Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Ankle Locks

I feel like this is one of those "Don't take a leak on an electric fence" posts.

No, I'm not a performer. But I've been known to hop on a stand for a Club Image or Elysium Cabaret group dance.

Club Image - November 26, 2017
In a bright sunny happy pastel world, I wear black.


When I wear my Bax boots, they have built-in ankle locks. And they work, but that adds script load to the sim. If I remove scripts from my clothes and hair to reduce load on the sim, because I actually listen to the preflight announcement before shows and get guiltshamed into it, I end up loose-ankled.

When I wear my Agata Gail boots, I have to remember to add the ankle lock to that outfit, or I get at least one IM telling me to put them on. But if the region is overloaded, the script doesn't kick in, or the priority on the ankle lock is less than the priority on the dance... fail.

And I can't remember how many performances where someone IM-whispers about a performer's ankle locks. (Of all the pairs of things to be looking at, "ankles"doesn't break the top five.)

<seinfeld>What's the deal with ankle locks?</seinfeld>

The Atlantis Variety Hour


"The Atlantis Variety Hour"
February 1st and 15th @ 5pm

Variety is the spice of life and variety shows are one of the oldest forms of showbiz razzle dazzle.
Atlantis Grand Theatre is pleased to present  their monthly entertainment, offering something for everyone. Each month we feature a revolving door of creators and dancers showcasing their favorites.

Hope to see you there !

Get on the bus to Atlantis!



Sunday, January 28, 2018

Don't Make Me Call The Dance Police, Take... um... 19?

Every week or so, I look back through the photos of Second Life dance performance that I’ve posted on Flickr.

Sometimes, I smile.
Sometimes, I wince.
And then there’s the times... well... you know...

I like to call this portion of our trip:
Don’t Make Me Call The Dance Police.
Winds of the Sahara - January 28 2018
INTRODUCING: The Deejay Bot 9000... just plug it in, connect it to the Internet, pour in some vodka, and it'll spin tunes for hours. Fun for the whole family and cult membership, safe for all ages. Be sure to order the plug-in for a twelve step program and endless tunes available through Russian music hacking libraries! Order now, and we'll throw in an extended warranty. Only breaks down when you forget its anniversary, birthday, Christmas, and Valentine's Day.

Inanna Burlesque - January 28 2018
Her costume consists of CAUTION tape and smiles for good reason.

Inanna Burlesque - January 28 2018
What are those two silhouettes thinking about?

Luxe - Le Cirque Des Reves - January 27 2018
If that were the sign for a restaurant, I'd eat there every day.

Luxe - Le Cirque Des Reves - January 27 2018
The forecast for today... hot. Very hot.

  Luxe - Le Cirque Des Reves - January 27 2018
Okay, maybe too hot.
Luxe - Le Cirque Des Reves - January 27 2018
Even Indiana Jones would just stand there and stare and drool a bit.

Dance Queens - Word Up Challenge - January 27 2018
Holy fuck don't drop her! I have enough work to do!

Dance Queens - Word Up Challenge - January 27 2018
Boil down that skull, and you'll have gelatin for a year.

Dance Queens - Word Up Challenge - January 27 2018
Pssst. Web. (piano)

Club Arty - Fashion Show For Gabriel - January 27 2018
On a side note, I'm binge-watching Fullmetal Alchemist on Netflix.

Debauche at MJ Burlesque
She ordered too... much... wine!

Virtuoso - Water - January 26 2018
Chapter One: Man invents water.

  Crystal Edge Dancers - January 24 2017
Frozen 2: Oh, God, Not More Of Them.

  Winds of the Sahara - January 28 2018
If only I could. If only I could.

Phoenix Dance Team - January 27 2018
Okay, so maybe we need to hire more staff here at The Dance Police.


Winds of the Sahara - January 28 2018
Do you want demons, Lana?

Winds of the Sahara - January 28 2018
Because that's how you get demons.

Thank you, and stay tuned next Sunday for the next thrilling episode.

"Hey. It's Cave. Someone's not daaaancing. Come on. You know the law - testing IS NOT a dance exemption. Don't make me call the dance police"
- Cave Johnson, Portal 2 Perpetual Testing Initiative Expansion Pack.

PS: If you haven't yet turned in a note card for your DQ profile or your group profile, contact <i>R. Crap Mariner</i>.

Winds of the Sahara for February!



February 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th -  5:00pm SLT
Winds of the Sahara

Each Sunday we have a shiny, new show at Winds of the Sahara Theater.  Our dances range from burlesque to performance art and you are sure to be amazed at all of the wonder that sets, costumes and music can create. We'll put sparkles in your eyes and leave sequins on your shirt collars. 

