WHERE dance is danced

Who? What? Where? When? Why?

The "Five W's" were taught to most of us in the second grade as the important, factual backbone of any informative story, piece of writing or argument.

As I walked in to a performance space last night, recognizing a sense of deja vu, I couldn't help but think - "now I remember...the last performance I saw here ---  it was incredible!"  Expectations set.

With dance and performance hubs jammed in the nooks and crannies of New York City's deli's and subways, and shoe stores, it is hard to generalize what certain ones tend to promote and present.  Of course there is Broadway and places like The Joyce that have evolved into brands with expectations and standards weaved in, but the majority of NYC's dance performance spots are hard to pin down.  Rather, they also present theater or art installations or are a nightclub that moonlights as a performance space here and there.  The question remains:  how does the place, and its environment, in which a dance performance is presented affect your - the Audience Member's - impression of the performance?

Trying to keep an open mind as I sat down on the chairs I once sat in, in awe, I thought of how I was naturally already setting the bar high for the performers.  This space, in my eyes, provided excellence once before, so I expected nothing less.  Perhaps my perception is a bit biased as I have been to dozens of performance hubs over the last four years reviewing shows, so I have a wide range of experience to relate to.

But still, the setting of a performance - where and how it is framed in that specific space - is all part of the performance experience.  The people in the box office and ushers form an impression (hopefully welcoming) on you.  The space - small, large, proscenium, nondescript - immediately gives you a sense, or assumption, of what you are about to witness.  Even the people there next to you and the buzzing conversations and simple fact of it being a 20 person audience or 1,000 person audience - affects you.  All of these aspects make you more open or reserved as the curtain rises, more comfortable or attentive, a feeling of intimacy or anonymity in your seat...