The Process of Blogging about Blogging Your Process

In a recent blog article on the Dance Magazine website, Wendy Perron considers her frustrations toward younger choreographers who keep running blog entries during the developmental stages of their work. Ms. Perron stresses her concern that blogging one’s creative process ultimately hinders the quality of said process– influencing the way one creates a piece in thinking too much about how to describe it later on. She turns to a quote from Igor Stravinsky, hoping young artists understand the importance of “groping for what comes next.” It is the explaining of process that is found the most troublesome– there should be excavation and tunneling through a place where there is no explanation to comfort the forward creation of movement.

Trying to view this argument through the eyes of a young choreographer, it seems fair to address converse sides of her complaint. If one is not mistaken, this is an argument over the most beneficial usage of a personal blog forum.

To some degree one could argue that blogging represents a mask of insecurity— for an audience to experience every step of development with the artist allows room for premature encouragement; textual public support that one’s piece is moving in the so-called “right” direction. The constant availability of material, however, diminishes the air of mystery about a piece. The audience sees directly where you are coming from and is forced to dig through paragraphs about rehearsals that might not only sound like complaints, but might unconsciously make comments about the dancers and collaborators who are also involved. That being said, much depends on the depth of explanation an artist might go into during their blog entries. A detailed account of rehearsal practice, for example, lessens room for speculation and anticipation before a premiere. On opening night would you want to overhear an audience member say, “Oh this must but be the bit I read about on so-and-so’s blog last week. He/She is trying to iterate the feeling of….” Wouldn’t you much rather gather feedback and hear fresh thoughts in the lobby post-show?

On the other hand, the artistic process is a delicate and amorphous series of events. It is intriguing to learn about the basic roots of an artist’s work– inspirations, sets of drawings, and text or music that spurred the original ideas. In college many students are encouraged to share their processes with other dancers and advisers, keep journals and sketchbooks that map not only idea, but the physical movement. Why can’t a blog become that box of information? In the “real world” artists appreciate a blank space, in this case the wonderful infinity of the internet, to stream thoughts, store them away for later contemplation.

Ultimately, it seems that the surge of young choreographers who are using blogs to document their process is a representation of the future of forum. While it is easy to agree with Ms. Perron that it is smarter not to reveal too much too soon, it can also be said that young artists, unaccustomed to the harsh world of dance criticism, might want to skip the specualation and sustain a confident approach to their work throughout its development. A blog should not be a place to brag, boast, bad-mouth, or jeopardize. The way artists use blogs should focus on the methods of recording and sharing: feeding its followers clues and small previews of the showcase to come. One should absolutely keep in mind, however, Ms. Perron’s concern that the danger of internal exploration is at stake: artists should never rely on the feedback of others to determine how to create work. The blind discovery of your process is a valued step in the creation of form, and it is that step you can blog about when you feel confident you have reached it on your own.

You can find the full post by Wendy Perron here. Culturebot is talking about it, too.