Roanoke Times. Mainly for the choice of having a live online commentary to accompany the performance. There was a student posting tidbits of info about the dances here.

It raises the question, in this modern day and age, do people prefer to do multiple things at once? Right now are you listening to musics while checking the internet or have the TV on? Are people interested in doing just one thing at a time? When you are watching something like dance where there isn’t a strict narrative, would having some background be helpful? IS this progress? Having a live performance be like pop up videos? Giving factoids about the pieces? Having the director tell us what to look for?

Are we supposed to accept that what they say is the right answer? If they did their job correctly should the audience just know what the play or dance is about? How much of art is left up to the beholder/audience? Won’t each person find their own individual meaning? Taking in backgrounds and cultural norms there will be a lot of overlap to the meaning that people take from a piece of art. But isn’t art about both individual expression and individual interpretation? Is this twittering just homogenization of interpretation? People may not feel comfortable unless they are told the right answer, but maybe they should figure it out.

On their own. ;)