DANCE NEWS: A New Season and an Expansion of The Dance Enthusiast's Audience Reviews

At The Dance Enthusiast, we believe dance deserves conversation

This conversation should be open, not only to critics and academics, but also to others in the audience: students, teachers, dancers, longtime dance lovers, first-time viewers, and anyone who leaves a performance with something moving through their mind.

Our Audience Reviews invite you to communicate  what you see, feel, question, notice, and remember whenever you encounter dance.

• You don't need to know the "right" vocabulary.
• You don't need to be certain of what you thought. (Writing helps solidify your thoughts)
• Just enjoy, pay attention, and respond.

Join us. 
If you see dance and something stays with you, write about it.
A sentence can become a paragraph. A question can become a review. A feeling can become seventeen syllables. Please feel free to copy this QR code and put it in your dance programs or flyers. 

 

Why Audience Reviews?

Dance is ephemeral. A performance happens, then is gone. Writing provides a way  to hold onto the experience.

An Audience Review might describe an unforgettable movement, question a choreographic choice, respond to the music or visual design, celebrate a dancer, wrestle with something confusing, or simply capture the feeling of being in the room.

These responses needn't imitate traditional criticism. We are interested in thoughtful, personal points of view.

Creativity is welcome.

Curiosity is welcome.

Disagreement is welcome.

Snark is not.
 

 

We want this to be a space where people can respond honestly while remaining respectful toward the artists and their  work. 

Please note that we do not edit these reviews. They are solely the opinions of their authors.

How to share your Audience Review. There is no single way.

• For those seeking guidance, The Dance Enthusiast Questionnaire offers prompts designed to spark observation and imagination.
• For those who want to experiment, there is the Haiku Review: seventeen syllables, three lines, and a chance to turn one art form into another. (Five syllables first line, Seven syllables second line, Five syllables third line)
• If you want complete freedom, you can submit a Free Form Review, following whatever aspect of the performance most captured your attention.
• If you already write about dance on your own blogs or platforms, you can repost your work here. The Dance Enthusiast will introduce your work to our audience.
• We also offer a video option. (It is new, and we're waiting for someone to try it.)
• Over the years, we've even had responses to dance in drawing and words. We appreciate this creativity.

Our goal is to encourage people to look closely, think deeply, and share their experience, as if they are talking to a friend.

At the end of a season, we hope to look back at responses and highlight writers, artists, performances, questions, and themes that have emerged.