When life has become a job. Even the fun stuff.

So, I made a huge revelation today.

I hate advertising, marketing, promoting, recruiting, and selling.  Those of you who know me personally, know that I don't use a word like hate freely. Dislike is about as strong as I go in most situations. So, for me to hate something is pretty big. Actually, its darn right colossal.

I am a creator. I love to generate ideas, make dances, write documents, design newsletter, etc.  What I hate is trying to convince someone that what I have done is worth their time, money or attention.  This commodification of the creative process eats at me; it burns up my life force and makes me really really sad.

Now, I know enough about marketing to reverse the perspective and say things like-- It is just sharing my "gift" with the world. It is letting people know of the great things I have planned or organized.  It is not about me or the event; it is about the person who is looking for something like this and wants to know about this event. . . needs to know about this event.

This things is, I don't know if I believe that.  From where I am sitting, I see throngs of people with overfull lives and no wiggle room for adding anything onto their agenda. They are too busy, too stressed, too strapped and even if they want to participate, their sleep deprivation is telling them otherwise. The supply out weighs the demand. There is more to do than anyone wants to do.

Life has become a job. Even the fun stuff. 

I will not guilt people into doing something.  I will not scare someone into doing something. I will not alienate them or devalue them as individuals if they choose not to do something. I believe in personal choice and personal freedom. I don't like manipulating someone into thinking they need something they don't want.  I can't do it. I won't do it.  Just the thought of it creeps me out!

I can't force anyone to do anything. I wouldn't want to. 

Here is the reality. I get sad when people don't come to my shows or to my events. It makes me sad that others do not see the value I see in the things to which I dedicate my time and energy. It triggers a deep sense of unworthiness in me. In my most downtrodden moments I wonder: Is it because I am just not good enough?  Maybe.  Or maybe I am fantastic-- but just a terrible promoter. 

What I know is that I believe in the things I do. I love doing them. I just don't have it in me to promote; I don't want to market; I don't want to convince; and, I certainly don't want to sell anything.  I have to detach from the outcome. I have to love the work so much that I would do it alone in a room with the lights out. A teacher of mine asked: what does a person do when they have made something no one wants? Like a hostess who has prepared a fabulous desert for a group of guests who just aren't that hungry.

The guests are not to blame because they are not hungry.

The hostess is not to blame for being generous and caring.

But, what happens to all that extra cake?

I don't know. I just don't know.

Musings from NDEO in Miami

I am nestled into my Hyatt Regency bed (quite comfortable) and thinking it is a good time to check in and share a little about how I got here.

It all boils down to dancers with brains.

And, starting tomorrow I will be conferencing with about 400 of them at the National Dance Educators Organization Conference.  Trust me. . . people who can kick overhead and quote learning theory are intimidating!  This annual event is a chance for dance teachers to come together and share what is working in the field, what is not working, what needs attention and what needs to be forgotten.

The National Dance Educator's Organization is a a large and vibrant community of dance educators from across the country (and beyond), serving the needs of dance education and supporting best practices in the field. This year's conference is on "The Art and Craft of Teaching."

But, this post actually isn't about the wonderful aspects of NDEO. If you are interested in the organization, you should look it up and become a member (plus, if you live in California, you become an automatic member of the CDEA-- of which I am cool enough to be called co-president).

The real reason for this post is . . . Twitter.  Huh? Schwat?  Whatchu talkin' bout?

Tonight I had the pleasure of training two of the smartest, most beautiful, most embodied women I know in the art of microblogging.  And, I realized that they are representative of so many of the dance educators of today.  Yes, I have my working group of dance-twitter-peeps, but as a whole, dance organizations are not so hip to the social media trends.  In other words, our branding and buzz making pretty much sucks.  Over the course of the next few days, information will be flung in heaps across panels, workshops, paper presentations and dance floors. The participants will be saturated from the diversity of ideas being tossed around the hallways, in elevators, over coffee and on the sidewalks.

But, who else will know?  Well, at the rate we are sharing on twitter, about 3 people.

