The (un)raveling of Dance's Public Discourse

[Editor's Note: For further information about the following announcement, write to submit@itchjournal.org.]

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: ITCH #6

The (un)raveling of Dance's Public Discourse

Journalism--albeit selective and to some extent limited by the needs of the larger publication that prints the material (including ITCH!)--is an important product of dance culture. It's what is written, dictated, interpreted, and recorded of a dance for the purpose of public consumption. To some extent, it is a dance's second life, its public face.

It's also a tool. For some artists, getting "written about" is as important as having a live audience. (Where else might you get the bodacious "dynamic athleticism!" quote to validate your production packet or grant application?) Still others anticipate having their work acknowledged in contexts that are more scholarly.

While all perspectives are valid, when we look beyond the concerns of our individual work, it is hard to ignore the fact that the vibrancy of the vast dance culture rests, in part, on a certain level of visibility that journalism provides.

But journalism itself is changing. While dance editorial space in the print media has been slipping, the use of electronic media forms like myspace, youtube and blogs have broadened the prospects for those interested in maintaining dance's presence in the public arena. This
change has raised important questions about the accountability of mainstream journalism to represent the performing arts community (especially considering the authority and reach they have within the public sphere) and the necessity of artists to become the reviewer/pre-viewer/moderator/scholar/critic/journalist, etc of their own community.

We Ex*perts

Artists have the capacity to push dance culture forward, in part determined by the manner in which we engage with, add to, respond to, rebut, oppose, and create alternatives to the production of the public discourse surrounding dance. For this issue of itch, we would like to focus on 1.) artist-initiated projects that seek to broaden the public discourse on dance, and 2.) initiate a dialogue concerning the state of dance journalism starting from your direct experiences, thoughts, concerns and observations.

We welcome your submissions in a variety of forms including critical theory, prose, faux-reviews, documentation, brainstorm, line drawing, haiku, interview, self-analysis, fluff, lists, archival material and manifestos.

*Also, for our rolling dialogue section, please submit your responses to issue #5: fiction and fictions

Deadline: Saturday, September 1, 2007

Send submissions, questions, concerns, provocations, etc. to submit@itchjournal.org.

PS: coming soon: itchjournal.org

itch is an evolving art project in the form of a journal that aspires to serve the community of dancers and other artists of the Los Angeles area and beyond. Practice participation in the developing LA dance culture: insert your thoughts, your body, your voice. help itch grow should you be enhanced by it...