Contemplating Diversity in Audiences - Thea Nerissa Barnes

The Set Up

Thea was asked to respond to the following question:

Is there something inherent to dance audiences from a particular culture, country or continent?

In My Opinion

I believe no two audiences are the same. My experience of touring globally as a dancer and director for many years has shown me that audiences are unpredictable. As far as cultural or ethnic distinctions between audiences, there may be some basic shared characteristics but beyond that every audience as a group and each individual therein respond differently whether to different kinds of performance or different performances of the same show.

Audiences watching The Lion King are a wonderful indicator of this belief. Given the show's 24 scenes, any one in a particular performance will receive a diverse response. For example the opening scene, 'The Circle of Life' will always receive an uproarious applause at its end. Similarly, the appearance of the elephant and the rhinoceros puppet dancers in the stall aisles and their march up the stairs on to the stage most times will also get a reaction. The 'Eulogy' scene that occurs after the death of the Mufasa character may or may not get a response - anything from total silence to strong applause for the same set of performers.

A World of Reactions

On a very personal level, reminiscing further on audience reactions, I reflect upon a performance given by a group of friends and I at an Elders Home in Chicago, Illinois. Pushing back tables and chairs to the walls of the common room, we performed a small repertory of African American gang gang. This is a slang term for dances that are a synthesis of traditional West African dance movement. We were greeted with appreciative applause, smiles and verbal comments throughout our dances. That warm and complimentary appreciation is no less cherished than my experiences with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and the Martha Graham Dance Company.

It was a normal expectation to perform two or three encores for Eastern European opera house audiences after Ailey's Revelations when we toured these countries before the Iron Curtain came down. A characteristic of mainland European audiences was to hear the sound of two thousand or more people stamping their feet and clapping their hands in unison for several curtain calls.

I also remember the outdoor dance festival audiences as a performer with the Martha Graham Dance Company in Italy. One audience watching the company's presentation of Diversion of Angels was so appreciative they cheered and clapped throughout the performance responding to my jet's as the Yellow Girl and the six o'clock tilts of Takako Asakawa. Our display caused such a visceral empathy the audience had to react. I also remember a performance of Song, choreographed by Martha Graham, when I danced the principal role in Paris. On this occasion the audience response was so boisterous Ms Graham met me backstage and gave me that 'look' that always seemed to know me more than I knew myself. 'Very good!' was the implication to which I responded to my mentor with a very proud 'Thank you!'

Anyone who has ever been to New York and attended an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre performance may witness a range of audience reactions. Some audiences are relatively quiet with their response, but give an enthusiastic applause at the end. Some performances, though, draw audience members who call out a dancer's name, scream emphatic comments or clap and finger snap all whilst the dance is going on. For a newcomer to these dance events this kind of intrusion may be an annoyance but is an acceptable reaction in this context. With hundreds of devoted patrons who know the repertory and attend performances every season, plus a school attached to the company, these kinds of public outbursts by audience members during a performance is an affirmation and active preservation of Africanist cultural values and allegiances, as much as an affiliation with and appreciation of what is happening on stage.

The Here and Now

At The Big Mission Festival in Birmingham (2-5 February 2005) I attended a forum to discuss recommended strategies for developing audiences for dance works made by choreographers estranged by the British dance canon, either because of who they are or because of the dance being made. This debate discussed many of the issues encountered by marketing personnel in theatres and dance companies in an effort to develop audiences for Black choreographic work. This discussion was chaired by Wanjiku Nyachae with Antia Dinham of Audiences Central, Natasha Graham of PUSH, Paula Moreau-Smith an Independent Consultant, and Marie McCluskey of Swindon Dance, with other participants present providing their perspectives on this topic.

The discussion advised the following. Firstly, no two audiences are the same. Secondly, and most importantly, know the work being presented. It was recommended that any development of audiences for Black choreographic work take an inclusive approach that considers the varied demographics within the British population. Notions or strategies that categorise and ghettoise audiences are actually counterproductive. All present were given the following words to consider: The more narrow the demographics, the more meaningless the experience. Yes, audiences can be grouped into neat population categories, but an audience of one grouping with the same predictable response does not always make for great cultural experiences. There is no opportunity for diverse ethnic, disability or age groups to acknowledge or hopefully apprehend varied appreciations or understandings from each other, much less gain new and different understandings from what is happening on stage.

Maxine Green, (a pre-eminent aesthetic educator and philosopher-inresidence at the Lincoln Centre Institute of the Arts in Education) would give lectures for teachers and artists who worked in the schools of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut areas. Green's most profound instructions, given in her accessible and informal manner, encouraged instructors to not only respect another's response to artwork but to also enable an open space for wider and alternative appreciations and understandings. A dance performance in this instance becomes an opportunity for diverse populations to congregate exchange and share knowledge about the event and maybe even learn something about each other.

Each audience member's response to a performance is a combination of several things, including the person's ethnic experience and extent of exposure to alternative cultures. Every culture is different and every person in that culture has an identity that complements and differs from that culture. London is cosmopolitan and uniquely poly-cultural with its influences from Europe, Asia and Africa. There are also locations in Britain that are not so endowed being effectively mono cultural. I believe, however, that a diversity of responses to dance occurs in poly and mono-cultural locations, not because of the audience as a group but because of each person in the audience. As I stated above, there may be one or two common characteristics but beyond that every audience as a group and each individual therein respond differently.

Thea Nerissa Barnes is Resident Dance Supervisor for The Lion King in London's West End. She hashad a distinguished performing career with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company and Martha Graham Dance Company. Thea was Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Company from 1997-2000 and has taught and choreographed in community settings, schools, and universities in USA, Britain and Europe. Thea has also published articles in numerous dance magazines and journals.

Thea holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from the Juilliard School, New York; a Master's Degree in Dance Education from Columbia Teachers College, New York; and a Master of Philosophy degree from City University, London.