's posts

Obsessed with all things dance as I am; I’ve been recently intrigued by the sheer amount of people that say that although they like dance, they don’t really ‘get’ it – particularly contemporary dance.

It’s got me interested for 2 reasons:

1) As a regular dance reviewer and writer I’m a little worried that maybe I don’t ‘get’ it then either; besides a fair amount of dance classes and watching performances, I’ve never had any formal technical background in dance. Perhaps to really ‘get’ dance you need this? It’s non-verbal communication – and like any other language, in order to understand it you need to be familiar with all its vocabulary.

2) I’m a bit confused about what there is to ‘get’; or, what ‘getting it’ really means. One of my favourite dance quotes comes from the amazingly talented US choreographer Alvin Ailey (I’m massively paraphrasing here, because I can’t find the quote anywhere): "People are always saying they don’t ‘get’ dance. What is there to get? Some people come on stage and leap around for a bit. That’s dance." This comes from one of the current greatest choreographers in the world.

I recently came across this feature in article 19 on William Forsythe’s latest dance project; Synchronous Objects, in which he represents his latest work ‘One Flat Thing’ with a time lines, graphics and commentary, in order to make dance ‘more accessible’. Hmmm … Not sure that it makes dance any more ‘accessible’ but it’s certainly a pretty awesome way of re-interpreting dance digitally.

The problem is, or, perhaps, the joy is that dance is its own language; essentially it’s non-verbal communication; so to try and explain it in words, or even time-lines and graphics is inherently flawed. Maybe the crux of the matter is that we’re trying to ‘understand’ dance in the way that we understand other things; superimposing onto it a frame of reference (language, graphics etc) that it doesn’t refer to. Perhaps it doesn’t need to be ‘understood’ in this way, but simply experienced.

It could be said that e.g. a classically trained ballet dancer could ‘understand’ a work in that they could pick it apart and describe its constituent parts and explain the nuances and significances of the technique involved, but I don’t really think that’s the point. Dance is more than just the sum of its technically detailed parts.

This isn’t to say that any of the talented and experienced practitioners, choreographers, directors or critics in the world of dance have no more insight than any audience member, because that would be unfairly dismissing their years of knowledge and expertise in this field. The point is that dance, like all other art forms, can be deeply appreciated without necessarily being understood in all its technical detail – and I think that this is what counts.

I recently went to see the utterly fabulous Rambert at the Hippodrome with Abby, who wrote up the occasion in her blog. What she wrote, to me, typifies this whole matter. Starting off with: “I have … always enjoyed the spectacle and the sheer physical effort [of dance]. But until I saw the Rambert I wasn’t entirely convinced I ‘got’ dance” she ends with: “Seeing the Rambert was a fantastic experience - I was completely blown away. … it was an arts experience that has stayed with me…you never know when and how art can take you someplace else.”

That, to me, is ‘getting’ dance.

For once, I'm not talking about web traffic. I'm talking actual real-life vehicles.

Until this week, I was not aware that there was such a thing as the UK Coach Awards - or indeed why they would be of any interest.

Nevertheless, it was brought to my attention that the CBSO had won one of these awards just last week. Despite initial bafflement (why is a symphony orchestra winning an award for public transport?..) it soon became clear that this was, in fact, a great creative partnership. Here's why they won:

'City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with local coach operators run coach trips from a variety of locations to selected concerts at Symphony Hall, Birmingham for £7 return. The services are provided from Bewdley and Kidderminster, Cheltenham, Lichfield and Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Wolverhampton.

The judges felt that the Coach Connections Service is an extremely valuable way of working with coach companies to improve access to arts events in Birmingham, particularly at a time when personal security concerns, global warming worries or traffic growth might otherwise deter people from attending CBSO concerts at Symphony Hall by driving into the city. It is a very 'hassle free' way of getting to the Hall.'

And that's what just a bit of thinking slightly outside the box can do: create an unusual partnership that ends up being a winner for everyone - the coach company, the CBSO and, of course, the audience.

I've been boring everyone in the office recently with tales of Guinness's latest dominoes ad campaign a) because I'm a bit obsessed with Guinness branding and b) because I'm a bit obsessed with internet advertising. So Guinness doing an internet ad campaign is my idea of heaven.

Their campaign for their latest 'Tipping Point' dominoes ad actually started as an online ARG (Alternative Reality Game). I won't go into the all the details; but want to draw out a couple of points here:

1) Normally Guinness ads are announced with a fanfare on primetime TV. This campaign started off embedded deep in the recesses of the world wide web.

