Lindsay Aycan
The dance community as we knew it changed dramatically in March 2020. As COVID-19 swept through our cities, a community once “characterized by intensive training, festivals, and live performances” (Chamba Nana 6), like the rest of the world, was forced to pivot to digital platforms in order to survive. Social distancing measures, lockdowns, and quarantines threatened access, not only to dance performances, but to training, choreography, and the creation of new works. Many dance performance and training companies turned to digital technology and platforms as a means of staying afloat during the crux of the pandemic. COVID-19, although devastating and life-altering for so many, became an opportunity for the dance community to not only sustain itself, but to develop new ideas, create new works, and change their approach to performance and how they connect with audiences.
In an article for WBUR, a Boston news magazine, journalist Sharon Basco describes both the pros and the cons to moving dance performance to digital platforms. She writes: “We’ve lost the immediacy of bodies moving in real space, theatrical experience and the thrill of live performance, [but] we can command a performance any time we want”. She continues: “You can see any style of dance, many performers, choreographers, companies and groups, and go to concert venues around the world. Search out whatever’s listed under the genre or name, and chances are you’ll be presented with a wealth of links to watch the dance of your choosing” (WBUR 2020). One of the earliest Zoom performances she points to is Swans for Relief, where thirty-two dancers from across the world perform Le Cygne, a variation from the ballet Swan Lake. Set to music by Camille Sainte-Saёns, and performed by cellist Wade Davis, “the melancholy music and the loneliness of each swan had a powerful cumulative effect, just in imaging all the artists worldwide who now sat at home, away from their companies, and their audience”. Basco points out the bare-bones truth the dance community faced in those early months of the pandemic, “There’s no choice. It’s dance on screen or no dance at all. Artists have to adjust to a new atmosphere of limitations” (WBUR 2020).
Sophie Bress, in her article “Digital Transformation of Dance” (Fjord), notes that the financial and artistic voids left within the performing arts sector is what forced a “rapid shift to digital content in an effort to remain viable” (Fjord). Although over 80% of dance companies charged for online content, out of the organizations Fjord surveyed in 2020, the profit accumulated from the various online offerings available to the public, including podcasts, training, and performances live-streamed, accounted for “less than 20% of total revenue” when compared to past season profits (Fjord). Bress also notes how rapidly the pandemic forced performing arts companies to become digitally innovative, having to “cram immense progress into a relatively short time frame”. The benefit, she suggests however, is that the “dance world is now fully futuristic; we can experience dance through virtual reality [and] watch a live performance from halfway across the globe”. Moving forward, integrating digital and virtual access to dance works and performing arts will be dependent on sustaining audience awareness and interest and, as Bress attests, “Going forward, digital innovation will remain a priority [and] the focus will be on ways to generate a profit” (Fjord). The financial recovery from COVID-19 will depend both on in-person performances and audience accessibility to digital options.
The Digital Body Project, developed by Alexander Whitley in response to the pandemic, is “an experimental platform for digital dance collaboration exploring how human movement can be represented using motion-capture and 3D animation technology” (alexanderwhitley.com 2023). In March 2020, Alexander began developing a collection of digital dance works using motion-capture technology available without charge to digital artists. His work inspired numerous contributions from across the globe. Whitley’s hope is to “build a community around a new form of dance creation and collaboration, and to demonstrate new ways for the moving body to be experienced by the public” (alexanderwhitley.com 2023).
Digital Reach: The National Ballet of Canada
Digital Reach is a joint project between The National Ballet of Canada, Canadian Opera Company, and Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) at Sheridan College. This program was designed to “explore ways that arts organizations can use their content to connect with existing and new audiences” and “will equip partner organizations with knowledge around potential uses of technology, the technical and infrastructure requirements of capturing and storing content, and the platforms to distribute the content” (nationalballet.ca 2023).
Expansive Dances: The National Ballet of Canada
In 2021, the National Ballet of Canada released its first virtual season with three filmed solo works created during the COVID-19 lockdown. The films, choreographed by NBoC’s choreographic associates Guillaume Côté, Alysa Pires, and Robert Binet, “unfold in expansive spaces that subvert the state of confinement brought on by the pandemic, heralding hope for a brighter future” (nationalballet.ca 2023). Each of the ballets were choreographed and filmed during lockdown with social distancing restrictions in place, often outdoors, and “without the usual conveniences of the rehearsal process—ballet shoes, mirrors, and professional flooring” (nationalballet.ca 2023).
Guillaume Côté choreographed Lulu for NBoC Principal Dancer, Heather Ogden. The film “captures a woman’s courage and strength as she moves away from her difficult past and comes to terms with saying goodbye” (nationalballet.ca 2023). It is set to music by Max Richter and introduced by Kevin Lau. Lulu was awarded Best International Short Film at the 2020 Milan International Film Festival.
In Between originally made its debut with The National Ballet of Canada in 2018. For the purpose of Expansive Dances, Alysa Pires adapted the original number and cast of four to a solo piece. Performed by Second Soloist Christopher Gerty, “In Between conveys a sense of yearning and restlessness that feels especially prescient in the context of the coronavirus pandemic” (nationalballet.ca 2023).
Initially created for Company Wayne McGregor in 2012, Robert Binet’s Lake Maligne takes its “inspiration from the landscape paintings of Lawren Harris”. In this adaptation, Binet worked with First Soloist Spencer Hack to reimagine the work as a solo piece, filmed at Toronto’s Evergreen Brickworks (nationalballet.ca 2023).
Works Cited
Basco, Sharon. “Dance Goes Digital during the Pandemic.” WBUR News, WBUR, 9 June 2020, https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/06/09/digital-dance-coronavirus-pandemic.
Bress, Sophie. “Digital Transformation of Dance.” Fjord Review, 7 Aug. 2021, https://fjordreview.com/digital-transformation-of-dance/.
Chamba Nana, Mirelle Flore. “Challenging Live Performance: Dance on Social Media for Wellbeing and to Resist Dance Quarantine during the 2020 Covid-19.” International Journal of Media and Communication Research (IJMCR), vol. 4, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1–17.
“Digital Body 2021.” Alexander Whitley, https://www.alexanderwhitley.com/digital-body-2021.
“In between | The National Ballet of Canada.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Sept. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_yr4cHxzeQ.
“Lake Maligne | The National Ballet of Canada.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 Sept. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_eRIZ68ffg.
“Lulu | The National Ballet of Canada.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Sept. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEmNcGdpDd4.
“The National Ballet of Canada.” Digital Reach | The National Ballet of Canada | The National Ballet of Canada, https://national.ballet.ca/Digital-Reach.
“The National Ballet of Canada.” Expansive Dances | The National Ballet of Canada, https://national.ballet.ca/Productions/Expansive-Dances.
“Swans for Relief.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 May 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT14o5Wq7gE.
Digital performance repository 