.on.video.

Saturday night I was engaged by my good friend Dharma to accompany her to a party she was dancing at. It's a system we have, mostly for safety, where we partner up if we're free just in case. Nothing has ever happened, but better to be slightly paranoid in our opinion, than regret it later.
Before we headed to the party we stopped for a bite to eat - the adventures of which will be related later.
But at the party...

It was one of those fortunate situations where I got to watch a fellow dancer and professional perform, completely removed from the situation. I was back and out of the way, attempting to watch the party guests rather than Dharma's dancing and one thing hit me really hard during her sets.
We are no longer in an age where you can goof up a performance without consequences.

By the second set, almost everyone at the party had their iPhone out, taking pictures and video of what she was doing, and posting said images here and there in real time. Fortunately Dharma is a beautiful dancer, and there were no costume malfunctions or floor obstacles to trip her up, but had anything happened it would have been immediately available for public consumption to her detriment.
This is something to think about very carefully, especially for novice dancers trying to get out there and get experience. What you do is very likely going to end up on the interwebs, and will be viewed not just by your local dance community but potentially internationally. Most seasoned dancers who spent any amount of time on tribe.net when it was a popular networking site are familiar with the Armoire Awards - a now defunct group inspired by a particular YouTube video in which a girl manages to topple an armoire on top of herself. These kinds of videos are common - someone is trying to do something cool, has a horrible accident, and it inevitably ends up online. And if you're really unlucky it ends up on Tosh.0

Something about our voyeuristic culture is just obsessed with these hilarious accidents....and cute cat videos. And hamsters.

So just a small word of caution to dancers out there, especially you newbies...be prepared. And if you're new to performing really think before you accept a dance job.  It's going to end up online.
Especially if you fall off the stage.