2) By the time the ad was finally aired on TV, thousands of people across the globe had already interacted with the brand, online.

I'm pleased to see that arts and cultural organisations are also starting to engage potential audiences in this way. In this last couple of days I've received 2 emails - from the RSC and the Hippodrome - with links to games advertising their latest shows; Don John and Robin Hood, respectively.

People like to play games. They are a great way of getting people to interact with your brand. They will remember this interaction as a good thing - a fun experience.

What's more important is that it gets people talking about your product. After we received the RSC email advertising Don John there was a flurry of emails and conversation around the office from people who had just played the game - discussing the different 'love rats' we'd ended up with at the end of the game; and the production itself.

Let's just say - it works. People like something that's a bit of fun, and people like to interact with something, rather than just having a marketing message shoved at them. Well done RSC and Hippodrome!

Oh, and if you want a go yourselves:

Don John:
http://www.rsc.org.uk/downloads/donjohn/index.html

Robin Hood:
http://www.robinhoodpanto.co.uk/BH_RHood01.htm

Only art can save the world.

A bit of a bold opening statement perhaps, but it's the only thing that I've seen consistently bringing people from different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities etc together.

That which has elicited such hyperbole is the Heard and not Seen project/exhibition/website/discussion/thing: the exhibition part of which was recently at the Mailbox. It was a brilliant mixed-media, interactive set-up exploring spirituality - particularly Islam. Favourite bits include an interactive burkha and screens that respond to your movement/noise.



The exhibition itself is brilliant; but there's a couple of things that particularly impressed me about the whole project:

1) Letting go: The underlying ethos of this project is to invite discussion and involvement from the public - including workshops and a roll-out that will allow other people (gasp!) to take it and run with it. I had a chat with lead artist Sandra Hall (also of Friction Arts) who happily stated that she was hoping to take a step back from the project - which struck me as a remarkable attitude. It can be difficult for arts and cultural organisations to 'release' their product into the chaos of public comment but clinging onto your 'baby' means, often, that it can't be 'adopted' by others. This project will change, it will get messed around with, it will be interpreted, misinterpreted and re-interpreted totally differently by hundreds of different people. Because that's human nature. And that's exciting.

2) Not the usual 'art crowd'. Two thirds of people attending the opening night weren't in any way connected to the arts - again, there was a sense of ownership from the public, not some artistic elite. Hundreds of 'normal' people committed to attending the exhibition through Facebook invitation and have already got involved with the Heard and not Seen website/blog and posted their own stories on - funnily enough - the 'Stories' page.

Their tag line is: 'an artwork ... a conversation ... an invitation ...' One of the things that this project really offers its audience is that conversation, and invitation to get involved.

Now that's what I call audience engagement

.. of food. Constantly.

It's quite breathtaking. I've never worked anywhere were the staff can destroy an entire cake in under 60 seconds; but this is a regular occurrence here.

Anything that is even vaguely edible left on or near to the kitchen table has a life expectancy of about 2 milliseconds - if lucky. I have feared for the safety of my own limbs from time to time; sat at the kitchen table for too long I have found members of staff starting to gnaw at my ankles ..

OK, so that's not entirely true BUT you get my point.

2 days ago I bought an advent calendar for the office as, well, it was the 1st December. It was partly out the of the kindness of my own heart and partly, I have to admit, a social experiment. I placed it in the kitchen suggesting that we open it 1 day at a time, 1 chocolate at a time - y'know, how you generally deal with advent calendars..

How foolish.

The calendar has been destroyed within the space of 2 days. Tune has brought in a nice madeira cake, in loving memory of said calendar. That was about 30 mins ago. It has now gone.

Appetites Central
It's all about the snacks

What?! …. I can see all you arty types recoiling in horror.

I think I might have gone over to the dark side. That being (da da daaaahhh) …

SCIENCE.

Last night I had the pleasure of watching Hapgood, Tom Stoppard’s revived 1968 play, at The Rep. A play about quantum physics. Brilliant. Well really it’s a play about ideas and deception and Russian spies and complicated relationships and most of all about Stoppard showing off how clever he is: ‘Yes, I may be an artist, but atomic physics is a doddle – I can even make it entertaining’ ..