FEB 11th only~Winds Theme Show
Is that love I smell or all the King Cakes in the air? Either way, Winds is having a Carnival of Love show we affectionately call We LOVE Fat Tuesday! Come and join us for an evening of Love and Feathers (that sounds wrong)....an evening of Love and Beads (nope still wrong)....an evening of...well you get the idea! There will be a little bit of Valentines and a little bit of Letting the Good Times Roll! (ugh still wrong). You know it will be an amazing show, please come join us for an evening of fun like no other! Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Here's how you get there!




Desire Arts Theatre & Gallery Presents...


Desire Arts Dancers
Saturday February 17 and 24, 2018  - 7PM SLT

Desire Arts Dancers do a monthly "after hours" show. Starting at 7pm slt... we bring you the performance quality at our Saturday shows, with more skin... little less costume. Some acts do contain adult content.

As an "Arts" theater (and gallery) Desire Arts will be a venue perfectly suited for SL Performers wishing to express themselves through live performances, through Dance, Art Exhibits, Performance Art as well as Dramatic Presentations.

Also, Presentations of a controversial nature (including those involving sex, politics and/or religion) will be presented separately from the Dance Program.

Come play with us!




Laissez les bons temps rouler... it's Paramount!


February 3rd and 10th at 7pm slt.
Paramount Grand Theatre

Krewe de Paramount! Paramount Grand Theatre's brand new show for February. Come join us for an evening of classy but sassy entertainment as we the Paramount Players dance for you, February 3rd and 10th at 7pm slt.

The Players are dancing in the Mardi Gras and Carnival. It's even the month of Love with your Valentine! Put your dancing shoes on, come in costume if you like, and see the Players dance!

Climb aboard the float with us!





It's Dancing Desires!


Dancing Desires Show
2 pm SLT on Sunday, February 11th

Please join us, as Dancing Desires Dance Troupe takes to the stage after a VERY successful grand opening show!  A variety of dances that will showcase everything from fun and exciting to emotional and loving as some of the best choreographers across the grid bring their slice of dancing to the stage!

The sim fills up fast, so please come early!

Come join us!





Saturday, January 27, 2018

Club Image This Sunday!


IMAGE open this Sunday
Sunday January 28th
OPEN 5:30 AM SLT, START 6:00 AM SLT

...... ♥ * Line up for this Sunday*♥.......
Club IMAGE DANCE SHOW
■ Program
1. misse Tigerpaw "Dance Planet"
2. Xia Xute ”Forest Concert”
3. Diawa Bellic ”Pink” with Yougao
4. Setsuna Hirano "Wings"
5. ☆Team Dance☆ Secret - guest!
DJ: HANKU Babii

BLOG for IMAGE 

Come on up and see us!





Friday, January 26, 2018

The Monarchs ft. AleyKat


Let's kick off 2018 with something completely new!


We are beyond excited to welcome AleyKat to our stage for a special performance
mixing the best of 2 worlds: 
Live singing (by AleyKat) & choreography (by Monarchs). 
Exclusively, in that order - we'll leave the singing to the pros!
Ring the bell - it's time for ROUND 1

January 27th, 2pm
January 27th, 10pm




Let's go exploring...

What to write next?

So, the big reveal... Inara Pey invited me to join her blog Living in a Modem World as a dance correspondent. She's a longtime friend, and I've respected her tempered enthusiasm style of journalism and promotion of the arts for years, and in spite of my (cough) wilder years of yellow journalism and muckraking, I'm honored that she's offering the reformed side of me this opportunity to showcase y'all and your creations.

I posted my first article on the site yesterday, and I hope that it serves as a good introduction to SL dance to the wider Second Life community. I know that I didn't mention everybody or post photos of everything, and I didn't cover everything, but this is the first in hopefully a long series of showcasing your creations and creativity and efforts.

This is a journey, and that post is only the first step. I'll get around to everyone who has their flue open and cookies and milk on the mantelpiece...

Oh. Wait. That's Santa.

Debauche - December 10 2017
... so sexy!

