Mitt Romney does it. Lady Gaga “owns” it. Kanye West rants on it for three hours at a time, and The New York Times reported when S.F. Playhouse did it.
On Friday, March 2, the Diablo Ballet will be doing it, too.
The Walnut Creek-based dance company, already proficient at pirouettes (turns), petit allegro (fast, little jumps) and tour jetés (big, grand jumps), is showing off a new step — tweets on Twitter while dancers are twirling.
Continuing their Inside the Dancer’s Studio initiative, fully costumed and meticulously rehearsed ballets are presented intimately in a studio setting aimed at stripping pretense off the face of sometimes stuffy ballet. This year, the series becomes even more interactive, with a select group of audience members invited to enter the Twitterverse during the show.
Five of the 250 seats will be occupied by tweeters, each invited to share his or her 140-character dance haikus. Sound pads will be off and light levels kept low to avoid disturbing non-Twitterers.
“Art is all about evolution, it’s about change,” insists Dan Meagher, director of marketing for Diablo Ballet. “Why can’t we try something new in the arts?”
Meagher acknowledges opposition to the idea.
“People say, ‘How dare you do this in theater? It’s wrong, wrong, wrong!'” he complains.
This is the nature of the Twitter beast — some people take it, some people leave it. Everyone has an opinion.
“No! Absolutely not,” objects David Fonnegra, a company dancer whose new ballet will premiere in the March shows. “When you are Twittering, you are not enjoying, you are deciding.”
But even he softens his position after a moment’s thought.
“I don’t mind if someone wants to do it, although normally, you should enjoy the dance. For me, tweeting after the show is better,” he decides.
Artistic Director Lauren Jonas says the tweet-from-your-seat idea is Meagher’s project, but she welcomes the new addition.
“Social media has become important, so we’re hoping to draw in more people to the ballet,” she said. “This is making dance accessible to a younger generation and bringing in people who wouldn’t normally come to a dance performance.”
In an informal poll of San Francisco’s Smuin Ballet dancers, none of them are in favor of the activity, even if it’s relegated to the back row seats. Their comments range from “You wouldn’t be watching” to “Who could have a reaction worth reading before the ballet is even finished?”
Meagher and Jonas address those concerns, pointing out that a tweet can take only seconds to compose.
“Who is to say somebody Twittering will miss more than someone who sneezes or looks down at their program?” Meagher asks. “We don’t want to take away their enjoyment, so they don’t have to tweet during the piece.”
He considers Twitter’s immediate feedback valuable data and plans to study the tweets like tea leaves, searching for insights.
“I hope to find out how the average person describes our dances, which don’t have a narrative language,” Meagher says. “We’re sharing opinions and that’s what it all comes down to. What makes the New York Times critic more valid than someone twittering at a performance?”
The answer, from a plethora of dance writers across the globe, would be experience, knowledge and years spent developing their craft.
Jonas acknowledges the difference, but says accessibility and listening are as important as expert critique.
“Getting audience opinions has been helpful to us and this is allowing that [process] to take a step forward. Ultimately, you’re serving the public and it’s important to listen,” she concludes.
Ethan Teng, a tech product manager by day and amateur ballet dancer by night, signed up for the post with an interest in food and dance.
“I feel that tweets can be like photographs, capturing the moments created on stage and giving them life beyond the performance,” he writes in an email under the 140-character limit for tweets.
Grier Cooper, another dancer turned dance writer who admits to a fondness for black clothing and bright nail polish, is eager for her digital moment in the spotlight.
“I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be among the first to combine dance and technology in such an innovative way,” she writes, also within the contraints of a tweet.
A third tweeter, Stephanie Shaterian, is a mom and online content facilitator. She represents the on-the-fence contingent, writing, “I see the potential value for the arts, but I’m conflicted about the practical application of live tweets. What better way to explore?”
The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Shadelands Arts Center, 111 N. Wiget Lane (at Ygnacio Valley). For more information, go to http://www.diabloballet.org/tickets.html
