The Biggest Con of the Creator Economy- Blog 10

A strange shift has happened in the dance world; the fortune of classes held now depends on Instagram algorithms. Recently, I was supposed to go to a class and was very excited to learn the routine. The routine was a little difficult but I was ready to challenge myself in the class. That afternoon, I suddenly got a message from the studio saying, "the class has been cancelled unfortunately, we will proceed with your refund". 

I did not care about the refund, all I could think about the next few hours of getting that message was, how I missed out on learning the techniques. Those classes are not only my weekend getaway from the tedious professional life I have, but are also the blocks to building my career in dance as well. And, I am quite serious about that too. 

I said okay with no further questions asked, but in my mind, I knew what exactly caused the class to get cancelled. The choreographer must not have got enough registrations for that class and studios is Mumbai usually have this unsaid policy of cancelling the class when it has less than three registrations. 

This is unfortunately the sad reality. 

I have seen choreographers scream at the top of their lungs that "I will still take a class even if one student shows up", but the way dance is becoming a business day by day, and inner politics will never make this statement a reality. 

You will notice how, some choreographers with average-level routines are selling out every class, while dancers who teach real foundations, technique and structured training struggle to fill a room. It’s not because students don’t want to learn. It’s because the creator economy has made us believe that the best class is the one that will give us the best reel.

And this has consequences.

I see so many students today who choose classes purely for the “vibe”: easy steps, trending songs, two thumkas and a shoulder shimmy. These pieces get quick likes, fast shares and instant gratification. But this is not dance. Dance needs training from warm-up, drills to finishing with proper stretching. Yet classes built on real pedagogy often get cancelled because they don’t get enough registrations. What a shame. We say we want to improve, but we avoid the very spaces that would help us grow.

The real tragedy is that the market now rewards what is easily consumable, not what builds skill. The algorithm doesn’t care if your posture is correct or if you understand musicality. It only cares if the reel is aesthetic, has colourful lights, is uploaded in HD quality and has face tracking done. 

As students, we need to ask ourselves, are we chasing views or growth? A viral class may give you a good moment on camera, but a strong teacher gives you a foundation that lasts much longer than a 30 second reel.

The creator economy isn’t going anywhere but the choice of what kind of dancer we want to become is still in our hands. 

Shreya Roy Choudhury

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Declining performance without guilt: An artist's perspective

  Imagine this, a Sunday afternoon, your relatives have come to your house for lunch, followed by a family gathering where the youngest ones of the families are expected to be their free entertainers. Relatable much? As an artist, it is always a pleasure to be on stage, with all the limelight, performing. With every performance, the confidence the stage provides, makes an artist more grateful to the skill they have. But, the feeling isn’t the same always. “Beta, show us something na, or you feel shy to dance infront of us but not infront of the camera?” coming constantly from relatives feels like a taunt more than a eager urge to see our performance. What many people don’t realize is that performing is an emotional exchange, not a switch we can flick on and off whenever someone feels like being entertained. In my opinion, art demands energy, intention and a certain state of mind. When I am on stage, I am mentally prepared and aligned to my craft. But when someone out of nowhere as...
Read more

Why Dancers Are Terrified of Freestyle Even if They’re Good at Choreography - Blog 21

  Every workshop I go to, I observe a pattern.  It’s funny how dancers who can absolutely kill a choreography suddenly freeze the moment someone says, “Okay, now freestyle.” You can see their bodies tense up, their minds go blank, and all that confidence they had while hitting the eight counts suddenly disappears. And honestly, it makes sense. Choreography comes with a structure ; a safety net. Someone tells you what to do, where to go, how to move, what to hold, what to hit. There’s a comfort in knowing what comes next. You’re following a map that has already been drawn out for you. But freestyle is the exact opposite. It’s just you and the music in a space where everything is possible. And somehow, that freedom feels scarier than any complex routine. Some dancers get terrified because when the structure goes away, so does the sense of control. They’re suddenly aware of every inch of their body, thinking, “What if my arm does something weird? What if I miss the beat? What i...
Read more

Is Calling Dance 'Mujra' Offensive? - Blog 17

Opening your instagram, seeing a woman happily dance to a song, the next moment you open the comments and see men calling her names and saying "ye online aake mujra karna bandh karo" (stop doing this Mujra online). This is common right?  Whenever I see comments like thesee on videos of fellow dancers, being a dancer myself I cannot help but pause. Because the word "Mujra" carries weight. It carries misunderstanding. Using it as an insult to describe someone dancing freely is not just lazy, it shows how much the society still misunderstands dance and still fail to respect the art form.  Mujra has a long and complex history, a homework which most people do not do, before commenting hatred on the content of dancers online. Originally, the word Mujra, was never a bad one. It was a respected art form. Back during the Mughal times, dancers, often courtesans called them Tawaif  performed Mujra as a blend of classical dance, predominantly Kathak on ghazals, thumris and poet...
Read more