But, of course, he can. And he does. As long as you’re not trying to desperately understand every single unfathomable scientific reference. Fortunately for the lay-scientist (which I can imagine most Arts attenders surely are? Discuss...), Stoppard’s work is littered with clues (well, it is a spy play …) So as long as you pick up on the general themes, the science opens up a whole world of ideas: space, time, perception, abstraction, light, shadow, form, reality – the list goes on. Is this not what good art does?..

Perhaps art and science aren’t so different; both like to explore the great abstract mysteries of our time: truth, understanding, ideas, people, causation, etc. And science, in fact, has its own mysterious beauty – of patterns, form, mind-bending concept, the unseen, the inexplicable, doubt, belief and leaps of faith.

And Stoppard is expert in drawing out the aesthetic appeal of science: the exquisite behaviour of light or the breathtaking nature of electrons, for example, that feature in Kerner’s abstruse but bewitching scientific soliloquies which thrill the imagination - full of imagery, mystery and metaphor. ‘Imagination’, ‘imagery’, ‘mystery’ and ‘metaphor’ – now is that science or art I’m talking about? …

Fancy a spot of quantum physics tonight anyone?

Try it – you might like it ….

Here’s the thing:

Last Thursday I was fortunate enough to be sent on a last-minute journalistic mission by the Birmingham Post to ‘Days Of Hope’ at the mac (RIP … Errr til 2009 anyway… ) which I then had to vacuum–pack into a 300 word review upon returning home.

300 words, if you’re interested, is about the same size as a postage stamp. Which can be frustrating, when you’ve got lots to say and no space to say it. As a newbie Blogophile however, I started thinking ‘Oh well, I’ll put down everything that I was really thinking into a blog’. Which then got me considering …

- Is what I wrote for the Post not what I really think then? If not – then what was I writing?
- Would my opinion in the blog then be more ‘valid’ therefore as it would be the ‘whole truth’?

In the web vs print media debate; traditionally it’s the long-standing print media that usually lays claim to the validity card: both the publication and its writers have built up some kind of journalistic credentials; whereas anyone can blog.

BUT:

The scope of print is limited as you only have a certain amount of space so you have to limit yourself to the salient points that you think will be interesting to the readers. There’s a higher degree of objectivity and detachment involved therefore .On the internet you can be far more subjective, lengthy and put whatever the heck you want. Does this then make it actually more of a valid opinion then?

So I’m left with the following questions:

- Does something have greater credence because it’s more honest and in-depth (blog), or because it’s linked to a publication with credentials (newspaper)?

- Who cares about my thoughts on the ‘whole truth’ anyway? Essentially, I could give a no-holds-barred, blow-by-blow account on a blog – but who would actually care what I thought? Is my opinion somehow more important when it’s in print - even though it's not the 'whole truth'?

Tis a mystery….

That is the question...

(Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous self-appointed journalists or to take arms against a sea of drivel and by opposing end them)

I seem to find myself in the very act of answering my own question…

Oh well - if you can’t beat them; join them. And truth be told, for a long time I really did want to beat them – quite hard. With sharp objects. My initial objections to blogs were that:

1) They seemed to be the height of self-indulgent, self-important self-promotion: “Here I am world - listen to me! I’m so interesting. I’m going to tell you every little thing that I’ve done or thought about today cos it’s that deeply important to the human condition that it needs to be globally broadcasted across the World Wide Web. Today I thought about socks. Aren’t they great? I think we should all think about socks…”

2) I’ve always held the belief that the Internet is a fantastic source of information and that easily accessible factual info is its best currency. For more protracted comment, ideas or opinion I don’t want to stare at a computer screen. Web for information; print for ideas.

3) ‘Blogging’ is just a bit too close to both ‘blagging’ and ‘flogging’ for my liking. Kind of like being subjected to the relentless torture of badly-informed babblings from puffed-up social incompetents with no real friends to talk to.

BUT

I have since discovered that, in fact, a good blog is worth its weight in gold. I am now truly repentant of these former opinions, for I have seen the light. I am a convert to the Blog Squad.

This about-face was set in motion whilst queueing outside the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford with a hapless gang of other Histories junkies at some Godforsaken hour on a Sunday morning in the hope of getting a return on the final day of the final performance of the final production in the cycle. Looking around me at the motley crew of shivering, bleary-eyed groupies I was curious as to what it was about the whole Histories experience that elicited such devotion from each different person. So I started a bit of surreptitious prying. Of course, 99% of people’s response was primarily because it was just brilliant theatre; but, time after time, different people kept mentioning ‘The Blog’.

