Choreographers, Welcome to the Future

When the young dancers of today grow up and become producers and dance studio owners, they will buy choreography online. They will no longer nab sequences from YouTube videos nor wish they could have permission to copy whatever genius performance they saw on stage. Instead, they will buy the rights to their favorite choreography directly from their laptop or mobile device. Choreographers get paid, legal licenses are given out to the buyer, great dance flourishes like never before, and everyone is happy.

Welcome to the future of dance commerce.

This vision is a first of its kind platform aptly named, Choreography Online. Co-founded by André Faleiros, Rick Tjia, and Rome Saladino. Choreography Online was launched in 2019 as an online platform that sells performance rights for dance choreography on behalf of choreographers all over the world.

Simply put, for all the choreographers out there, in addition to posting your pieces to YouTube or Instagram, you can post the final product and explainer video to a platform that monetizes your work and reaches buyers.

The dance world is notoriously behind the times. When innovation comes around, most of the dance world sticks to traditional ways of operating. However, the world has changed and industry giants like World of Dance and Move It London understand the potential of Choreography Online. Urban dancers are already gaining most of their bookings and exposure online. Thanks to video technology, viewing choreography is being woven into the daily fabric of our lives. Case in point, Tik Tok (formerly Musically) the fastest growing social platform in the world, deals in the language of storytelling through dance videos.

Will buying choreography online soon be as familiar as buying the latest gadgets on Amazon? This behavior waits to be seen.

Let’s look at my dear friend Natalie, a freelance dance teacher. She is sick and tired of making up new routines for her Thursday night beginners heels class. Instead of seeking “‘inspiration” from Youtube she could search Choreography Online and purchase a pre-made routine easily and completely legally. Conversely, she could publish her own routines and reach a new audience of students or studio owners. Or what about Javier - a successful studio owner who doesn't have hours to spend generating cutting edge competition routines for his elite competition squad. Would he rather learn it from a video from a proven competition coach? Rick Tjia, the instigator behind Choreography Online, says yes. Tjia has no doubts that if there is an affordable, and easy way to access media - people would prefer to buy it rather than rip it off.

What about you? Would you rather subscribe to Title or Spotify or sneak around the web downloading illegal mp3’s? The concept has already proven itself with billion dollar giants like Shutterstock, which deals in photo media copyright sales. Choreography Online is the dance media equivalent.

This new platform could offer a new or supplementary way to earn a living for choreographers - a way that would allow them to create more dance choreography. It has the potential to change the landscape of the dance industry by expanding the lifespan and reach of choreography. The digital age has brought several disruptive platforms which create new ways to share, connect and ultimately live. This is one of them.

Now imagine if Alvin Ailey wanted to sell limited rights to a few historic pieces. High school and college dance programs would now have the opportunity, for the first time, to legally perform an Ailey piece. Are you up in arms about this idea? I didn't think so. Admittedly, this idea is a hard sell to the “Fine Arts world.” However, think about the benefits to the students who can feel and understand what Ailey was trying to say through his dance. Perhaps the students won't have perfect extension or foundational technique in Horton, but Alvin Ailey will live again in the hearts and minds of a whole new audience - one that did not previously have access to his work.

Granted, critics will turn green at the sight of amateurs attempting professional works but.... News flash! This already happens. For example, how many times have you heard a version of Vivaldi's Four Seasons played by aspiring students? Did their attempt make Vivald's masterpiece any less of a masterpiece? Music has long been shared far and wide to the benefit of mankind while performed widely by students. Listening to an off-key karaoke rendition of Queen's Don't Stop Me Now does not reflect poorly on Freddie Mercury. Effectively, a Jiří Kylián or Mia Micheals piece will become no less brilliant when performed by eager students thirsty to perform great works. Access to choreographic works will propel students to new heights. The general public could stand to benefit immensely and yet these great works are so tightly guarded perhaps because they have since lacked a legal, affordable and accessible way to propagate them.

Practically speaking, this platform will be used mostly by those who repeatedly need choreography and lack the resources to create. A major player will be dance competitions. There are tens of thousands of dance competitions in the United States alone. There is a great need for quality choreography to be easily accessed because there is a large base of dance moms, studios, and students in need. Choreographers with a knack to setting successful solos will be able to sell limited numbers of their work to dance moms and studios.

Choreography Online ushers in a new era for the dance industry. Our hands hold the small electric devices which share dance like never before. And now, dance makers are able to put their choreographers under short term license and sell their work online. The global dance market-place open for business - is the world ready to buy?

Learn more about Choreography.Online through their website.

Learn more about Rick Tjia https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricktjia/?originalSubdomain=ca