So, I am calling dance educators to the twitter campaign. Tweet and twitter about all the ideas you encounter, ask the questions, share the answers, retreet and favorite until your heart's content!  We need to let the world know how much energy there is in this building. How we see a brighter future for generations through moving, feeling, experiencing, learning, knowing, and embodying.

Other fields have figured this out. They have learned how to create the buzz surrounding what they do and love. We need to give an in road to dance today and social media is the best possible way we can get the word out and reach as many people as possible.  It feels good to be a part of something that is alive with energy of a group that is rich with life and ideas.  Twitter is just one platform for us to create that buzz potential, to create a world that anyone who loves dance can find a home, find kinship and find support.  This is our chance to move the experience we have at the conference beyond the walls of this building and into the world at large.

So, go forth, download the app, set up an account, or revive the one you created and forgot about!  Tweet your love of dance!

. . . and don't forget to hashtag #NDEO2013

and I promise I will follow back @bethmegill

Beth

Can you see the big picture?

The more I am getting to know about in the ins and outs of the California education system, the more I am realizing why the arts feel so forgotten.  The biggest problem I have noticed is that in general artists do not become administrators.  In much of my experience, the musicians, directors and choreographers are the last ones to volunteer for administrative positions or school-wide tasks.  This is causing a rift between the needs of the performing arts and the people making all the decisions. 

Of course there are exceptions.  I feel very proud to say I trust my dean to fight for the performing arts across campus. I also know a few artists who double as arts advocates in positions across campus, in unions and in state organizations.  But, these champions of the arts are few in number and  in many cases feel like David against Goliath. The irony is that everyone loves the performing arts.  I am sure most schools have featured their performing arts programs on the covers of their school catalog, schedule of classes or introductory brochure.  The arts are the glamorous poster children for personal growth and enrichment.  And, a good portion of the school funding often goes to theaters and arts programs in order to maintain these attractive faces of the college.  And, yet we feel the squeeze: fewer classes, fewer faculty, restrictions on repeatability, concerns about academic integrity.

Despite the general love for the arts, there remains an imbalanced perception of the intrinsic value of the performing arts.  We must be better advocates beyond the classroom if we hope to make changes beyond the safe zone of our rehearsal room, theater or dance studio.  We need to be firmly planted in the conference rooms in order to explain the value of our programs at every turn, or rather, in every campus, district or state wide discussion and vote. 

But, few of us want to step up.  Face it, as artists we like to spend our time practicing our art and teaching our art.  It is much more fun to be in a rehearsal than sitting in a tiresome meeting about budgets.  But, therein lies the problem.  Our desire to be in the creative fray is keeping our time tied up and keeping us out of the board rooms and off the decision making committees. 

Most dance programs at the California community colleges have 1-2 full time faculty. That means the success of the whole program relies on one or two problem solvers who have to make all the decisions and attend all aspects of getting the programs running and functional.  No wonder dance instructors struggle to find time to be on district boards. Directors and conductors probably feel the same way.  When you are prepping for a show, it is easy to feel that the committee meeting is little more than an irritant.

Plus, I am arriving at secondary conclusion that I feel might play even more firmly into the nature of performing artists not moving into administration.  Try this rationale on for size. . .

A dance instructor leads a personally rich and satisfying life.  We get to make meaningful art on a daily basis.  Our practice challenges us to grown as individuals and also gives us the pleasure of entertaining others.  We already have a strong sense of personal power and significance.  Performing artists exist in a world of creative power.  Therefore, we don't feel the need to exert ourselves beyond our domain.  We are already kings and queens of our world.  We don't need to be on a committee to feel like we can do something.  We are already deciders and producers. 

But, there is the rub. 

Our worlds exist in these little bubbles and risk imploding if we can't externalize their value to a wider audience.  If we don't transition (even part time) into advocates, we are doing a disservice to the future generations of performing arts education.  When I think about it, we are really, very lucky that people love the arts as much as they do.  Staying on the covers of catalogs and brochures is part of what is keeping us going.

