8 Current Trends
Learning Objectives
- Discuss current trends in dance
- Analyze cultural elements in current dance trends
- Identify influential multimedia artists
—Carl D. Sanders, Jr.
Dance and Technology
Many changes have come about in the dance world since the COVID pandemic. Dancers have learned to work remotely, taking classes online and even staging Zoom performances. Social media platforms were already popular, but there was a surge in dance videos during the pandemic as well.
Social Media
What exactly is social media? Social media can be defined as the creation or sharing of content—such as photos, videos, or written information—through the use of websites or similar platforms that users post and share this content to for social networking, business, or just to be seen. This platform has increased visibility for everything, but dance in particular. Because of the use of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, and TikTok, dance has received so much more press and viewership. If you want to get noticed or seen as a dancer by others, if you have a dance studio and want others to see what you have to offer, or if you just want to showcase your work for classes that you teach, social media, with the use of the platforms mentioned above is a great way to do it. The majority of people use at least one or more of these social media platforms to gather information on the latest dance craze (TikTok), to watch a dance class or participate in one (YouTube), or just simply to be entertained without having to attend a dance concert or performance in person. Social media has clearly changed the way in which we have structured our lives, but more importantly, it has created a generation of quicker accessibility to advertise, promote, and create dance on a much larger scale than ever before.
Dance Hybrids
One way that dance teachers, studios, choreographers, and dance companies are surviving the changing times is by making the crossover to a hybrid model. They might teach in person or on the internet. Instead of a studio, they use a phone or tablet in their living room. They might create asynchronous material and sell the same class on-demand over and over. Or a dance company might offer a workshop or performance for online viewing for a small fee. This is called omnichannel, or integrated marketing, “a marketing approach that provides your customers with integrated shopping experiences, such as by providing a seamless experience between desktop, mobile, and brick-and-mortar.” In order to survive, dance entrepreneurs have to be flexible and create hybrid forms to deliver their dance content to the public.
Louisiana Connection
Helanius J. Wilkins, a native of Lafayette, Louisiana, is an award-winning choreographer, performance artist, innovator, and educator. Rooted in the interconnections of American contemporary performance, cultural history, and identities of Black men, Wilkins’s creative research investigates the raced dancing body and the w