Anyway, I've been pondering what to do with this opportunity for y'all, there's a few irons in the fire and drafts in my Google Documents drive, and some ideas come to mind:
  • This Week In Dance: This would be similar to Inara's regular posting of Seanchai Library's upcoming events schedule. I'm one of Seanchai's irregular storytellers, and I've worked with Caledonia on a project or three in the past, so it's cool that Inara gives the library a spotlight and opportunity to showcase what they do. I'd like to do this for y'all and your projects and events. Because I'm lazy and like to leverage existing content, I'd draw from the Dance Queens calendar. Maybe start with "This Weekend In Dance" and expand it over time. So, if you've got a dance event coming up in the next week, this would be an incentive to get that event notecard in a week early. If there's an empty seat or sofa or bench, let's get a butt in it!
  • Upcoming Dance Events: This would be a profile of a major dance event, such as one of Monarchs Kingdom, GB's Circe du Nuit, Muse's Fiddler on the Roof, Oasis and Debauche opening a new theatre, Fantasy Faire lineups, or a Men In Motion Movember fundraiser. Maybe include a shot or two from rehearsals of a teaser, mentions of past productions, the process of putting one of these together, etc.
  • Artist and Group Profiles: This would be an interview of a performer or performers in a group, what got them into dance, what it means to them, a few shots and videos of their performances. where they see dance going, and so on. You may think you're just a "ball warmer" being puppeted around by a choreographer, but you're so much more than that, aren't you? You're a part of this experience, too... what do you get out of it? How do you connect with the audience? This is an opportunity to get to know the artists and their motivations. I'll be using the notecards from the ongoing profile project as a lead-generator to see who is interested in being featured.
  • The George Plimpton: George was a participatory journalist (no, not a pirate) who liked to immerse himself into his subjects so he could have a deep interest in what they did and how they did it. This series would be going through the process of taking a class, learning the craft, and showing people how they can get involved in performing along with y'all. Not just hit-and-run, but a serious effort of getting to know how to do this and where to find inspiration. I'm just a bit concerned that this would turn into a "me" thing and not a "dance" thing.
  • What the Hell is it With Those Pianos: Of course I need to do a piece on Web. I mean, duh, right?
What ideas do y'all have with this? What things do you think the wider Second Life community might find useful and enticing about what you do that will get them interested in it? What would be useful to you? If there's things that you think folks out there need to know, big or small (for instance, the "888 means applause" thing), contact me, and we'll turn it into an article.

I think I'm going to dial back the Dance Police stuff a bit here, because I've been concerned that it is being perceived as a laugh-at-you not laugh-with-you project. My hope that it would be an inside joke, unreliable narrator view of the past week of dance, a few snarky or odd comments in the style of Greg Kinnear on the Talk Soup roundup a while back...

Crystal Edge Dancers - January 24 2017
It's not what you think. You naughty, naughty people.

In the meantime, get those profile notecards in, because I think you'll like how the new style will blend y'all's narratives along with the resources folks can use to learn more about your projects and shows.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

The things we learn...

Club Escape - January 24 2018

I go to a lot of dance performances and I see a lot of things that I do not understand.
For instance, why do a lot of people type a row of eights at the shows performed by Japanese residents (for example, Club Image, Club eScape, Cossette)?
So, I asked Fumon Crystal about it,

R. (crap.mariner): (do the 8s mean applause?)
Fumon Crystal: true,and I explain it exactly
Fumon Crystal: 8 = pachi = clap sound ( onomatopee ) in Japan
R. (crap.mariner): ahhhhhhhhhhhhh
Fumon Crystal: lol very simple:)
R. (crap.mariner): ty
Fumon Crystal: and we do NOT pronounce 8 as pachi . 8= hachi[06:50] Fumon Crystal: So.... " 888 " is akida ...easy gesture as " applause " in Japan only:)

R. (crap.mariner): :)
Fumon Crystal: same pronunciation "8888 " -> パチパチパチパチパチパチパチパチ (◕ ‿ ◕ )∂


That's neat. Thank you, Fumon. Now I know, and now y'all know, too.

What things have you learned from dance performance in Second Life?
And what things do you not understand that you've never thought to ask about?

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

This Saturday, A Touch of Debauche!



Saturday 27th January, 1pm SLT

Debauche bring their sophisticated brand of raunchy entertainment back to the fantastic Mavenhurst Opera House this Saturday.
A touch of burlesque, a touch of Broadway, a touch of ballet...

Want to come for a touch of Debauche? You ought to!
See you all there, this Saturday, 27th January, 2018 at 1pm SLT.
Dress formally, please arrive early to secure a seat.

Debauche
xxxxx

Your seat awaits!




Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Updating performer and group profiles...

Hi there.

It's been a while since we've updated the performer and group profiles on this site. There's a lot of new performers out there with interesting stories to tell, and there's a lot of great new groups out there that y'all might not be familiar with.

We'd like to get updated information from y'all and liven things up a bit.

A survey note card went out over the Dance Queens group today, but some of y'all may have missed it, or you don't get group notices.

Feel free to ask me (R. Crap Mariner) for a note card, or you can copy the survey from this blog post and send your answers as a note card to me.

