‘Watch This Space’ was one of the biggest spectacles to take place in Birmingham in 2008 and demonstrated IDFB’s aim of taking dance to the people. Thousands of people witnessed an incredible fusion of athletic dance styles in Victoria Square, which was temporarily transformed into the most public arena in the city.

An event for the people, captured by the people

These days when you put thousands of people in front of an event like ‘Watch This Space’ you’re bound to see cameras and mobile phones held aloft. It used to be irritating, now it’s almost taken for granted.

As a result, some great photos were taken and uploaded to photo-sharing websites like Flickr by, among others, jable1974, Matthew Ager, newfolder and abrinsky.

It wasn’t just photos – with many mobile phones and point-and-shoot cameras incorporating video recording, more people can capture their own footage and upload it to YouTube. That’s what DanceGround did, that’s what flyboyflip did and it’s even what I did:

Blogs were also used by those wanting to share what had taken place – Hip Hop Dance Videos, Fiona Handscomb and myself all took advantage with one commenter being moved to describe it as:

one of the most exhilarating displays of ‘contemporary’ dance ever seen in the city

And these are just the examples I’ve been able to find over a year after the event. However, the question is:

Can dance use technology to reach a wider audience?

I think so, and in at least two ways.

Thousands of people saw ‘Watch This Space’ in the flesh; by now at least twice as many have seen the performance via amateur recordings . I wouldn’t argue that the two experiences are necessarily equal, but I would say this shows that the Internet provides the means for compelling content to reach a wider audience than ever before. That must be exciting for anyone working in any art form.

Secondly, dance is particularly well suited to collaboration with other forms of art and expression (including even architecture). The forms of expression provided and facilitated by the Internet (and especially social media) are no different in this regard – the opportunities are there to be taken.

How? Well, that’s a question for the dancers, choreographers, artistic directors and other creative people to answer.