DanceTag app connects people globally through dance

Arts Council England,
23 December 2013, England

A new app has been created to get people dancing, thanks to Arts Council England, Nesta and the Arts and Humanities Research Council funded Digital R&D Fund for the Arts.

DanceTag is a new free app developed jointly by Arts Council England National portfolio organisation Pavilion Dance South West, Bristol mobile games developer Mobile Pie and the University of the West of England.

The app was created as part of a research and development project that aims to encourage more people to enjoy dancing.

Users can tag a nearby location by recording their friends dancing there and upload a 15-second film. Players can post videos just for fun or as a challenge to another player at a similar location anywhere in the world.

DanceTag is available for iPhone and Android. Smartphone users are already starting to tag locations all over the world with short dance films.

For players in the South West of England, you can take your enjoyment of dance a step further. The DanceTag app and its associated website provide links to information about local events, performances and dance classes.

DanceTag will also run competitions to offer the chance to win dance-related rewards such as performance tickets or discounts.

Zannah Doan, Regional Producer, Pavilion Dance South West said: 'We want as many people as possible to enjoy dance, whether it's having fun for 15 seconds or developing a lifetime passion.

'DanceTag gives people the opportunity to enjoy dance wherever they are, and to share that enjoyment with their friends. We're also interested to hear how people in the dance industry are already developing plans to use the app to share work ideas.'

The Digital R&D Fund for the Arts is a £7 million strategic partnership. It is unique in encouraging organisations with arts projects, digital technology providers and academic researchers to collaborate experiments from which the wider arts and cultural sector can learn.

Over three years, starting from 2012/13, the Fund will support research and development projects that use digital technology to enhance arts' audience reach and/or explore new business models. 

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/arts-council-news/dancetag-app-connects-people-globally-through-dan/