If you'd prefer to talk about these things directly interview-style or via email, let me know and we can schedule a time to chat.

No deadline, no rush, and participation is purely voluntary.

thanks,
-ls/cm

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

DANCE QUEENS

Do you read the Dance Queens blog at https://sldancequeens.blogspot.com/ ?
Do you use the Dance Queens calendar at http://dancequeenscalendar.webs.com/apps/calendar/ ?
Are you a member of the Dance Queens group?
- Do you read announcements from that group?
- Do you get instant messages from that group?

ABOUT YOU

What is your name?
Tell me about yourself.
How did you get your start dancing?
Why do you dance?
What does it mean to you?
Where can people see you perform?
Do you have a  Facebook Page, Twitter, Blog, Website, Flickr, other links?
Tell me something fun.
Do you have a favorite picture we could use on the site, or did you want for me to take one of you?

ABOUT YOUR GROUP

If you run a dance group, what is its name?
Tell me about your group.
Does it have a Facebook Page, Twitter, Blog, Website, Flickr, other links?
Where is the group's home venue (SLURL or Landmark) ?
Do you have a picture of the team logo or some other poster we could use on the site?

Is there anything else you wanted to talk about or discuss?

So, you want a Flickr group for your dance team...

Hi there. Some more helpful tips.

Lots of folks post up dance performance photos on Flickr. It can be hard to track down the photos from a performance. One way to collect up all of the photos of your group’s performances is to create a Flickr group.

(NOTE: If you have any shortcuts to do any of these tasks, let me know in the comments.)

GET SIGNED UP OR SIGNED IN

Let’s get signed into Yahoo and Flickr:

Go to flickr.com

01

If you have a Yahoo account, click Log In. If you do not have a Yahoo account, Sign Up.

After you jump through all the registration hoops, you'll land at your Flickr home page.

06

Be sure to bookmark this page so you can get back to it quickly.

CREATE THE GROUP

Now let's create the group. Point to You and then click Groups.

07

Click the Create Group button.

08

We're going to create a Public group that anyone can join, so click that first Create button.

09

Enter a name for your Flickr group. It should probably contain the name of your dance group, maybe toss an "in SL" or "in Second Life" there. This will make it easy for folks to find your group when they upload their photos.

Then, enter a description for the group. I'd recommend that you mention when y'all perform, the SLURL to your home theatre, who to contact, etc.

Finally, select the group's safety level. If you're planning on a lot of naughty bits or naughty deeds, you may want to consider 18+.

Then, click the Next button.

10

Okay, this one's kinda silly. I mean, it's up to you whether you want to have a Group discussion forum on the Flickr group, but why have a Flickr group for photos without a Group photo pool?

Make sure that the Group photo pool option is checked.

Then, click the Next button.

11

Now we can set the titles for access levels. It's kind of like naming the titles and roles within Second Life groups, except it's for group Admins, Moderators, and Members.

Feel free to have some fun with this. Divas, Helpers, Fans... Gods, Angels, Minions... whatever fits your group.

Then, click the All Done button.

12

Okay, your group now exists! Yay!

You probably want to bookmark this page, too.

ADD SOME PHOTOS

Well... it's kinda empty right now.

Let's fix that. Click Add some photos.

13

Pick out a few photos from your photostream to add.

You can use the drop-down menu and the text box to filter your photostream, and then click the Search button.

For instance, you can pick out photos from an album that you've set up.

If you have a lot of photos to add, you can use the Organize function.

Point to You and then click Organize.

14

Okay, this interface can be a bit scary, but take a deep breath. It'll be okay.

The ribbon at the bottom is your photostream.

You can use the drop-down menu and the text box to filter your photostream, and then click the Search button.

For instance, you can pick out photos from an album that you've set up.

Select the photos you want to add, and then drag them into the center of the page.

15

Then, click the Send to group link there in the menu bar.

When it's done, click the OK button and get back to your group page (Click Flickr, then You, then Groups, and then the group name.)

LET'S MAKE IT PRETTY

Okay, we're back at the group page. Still kinda dull, and nobody else is here, but we can fix that.

Point to the upper banner and click the Edit Cover Photo button.

Then, select a photo and crop it and zoom it.

That will make the header of your Flickr group page interesting.

The icon's still kinda ugly, though. Purple camera... blech. Click that purple camera.

Select a photo that you've uploaded to the group, or click Photostream and pick a photo out of your Photostream.

Then crop and zoom it to focus on a logo or a face or something that represents your group.

There. You've got a group icon now.

CONFIGURE THE GROUP

We're going to need to set up a few more things to make the group ready for others to join and submit photos.

Let's click on Administration in the menu bar there.

