International Dance Day: Digital space has opened avenues, challenges for dancers

International Dance Day is a global celebration of dance that takes place every year on April 29, which is the anniversary of the birth of Jean-Georges Noverre, the creator of modern ballet. The medium of learning and teaching dance has seen a drastic change in the times of Pandemic with online collaboration turning out to be a savior for many performers and instructors. 

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For many of them, social media and the digital space opened new avenues in the absence of a stage and audience amid the pandemic along with some limitations too. 

“For someone like me, who only used technology when I needed to, I’ve learnt to adapt and grow and make the most of what devices have to offer. It has been over a year since we launched our online platform for professional dance training, and we have students tuning in to learn, despite every challenge,” Ashley Lobo, celebrity dance choreographer, told Times of India.

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He is also organizing a fundraising ‘Dance –O-Thon’ for COVID-19 relief.

“Many of these opportunities would have been impossible to create physically, but the virtual space gave us that freedom. Going digital was the perfect way to keep the fire and passion for dance alive in youngsters,” he said.

For choreographer and TV personality Terence Lewis, “In the wake of dancing going online, the human interface and physical connection are lost.”

 “Dance instructors really need to hold on to the attention of the students. In the lockdown, when you’re not allowed to come to the studio, dancers have to teach from their houses which are not always big enough and there can be other people around. Sharing the WiFi and the house space becomes a challenge. 

“Sometimes, students have siblings with working parents living in 1 BHK. It’s pretty okay for the First World countries to say that online is great, but in countries like ours where kids and dancer teachers are functioning from little homes and struggling to keep distractions at bay, is a real challenge,” he told the publication.