Beginning this Monday September 19, eSymposium: Dance in the Digital Era, a discussion hosted by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts' Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Jerome Robbins Dance Division wants you participate in an online conversation on the dance in the digital era. This eSymposium precedes the final convening on September 23rd.

The eSymposium will address the possibilities for the widespread dissemination of dance performances and dance heritage in the digital age, and specifically the relationship of choreographers and videographers with the Library in providing access to such material for a wide range of possible uses.

We will be holding the eSymposium at www.Culturethreads.net. Like other online blogs you may have visited or contributed to in the past, the eSymposium will carry a string of discussion led by a selected group of lead contributors, themselves leaders in the fields of dance and digital technology. Contributors include: Mark Coniglio, Artistic Director of Troika Ranch; Joan Finkelstein, Dance Director of the NYC Dept of Education; Paul Kaiser, Director of Kaiserworks; Kevin McKenzie, Artistic Director, American Ballet Theatre; Elizabeth Streb, Artistic Director, S.L.A.M.; and Siva Vaidhyanathan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Culture and Communications at New York University.

The eSymposium will begin Monday September 19th, and conclude Thursday September 22nd. We encourage everyone and anyone interested in the topic to participate by going to www.culturethreads.net, and following the conversation and submitting your own comments in response to the dialogue. This discussion precedes the live convening for the dance, library and information technology fields at the Library in New York City, on Friday September 23, as the eSymposium is ending.

Please feel free to spread the word among friends and colleagues who may also be interested. Join us online at Culturethreads.net on Monday September 19, and stimulate field-wide dialogue in the dance field and beyond.

Thank you,

Jacqueline Z. Davis
Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director

Madeleine Nichols
Curator, Jerome Robbins Dance Division