16

Here's what you can do with each of these options:

Group Rules: Set some group rules that will appear when people join. You can say No Nudity or Photos of the BLAH Dance Group's Performances Only or other restrictions. Nobody reads these anyway. Oh well.

Moderating your Group: This lets you moderate any submissions to the group, set a member's posting limit per day or week or month, limits the number of other groups the photo can be submitted to, what kind of items can be submitted, the safety levels of the photos, and whether to lock group discussions. Setting a small number reduces the amount of stuff you'll have to moderate, but it may frustrate your snapshot-crazy fans (you know, like myself?). If you set moderation for the group, you'll need to remember to accept or deny groups from the moderation queue. (I'll cover that later.)

Privacy: This lets you set whether non-members can see the group discussion or the group photo pool. Also, you can change the group to Invite Only or Private.

Your Group Icon: In case you come up with a better group icon for the group.

Flickr web address: Instead of some meaningless code with an N and an at symbol in it, you can put a meaningful URL directory that includes your group name. That way, when you mention the Flickr group in chat or on a web page, folks will see that it is your group. Branding is awesome!

Name/URL/Description: This lets you update the group's name and description, like when you need to update the SLURL to a new landing site for your home theater or a publicity contact's name. Also, you can point to another website, such as your Facebook group or your blog site. This information will appear in your About page.

Keywords: This lets you enter a bunch of search terms to make it easier for people to find your Flickr group. secondlife and art and dance and choreography and burlesque... those kinds of things.

18+: This lets you change the 18+ adult setting for your group, in case you've gone naughty... or cleaned up your act.

Member Roles: This lets you update the titles for your Admins, Moderators, and Members.

MANAGE YOUR MEMBERSHIP

Okay, so I left Manage your Members for last. This option brings up a list of the members of your group in the Admins, Moderators, and Members roles.

You can promote trusted people to Moderators easily. (cough cough hint hint) Just click on the Members tab, find their name, and click the Promote link in that row. Then, select the role that you want to promote them to.

19

If someone's being a jerk, you can Remove them from the group or Ban them entirely. This is useful if some fashionista decides to spam their modeling shots in eleventy billion groups.

I suppose you're going to need some people in the group before you can manage them, right?

INVITE SOME PEOPLE

Let's invite a few friends to join the group. Click Invite Friends in the menu bar.

17
Then, click the Invite a Flickr member button.

18
You can enter in Flickr names and select them from the list that appears.
Add a few more names for a mass-invite.

Then, enter a custom invitation message to let them know what dance group it's for.

Finally, click Preview Your Invite button, look it over, and send it out.

(Feel free to invite me while you're at it. I probably have eleventy billion photos of your group ready to add.)

GET THE WORD OUT

So, how else can you let people know about this Flickr group?

Here's some ideas:
  • Mention the Flickr group at your performances.
  • Search for photos of your performances and invite them to join your group. (I'll cover that later.)
  • Add a poster at your home theater.
  • Make an announcement over your SL group.
  • Post on your Facebook page.
  • Embed a Flickr sldieshow in your blog or web page.
  • Post the link in the comments of this post to show that the procedure works.

MODERATE THE PHOTOS

If you set the group to moderate incoming photos, they're going to stack up in a queue. And that queue can build up quickly, especially if you saw me, Elli, Judith, or other photographers in the audience.

The system should send you notices via email, and a banner will appear on your Flickr group page:

20

Click that photos pending link, and the moderation queue will appear.

20

You can select whether Approve, Deny, or leave a photo in the queue for someone else to approve or deny.

You also can mark all of the photos in the queue as Approve, Deny, or Leave in the Queue.

Then, click the Update the Queue button to save your changes.

INVITING INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS

Let's say that someone posted a photo of a performance and you want to invite that person to add that photo to your group.

24

Just click on the Invite to group link on the sidebar.

23

Then, select the group out of the list and click the Done button.

22

There. You've invited them to add the photo to the group. Not only will that invite them to add the photo to the group, but it will make them aware that your group exists for future photos.

ADD PHOTOS WHILE YOU UPLOAD

You can add photos to a group while you upload them to Flickr. This can save you a bit of time, whether you're a group owner or a photographer.

While you're using the Flickr Uploadr, just click the Add to groups link in the sidebar.

25

Pick the group out of the list, and click the Done button.

WRAPPING IT UP

There's a lot more to Flickr and Groups that I didn't cover.

Did I forget to cover something important? Got some tips and tricks folks might find useful?

Did I make a mistake somewhere? (OH NOES!)

Are there other photo sharing sites that have community and collaboration tools like Flickr that you use?

Let me know in the comments.