Perspectives on touring: Difference between revisions

By [http://www.asiancanadianwiki.org/wiki/Alvin_Erasga_Tolentino Alvin Erasga Tolentino]

<b>1. To be a creative ambassador, celebrate and empower the art of dance.</b>

I am a dancer and a choreographer, What I make, engage and represent is the art of dance when I am performing, presenting, discussing and sharing my work to touring engagements, this is the art form that I can contribute to uplift the spirit of humanity.

<b>2. To extend and sustain the life of my creative work.</b>

I don't think that making dance is cheap, the time and cost of research/production versus 4 nights of presentation in my hometown does not justify the meaning of dance making for me, I also believe that production is not the final product but a result to also question and investigate further the life of that creative work, by touring there is an extension, continuing the life of a piece work, sharing outside my home base to extended performances within regional, national and international presentations.

<b>3. To create educational and outreach engagements, learn, understand and see other dance and dance artists outside my region.</b>

I am provided the chance to educate other artists and vice versa by conversing and exchanging my creativity to them, through performances, master classes, choreographic workshops or simply dialogue or discourse after a show to the general public or students.

<b>4. To expand and diversify my reach of audiences.</b>

I am able to understand and discover the diverse audiences I have for dance worldwide.

<b>5. To meet and immerse to other communities, their culture, people and creative foundations.</b>

By touring I learn to understand the situation of other nations their cultural backgrounds and historical social point of views and their relation to the arts.  

<b>6. To collaborate and partner with other organizations, venues, festivals and artists.</b>

BY touring I am able to build networks, meet new artists, understanding producers, festivals, venues, and how I can work with their mandate and existing resources.  

The scope of touring is immense from the first risk taking initiatives to fully enjoying the experience and journey of the traveling work. The multitude of work with touring, from visioning, planning, negotiating, financing and traveling can have its complexities and is certainly not meant for everyone; It is an ongoing development and process.

(a note that in some grant application, it is indicated how much distance /or kilometers that is considered touring outside your home base to be eligible and funded for such a grant)

I suppose pretty much anything, but within the arts for sure are: (Performances, contemporary-traditional, music, dance, theater, spoken words, new media/technology, visual arts, etc.. )

Artists, companies, artistic works are responding to these needs, changes, and trends to re-evaluate the presence of art in society.

==A few examples of festivals and events that have taken place in Canada==

:*Asian Heritage Month festivals in May  

:*7a*11d (international of Performance Art)

Important online information.

[http://www.canadacouncil.ca/development/ Canada Council site/ Outreach market development /ON THE ROAD]

Having a vision, the desire and need that your work can and should tour.

As well, in some cases for more established artists and organizations, a touring agent that deals specifically to marketing one’s work, working with an agent’s pursuit of local contacts and understanding how one’s work could serve a specific region. An agent could post an interest to your work, or you may hire him to develop a touring working relationship and establishment of a touring mechanism for one’s body of work or for the whole company.

Starting from who you may contact within your home-base/region to present your work to, figuring out and expanding your networks and connections at to national and international level and leading intuitive and inquisitive research into following and understanding their elemental ways of presenting and partnering to Festivals, marketing/showcase events or specific venues.

You may deal with one engagement (1 show) or more (with outreach activities) in a touring engagement.

Could involve

:*co-partnership and co production with your venue or a self present touring engagements via box office revenues,  

Perhaps the tour you wish to undertake is partly a marketing tool an investment to your work and your organization to promote the work or understanding a specific region or community for future touring.

A piece of work can be presented in established venues to small, medium and big houses that have technical facilities and technical crew.

Providing and hiring proper touring technical directors or crew that can pre-plan and understand a touring venue to go to is highly recommended. It can achieve the requirements and needs of the creative work, to attain and meet a stress free engagement and to let the work breathe properly to the state and stage that it ought to be.

Start by assessing this at home, your main audiences, then scope elsewhere within your closest region, national and international and then other diverse audiences that may not have seen your work in the past.