Are you an artist who has moved into administration or advocacy?  Do you know someone who has?  What problems to do see for performing arts in making this transition?  
How might the performing arts education look different if we did have a conductor, choreographer or director at the helm of the division? The school? The district? The state? 

I think I just became a Dance Activist.

I didn't plan for it to happen. 

I was always just interested in the questions. How does dance fit into our lives? What is the difference between an artist and a hobbyist?  How can artists make money when we don't save lives like brain surgeons? But, can't art save lives in other ways?  Why doesn't dance have a well used notation system like music?  If theater has dramaturgs, and music has musicologists, what does dance have? 

I didn't know I was opening can after can of worms by asking this stuff. I thought it was just part of loving dance.  And it is, but part of loving dance is protecting it as well.

A month into my new position as Co-president of the California Dance Educators Association (CDEA), I realize now that there is no turning back.  There are huge injustices in the performing arts world and now that I know more about their realities on the state legislative level, I can't just sit back and watch. 

The current issues at hand are the struggling status of dance programs at the Community College level and the lack of a single subject teaching credential for dance in K-12. . .

But, mostly I am tired of the public opinion of dance as a hobby.  Part of this is due to the current consumption of dance in entertainment.  Dance is a sellable commodity. We consume dance most everyday in music videos, dance shows, and advertisements. We love to buy what dance sells.  And, dance has proven to be a great selling agent.

Face it! Dance sells just like music sells. But when we talk about dance selling, we are usually talking about sex selling as well.  Is that the problem?  Is dance's relegated status due to a left over puritanical belief system that founded American culture?  It seems impossible when the news is so busy selling Miley Cyrus twerking at the VMA's. But, because that is the news, that is the image we are giving dance.  Dance as bad, inappropriate, too sexual. 

This is perhaps the nature in the rift between commercial dance and concert dance.  If it is sexy it could (and very likely will) be appropriated to be used as a selling device.  After all the most favorable dances in SYTYCD are the sexy ones! No one is is wearing a burlap sack on Dancing With the Stars.  We forget that these shows are selling something! They are selling ratings! the result is a stronger alienation of the sexy from the nonsexy within the dance world.  It draws the line between commercial dance and "art" dance for the wrong reason.  No wonder people are confused!

Until people start thinking about dance differently, the culture surrounding dance can't change.  But, who is going to change their minds?  Why should they? The engine of the world seems to be functioning just fine using dance as it does.  But, is it? 

We have returned to a relationship with dance that was popular in the 1890's. It was dance as other: dance as the elite, for the elite, consumed by the elite to maintain the elite.  1890's was the height of Classical ballet. It was a brilliant era of fantastic dancers, incredible technique, strength and control! But, not all was well in the dance world.  Even the dance elite became tired of this formula for entertainment.  Soon, the dance world itself rebelled in the form of Modern dance and Modern ballet.  Dance needed to return to the people.  

Right now dance is largely misunderstood as fun.  But, any dance artist can tell you, there is plenty that is not fun about being a dancer or dance artist.  Being hypersexualized is only one example.  Being mis-perceived as a hobby is by far the worst for me.

So, when I advocate I am not just writing letters to the state. I am talking about dance differently to everyone I know.

• I speak of dance as a practice for understanding oneself and the world.  I see dance as the ultimate vehicle for self reflection and self awareness.  
• It is also the ideal opportunity to learn teamwork in the form of ensemble.  
• Dance is our chance to feel human down to the core and to express our humanity in a form that extends far beyond words.  
• Dance is therapeutic: physically, mentally and psychologically.
• Healthy dance keeps bodies in good health and minds sharper for old age.
• The skill of a dance artist exists in a deep understanding of her physical body, the space it occupies and the message it conveys.    

Until our culture sees the study of dance equal to the study of history or philosophy, we have not gone far enough in our advocacy efforts.  The person who describes dance as "just fun" doesn't see the art of what we do yet. 

And, a warning to all dancers: that person may very well be you.


Question:  How does dance change how you see the world? How does dance change how you view yourself in the world?  Has dance saved your life?