My initial impulse for dance online is "hmmm..., let's see see what this is about". Recently I watched a few dance performances online. The performances were visually appealing and the performers skilled. I appreciated the ability to stop and replay moments that I wanted to re-experience. But I missed the feeling of presence - of being there. My impulse was to be be part of the audience and feel the excitement of the room; to take in the sounds of the room - the sounds of people settling themselves; to suffer latecomers being ushered to their seats; to witness concession staff pedaling over-priced ice cream bars, water and wine; to feel the thrill of that fleeting moment of silence just before the performance begins. My intuition tells me to accept what is.

The end of a session is a shock. It's so 'final'. There's no slow dissipation of energy as people chat, pack up there things, and leave the studio... It's like a slow emptying of energy within the space vs. a sudden disappearance... For me it's like "oh, ok. I guess we're done here"... feels unsatisfying to disengage abruptly (given the reality of these platforms). I suppose I want these virtual platforms to do things they can't do at this point in time, with current technology ie: physical/personal connection... could be my resistance rearing it's head.

I think it’s still ‘dance’… We consume it differently online. With different shots, camera angles, lighting, props, costuming, etc, it’s possible to edit out ‘flaws’ and have more control over the final product (with live stage performance technical aspects such as sets, lighting, can be pre-set, ). So, dance performance can be manipulated on virtual platforms (ie: using movement collage; working with music in different ways) – which is a skill/art in itself. This way of ‘crafting’ dance can be used to ‘produce’ ideal results. However, the shared ‘alive’ experience with ‘live’ bodies in a theatre or physical space isn’t replicated virtually. The human body is our instrument designed to communicate consciously and instinctively. Dance may evolve into a new/different art form with audiences experiencing ‘dance’ from a different perspective… Until some other form/genre of what we call ‘dance’ emerges it’s still dance.

I had to pay greater attention to the movement in case I ‘missed’ subtleties within gestures and phrases. Because I wasn’t in studio to learn the choreography in-person I found myself continually revisiting the choreography in case I missed something (ie: the energy and quality of movement) that I might have been aware of had I been in studio. Yes, I was more attentive to the internal quality, dynamic, phrasing of the movement. Focused body-mind presence I experienced as a result got me thinking about how I focus and interpret movement when I am alone and when I am learning with others. Still figuring out what this 'virtually embodied' learning/interpreting processes mean for me as a dancer/interpreter/performer.

Focusing on the screen whether witnessing movement or talking for long periods of time is draining ... I feel as if my eyes are not allowed to roam. It's as if the screen demands my attention and, I feel trapped, even when I am able to break my gaze and move away from the screen... It has power/or we give it power to command our attention, similar to over-focusing on our digital devices (in case we miss something)... I enjoy the energy of moving with other bodies as well, lo. I just can't help feeling somehow deprived of bodily 'freedom' (in an energetic sense) that is challenged by this online paradigm we have to negotiate. Maybe I'm just being resistant to inevitable change!

Interesting thoughts Jessica. Intuition functions on an unconscious level – it’s always present and sometimes we listen to it (if we are attuned to it) and other times we ignore it (for whatever reasons). In “real-life” we can ‘pick up’ or intuit another person’s body language which provides particular information. ie: whether something is working or not; whether the person is engaged, bored, tired, lost… etc. I think online requires a different set of tools because physical presence is absent; so we have to look for other ‘indicators’ to gather information. Perhaps the fact that students are in ‘flat boxes’ and their body language and ‘verbal/audible communication’ is different than in “real-life” presents an opportunity to consider what it is we actually see/identify to begin with. Do we start looking for cues from students other than conventional visual/audible? I wonder what those other cues might be. Teaching movement online might require us to communicate with students on another psycho-emotional-spiritual level that is not yet defined/or known… or maybe discovered over time in the process of adapting movement to/for online platforms.

For me imagination is an alternate reality to what exists in the moment. My imagination is constantly at work conjuring all kinds of possibilities of ideas, movement, intentions, etc. So, what actually presents itself in the moment is often different from what I may initially have had in my mind’s eye; which can lead to surprising discoveries about self as choreographer, interpreter. When imagination has room to take flight anything is possible – including finding useful, creative, meaningful ways to engage with movement online. I think imagination asks us to work with what “is” while still being aware that any limitation online presents, is an opportunity for discovery and adaptation the creation process embodies.

I want to dance 'with' you not 'at' you. I want to hear your heart beat pulsing beside mine. I want to catch a glimpse of whimsy, excitement, uncertainty in your eyes. I want to 'read' your movements. Our human connection is at stake! A connection that reminds us we are flesh and blood; interconnected beings, that communicate with each other on multiple levels via the "live" body and its somatic intelligence.

What I mean is the digital space and Artificial Intelligence is permeating almost every aspect of life. As a result we are slowly losing emotional intelligence - feelings we experience in the body within a shared physical environment. So our inner "GPS" that guides us - helps us sense each other within space, is slowly being compromised; perhaps to the point where the actual physical body becomes redundant - or becomes a mechanical instrument rather than a feeling body. I think this will have a direct impact on the dancing body itself... When we can no longer 'read' each other's body language (ie: bodily cues) by being in the same physical space and interacting with each other physically/emotionally/energetically, how we connect/dance/ will inevitably change. I don't know how it will change, but it will. I think the shift to virtual life/living/dancing is a prepping us for what's coming down the pipe. Which may redefine what dance "is."

I think we are slowly losing the body as we once knew it to be.

Dance redux. Unboxed. No camera. No distance. Imagination swells The moment ecstasy merges with mind. Scent of working sweat Muscles on alert Walls come down Electricity spikes All souls take flight; Called back to life

Learning a new choreography online a few weeks ago I experienced directional (right/left) disorientation even moreso than in studio/class. However, having time to view the work and attune to the choreographer's intention of the work I realized I allowed myself to focus more on the emotional quality of the movement, and express the nuances within the movement... In a strange way I felt more present in my body.