It was, and I (kind of) quote: entertaining; absorbing; had opened their eyes to different aspects of putting on the production, given them access to different views and voices involved that they wouldn’t normally have heard; revealed ‘inside stories’ of personal interest and whet their curiosity and appetites for more. In short; it engaged them, made them feel more of a part of something and encouraged them to keep coming back. Is this not what all arts organisations want for their audiences?..

Shortly after this revelation I ended up doing research on local arts-based blogs for some work here at Audiences Central; and this further changed my mind. My original objection with the Web being unsuitable for idea-based discussion was blown out of the water as I discovered that these blogs are, in fact, the perfect place for comment and opinion.

The very life-blood of a blog is discussion; opinion, comment and interaction. And far from being self-obsessed, a good blog constantly drawing attention to things outside of itself, invites comment and opens up a spectrum of different voices. They’re completely democratic, completely accessible and completely fuelled on subjectivity, experience and broad range of viewpoints – surely all the stuff of the Arts, n’est pas? Again we see that despite initially raised hackles, technology can be art’s friend. A good blog can engage audiences; get a buzz going, put forward different voices and spread the word in a way that perhaps hasn’t been seen before.

Providing, of course, that it is a good blog. A bad blog is, well, a bad blog. See earlier comments on torture by self-indulgent drivel.

(Oh, and in case you should be interested; we did get returns for the show in Stratford. And it was definitely worth getting up at the crack of dawn on a Sunday and queueing in the freezing cold for. But that’s another blog … )

Local creative blogs:

http://www.createdinbirmingham.com
http://www.birminghamitsnotshit.co.uk
http://www.podnosh.com/blog
http://joannageary.wordpress.com

RSC Histories blog:

http://www.rsc.org.uk/content/6527.aspx

Enjoy x

Thinking of all things Captivate and good customer relationship management I felt it was topical to vent my spleen about something that I think is at the heart of all good customer service: keeping the customer informed.

I recently moved into a new flat and was very keen to have internet access set up as quickly as possible; working freelance from home 2 days a week I rely heavily on the Web. I rang a media company who will remain nameless (but think Richard Branson ... ) who couldn't find my address on their system, and said that I might have to set up a land line to get internet access from them as their cable wasn't running to my flat. 'Might' that is. I didn't want to have to do this, so I asked them to investigate this for me. At first I got an email back from them saying that they were checking and would get back to me within 72 hours. A week later, no news. I eventually rang them, the woman that I originally spoke to said it took usually about 10 working days (so why send an email saying 72 hours?!) and she hadn't discovered anything and put me through to soemone else who said they'd send someone out to check. Another week - still no news. Rang them again and the original woman put me through to some voicemail for technicians who do spot checks to see if cable is possible in your area. A week later - still nothing.

Eventually I get a call from a technician saying that he was in the area that night; was I in at 8 ish so he could come to the flat? No-one turned up and no card left or phone call. Left it for a day or 2 and then called them back again asking what was going on. Was informed that this guy who was supposed to come out would definitely contact me, not least because it was in his interests to contact me; as a sales person he would get commission if I signed up. Left it for a few days - still no contact. Rang back again asking what the heck was going on and was told that if I could have internet access through cable then it would take about 5 days for the new addres to be put on the system, so have to wait to see if that technician (who may or may not have come out to my flat...) has put the address up on the system. Waited for another week. No news. Eventually rang them AGAIN asking what the heck was going on as this rigmarole had been going on for over 3 weeks and the woman told me that seeing as the technician hadn't put my address down then it was unlikely that I'd be able to get internet access through their cable. At what point were they going to inform me of this?

It's not the fact that they don't supply cable to my address that is the issue, but the fact that throughout this whole protracted process, no-one told me what was going on; I only found out anything due to the fact that I kept pursuing them - there was absolutely no attempt whatsoever on their part to keep me informed. I was left in the dark for weeks and weeks, and for someone who relies on the Internet for (part of) their bread and butter it's just not good enough.

Anyway, enough tales of woe: this is really just to stress how important communication is in good quality customer service. Even if you can't provide for customers exactly what they want - just keep them informed at every step.

(I now see their white vans everywhere now with the slogan 'Go Faster' or something. I laugh ruefully and think "I wish they blinking well would!! And then let the air out of their tyres ... :-) I will also contact said unnamed media company and tell them that I have publically slated their appalling service on the Internet oooa ha ha haaaaa!!! (Evil - but justified - laughter))

Let that be a lesson to you all ...