Everything at Once

What terribly sad news to hear that Deborah Jowitt has been "laid off" from the Voice. A shame for the dance and performance community, indeed. I send my condolences to her across the ether, as well as my deep appreciation for years of inspiring, curious and articulate writing about dance, perhaps the most difficult art form to talk and write about. I read Philip's comment on Taylor's blog and think he raises some interesting points that (logically) direct us to the idea of a cultivating a broader community of critics and reviewers (I thought DanceInsider was all about that, originally? Is it still effectively working that way?). Extending his logic, if you have the interest, you make the time, you spend the money, and thus are as well-situated as many (though, not just ANY) to write a review. Let's face it, maybe dance reviews don't "belong" in print publications anymore, anyhow. Maybe papers and magazines AREN'T the best place to expose thoughtful commentary on analysis of dance. For performance, itself, and critical writing on it, alike, the questions seem to be 1) Who is/could be the audience? 2) How do you best reach them? 3) Is a new medium or context required? 4) How do you optimize the power of blogs, if that's the medium of choice that all the critics will flock to? 5) Is there any opportunity in this media-shift to enlarge dance audiences and if so, how? The "old ways" are fast becoming outmoded. There they go. Let them fall away. Onward!