Chantal Guevara shares the websites she wouldn’t be without
It goes without saying that it’s important for me to keep on top of what’s happening in the dance world – and to be ready to express opinions where relevant; a large part of what I also do is look out for news articles, stories and videos which might be of interest to people who are unfamiliar with or new to dance. Or who haven’t stumbled across them yet.
WWW.LONDONDANCE.COM
This is my bible, and has been for about 10 years. It’s also responsible for the formation of both Cloud Dance and Cloud Dance Festival. It’s a great portal about dance in London, including news, reviews, an extensive directory and a noticeboard for members. If something’s happening, you’ll find out about it on there. If it’s happened, you’ll find the review on there – it often covers shows not reviewed elsewhere, and its directory is the most comprehensive I’ve found. And the site is such an institution, it has no competitors.
WWW.BALLET.CO.UK
This is where I get most of my news from, through its Twitter account
@balletco – I can’t even imagine how many hours are spent collating news about dance from all around the world. Mostly I use the site for reviews and interviews, but there are also intriguing blogs by some of the more interesting people working in dance, for example Jarkko Lehmus and Kristen McNally.
WWW.THEBALLETBAG.COM
This is a relatively recent discovery, thanks to Twitter. Its fresh, youthful and modern approach means that it’s extremely relevant to anyone curious about or interested in ballet and, to a lesser extent, contemporary dance. It features an excellent guide to Twitter for dance companies which I’ve often recommended, and its strength is in knowing how to appeal to a diverse audience, and always having something interesting to say. So much so, that I acknowledge it as being largely responsible for my recent conversion to ballet!
WWW.YOUTUBE.COM
YouTube is a must; not only are videos an essential part of our application procedure, but I seem to spend a lot of time watching clips or looking for videos to post online. There is such a wealth of video now available, and YouTube is essential in discovering and promoting talent.
WWW.GUARDIAN.CO.UK/STAGE/DANCE
If there’s a much-discussed article about dance, you can usually be pretty sure that this is where it’ll be. The reviews are always very reliable, and the perspective of each writer on individual shows is always worth reading. And then there are the gems which you’ll find if you rummage around, be it Judith Mackrell on dance festivals in 2008, an early feature on Ballet Black or even Sanjoy Roy enthusing about Dr Horrible.