Artists, Self-Worth, and the Internet

I usually begin with the music.

It gets harder for me to remember that that’s how I’ve created in the past as time passes and the internet increasingly takes up a larger and larger role in the work of artists. It is harder to be authentic when your work is constantly juxtaposed with trends.

When I started creating my own work, everything began with a piece of music. This comes from years of training in classical ballet as a repertory dancer.  By the end of my university years, performance reels were just starting to become standard. I remember learning how to digitize DVDs and frantically learning how to work iMovie so that I could piece them together and send out for auditions. Instagram was still chronological. People posted their daily lives. It hadn’t yet become the marketing machine it is today.

When we first started making video reels, we were all guilty of making them “too long.” Which I feel is an interesting place to begin.

There is power in stillness. Moving slowly - or not moving at all - is one of the most difficult skills to master as a dancer. A suspended moment on stage, when used well, can carry more weight than a sequence of large dynamic movement.

That kind of work does not necessarily translate well over a short clip where you have to hook the viewer within the first 2-3 seconds. Research shows that it takes an audience member around 2-3 minutes to begin appreciating artistic movement. It’s incredibly hard to navigate social media platforms when people have shorter and shorter attention spans.

The way artists create these days has shifted because of this. When I built pieces, I thought about the point of the piece first - the character, the music, the choreography, the costume. The points I was making took longer to convey than what we’ve grown accustomed to online. The work was created with the expectation that it would be experienced live, in a theater or an in-person setting. Documentation was valuable, for archival purposes, but it was never the goal.

But the world changes and creative expression changes with it. This can be a mixed bag of positives and negatives. Video allows for an incredible level of detail and control. You can direct an audience’s attention in ways that aren’t always possible on stage. I sometimes do this too when I create these days. I am always aware of where my physical audience is and now I also think about the angles of the shots. (This goes hand in hand with what I learned in my daily 4-hour “Improvisation into Performance” class when I attended a conservatory called The London Contemporary Dance School. Know where your audience is at all times and position yourself accordingly.)

To distance your self-worth from the never ending onslaught of the internet, the question you have to answer first is: what are you trying to say?

As an artist, you have a responsibility to take the audience on a journey. That journey can be deeply personal with facets that only you can interpret, but it must be clear. Even online, audiences respond to authenticity.

This is where separation needs to exist. When you begin performing primarily for the camera, to create content for the sake of the algorithm, or to create just for what will perform well online, you lose the thread of the work.

It’s annoying that social media platforms are not more neutral. The algorithms are designed to prioritize consumerism. Their goal is to keep you engaged on the app as long as possible so they can make more money. As a result, consistency of posting is rewarded — not necessarily depth of work.

This is not sustainable for most artists.

Artists go through waves - there will be moments when you are incredibly busy and moments when things feel like they are at a complete standstill. During those standstill moments, it’s important to disengage from the dopamine hits that these platforms provide. Otherwise you risk falling into a deep depression during the slow seasons when you are supposed to be using those as a time to develop ideas and deeper work.

If your sense of self-worth becomes tied to visibility throughout the waves, you will struggle in the slower seasons.

It’s easy to be influenced by what you see — “gig 3 of 5 this weekend!” or “today’s office” posts. The highlight reels of nonstop work. But remember, those posts rarely tell the full story. Often the performers that are booked like that are underpaid, undercutting, burning themselves out, dealing with disrespectful clients or some combination thereof.

When you detach from those optics and focus on yourself, eyes on your own paper and your own personal goals, it will put you in a stronger position where you are working smarter, not harder. Remember to use social media as a tool - try to set reminders to get off the apps.

You begin to work with intention not urgency.

You will develop quality work that has the sincerity behind it that people will respond to.

When that happens, you’ll feel better about your work, yourself and your health.

You’ll spend time living in the present that will inspire your pieces.

And most importantly, you remain connected to the reason you started creating in the first place.

From the plume 🦢🪶