More Internet Tools!

"If television's a babysitter, the Internet is a drunk librarian who won't shut up." - Dorothy Gambrell Cat and Girl, Volume I

The above quote has to do with...something...but it's not this post. I just thought it was fun. Today I will actually be discussing more of what I talked about in my first post, exploring Internet tools that we as artists can use to add value to our art. 

In my last post I covered what I consider to be the most important part of the arts value chain, being of course Marketing. So this time I'd like to mention what I believe to be the second most important part of the chain: creation. For me personally this is the hardest part of the process. This is not to say I don't enjoy creating and exploring ideas, and I have created works from scratch for assessment in a Choreography unit, but here I refer to the creative portion of being a company dancer. As I may have mentioned before, part of being a contemporary dancer in today's industry requires a lot of creative input (yes, requires. This input is not optional). This year I have discovered and continue to discover that I am not a big fan of the 'having your say' side of being a contemporary dancer. I'm sure lots of people would say that they would love to have more say in what they do and that I take this opportunity for granted, however I find tasking very difficult and I always feel like my material is not good enough, a feeling I'm sure we all get sometimes. So how do I find inspiration so I can fulfil my role as a dancer in a choreographic process? This, my friends, is where the internet once again swoops in to save the day. There are plenty of websites and resources on the Internet that I use for inspiration when I get really stuck, or even to help me get started on a certain task. 

Something I find useful for inspiration in many facets of life is a lovely website called Pinterest. Upon first visit to their website, the tag-line actually reads "Join Pinterest to find (and save!) all the things that inspire you." It speaks for itself really. The website began it's development in December of 2009 and launched in March 2012. I could go on about its history but I'd rather not so if it interests you, feel free to follow have a look at the Wikipedia page on Pinterest. It is a type of social media that allows solely for the sharing of pictures and videos and relies entirely on its users to generate content. The basic mechanics are as follows: You have your profile, on which lie your boards, each of which are comprised of a collection of images that relate to the title of the board. These images are referred to as pins. Finding pins is as easy as typing key words into a search bar and if you find that what you're looking for is not preexisting on the site, you can Pin from other websites as well as upload pictures or videos from your computer, phone, or tablet. 

These boards can be on any topic imaginable; I have boards for travel, food, fitness, designing my dream home, planning my wedding etc. (Yes, that is incredibly sad given that I am a 20 year old girl who has been with her boyfriend for less than 2 months. Furthermore, this board started well before him while I was single. It's ok, I've come to terms with it). More importantly though, I can use Pinterest for artistic inspiration. Every time we have a task that requires research or inspiration, Pinterest is the first place I go, followed by Google images on the rare occasion Pinterest doesn't deliver. Sometimes all I need is an image or a quote to spark inspiration in myself and this wonderful website provides exactly that. By sparking creativity in myself, I can give something worthwhile to the creative process of the choreographer, instead of showing something that is uninspired or below my capabilities. 

I've always thought that my job as a dancer is to inspire the choreographer. It makes their difficult jobs much easier if they have a cast of dancers who spark their creativity and offer ideas that enable inspiration or spark thoughts that might lead to more exciting things. And so by enabling my own inspiration I can present myself as a dancer that is both inspirational and creative, adding value to the process and to the arts as a whole.