Dance in the Era of Digital Transformation
This past November, The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity held the first Summit on Arts, Culture, and Digital Transformation. Canadian artists and creators were invited to be educated and inspired by the ever-changing digital culture of today’s world. The Summit brought diverse conversations forward. By encouraging attendees to explore the spaces technology can fill within their creative ambitions, exploration was the central theme of the summit. Valérie Poulin, our founder, felt the urge to attend as a dance entrepreneur. Since Danse Bloom is currently in the process of developing our own digital application, we believe investing in our community is a key way to learn.
If you aren’t familiar with the Banff Centre, picture a beautiful campus dedicated for the arts surrounded by the stunning Rocky Mountains of Canada. Inspired by the unbelievable views, Valérie was able to expand her knowledge with like-minded professionals in the art and culture sector. For this month’s Story Bloom, we asked Valérie about her view on the digital art world after attending the Banff Centre’s summit in Alberta.
Photo by Valérie Poulin
The new era of technology is fast approaching. Are you anxious or happy about the digital future?
After a short survey on the first day of the Summit, I learnt that 34% attendees were felt anxious about the digital future. I was in the small 7% of people who answered being “happy” rather than nervous. I wondered if this was a result of my millennial personal experiences and the fact that I share my daily life with a technologist at home. I also strongly see the need for accessible information on how to leverage our use of technology in arts.
As young creators, do you think we have an advantage when creating due to technology being at our fingertips?
I strongly believe that we have a favourable chance at success due to the integration of technology. Millennials and Gen Z have grown up with technology in their reach. It is part of our daily lives. Therefore, we don’t fear it and we use it. After all, many agree that “technology is neutral,'' as said by Ashkan Fardost at the summit. A common opinion on the constraints of tech, shared during my time at Banff, is that it might not be able to follow the artist’s creative imagination. In my opinion, we need to start embracing technology, even if the digital scene isn’t currently the way we want it to be. One positive outcome of technology is how easy it is for a creator to innovate in whatever way is true to them. We should try to be more well-versed on the latest tech available, as often we don’t even know what is accessible to us. For example, did you know that Unity Technologies is a software being used by many dance artists to create VR performances? I think that developing your network in the technology industry could greatly benefit you as a dancer and creator, as it opens up even more opportunities as the digital art world rapidly changes around us. Don’t be afraid to go to conferences, meet-ups, or email knowledgeable people. Things will happen if you start taking action.
Tell us why you believe it is okay to be wrong.
The Banff summit was a safe space for attendees to express their opinion on technology, as well as understand the biases of tech put on by society. I was glad to see the number of people who were decidedly “anxious” about the digital future change their mind later in the summit. After exploring the big question “do we have what we need?” as creators and innovators, many people opened their eyes on the prosperity a new era of technology holds. As the summit presenters acknowledged, we are missing funding to be able to create these ambitious digital art projects. But how about looking at this setback differently? What if instead of asking for ten thousand in funding for motion capture, we collaborate with a technologist to produce our work? There are tech people out there who want to put their personal time into co-creating with artists. Now, I have pondered the question of how can we access this community of experts in the technology industry. That’s exactly one of the reasons why my team and I are developing the Danse Bloom App, to give dancers the opportunity to connect the right people for collaborative projects.
What can we do now?
On a personal level, this summit brought me confidence and confirmation of my choice of direction in building the Danse Bloom app to connect global dance communities online. We do need to affirm ourselves in our willingness to be changed markers in our respective field. My main takeaway to share with you: if you want to shift into evolving world of digital art, put aside any biases about technology you may have heard and be ready to think outside the box to make it happen.
Are you in need of inspiration?
As Danse Bloom is developing our app, we encourage Bloomies to check out the following resources. These organizations, programs, and events are unsponsored, we just love them! Danse Bloom felt the need to include this list as we believe they can inspire Bloomies to grow in whatever endeavour they pursue.
The Banff Centre for Arts and Culture
Digital Strategy Fund: Source of funding
Artscape Daniels Launchpad: Co-working space for artists in Toronto
Cloud Bodies by Allison Moore: VR dance performance
Autodesk Technology Centres in Toronto
Ryerson University’s Creative Technology Lab @ FCAD
Patrick Pennefather: Mixed Reality : Vancouver Based
Are you interested to be the first to try the Danse Bloom App, an application that connects global dance communities online? The app will be dedicated to empowering dancers to reach out for collaborations, giving them tools to get paid contracts and explore creative paths.
