Dear all, though not my profession I agree with Lise. We don’t tend to overly use the word 'commercial' or if we do it is usually contextualised into a form of sustainable practice that individual student's pursue either as a career path or employment opportunity. Certainly at level 6 students develop more specific skills to help them engage with employers usually for the outlets Lise describes or through self-employment.  The contextualisation becomes even more important with the reduction and changes in funding and/or employment opportunities.  

Kind regards,

Mike Wheaton

Manager for Higher Education
School of Creative Industries
Newcastle College


-----Original Message-----
From: Dance in higher education. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lise Uytterhoeven
Sent: 07 May 2013 15:13
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Starting a small discussion….

Hi Lotti,

To me, it seems that the commercial mainly lies in the context: music videos, dance in fashion shows, dance in TV adverts, backing dancers on TV, promo teams, etc. Here, the values usually associated with dance are mobilised to help sell products. 

At London Studio Centre many of our students have an interest in performing in these commercial contexts, and many of our graduates do perform/choreograph this kind of work. We don't, however, teach any dance under the banner of "commercial style". We have Street Dance, Music Theatre Jazz, Lyrical Jazz, Isolation Technique, Tap etc. 

I'm guessing that context and style are beginning to be conflated though. 

I too would be interested in hearing more about this from other colleagues.

Best wishes,

Lise 

Lise Uytterhoeven
Lecturer 
 
London Studio Centre
artsdepot
5 Nether Street
Tally Ho Corner
North Finchley
London N12 0GA
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-----Original Message-----
From: Dance in higher education. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Charlotte Nichol
Sent: 04 May 2013 00:45
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Starting a small discussion….

Hi everyone,
I have been in conversation recently about dance and the notion of the term 'commercial'. I was really interested in anyone's thoughts about what this means at present? What is 'commercial dance', can it be defined - defined by style, context, popularity? What are the political implications of the term 'commercial'? This may seem odd to discuss - but I am keen to find out if this truly has anything to do with the more pressing term of employability?

I really do have a very genuine interest in this in terms of learning and teaching - so if anyone would like to chip in - I would really like it. 
Thank you
Best wishes
Lotti

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