VoiceofDance.com, the Ultimate Online Resource for Dance Announces 10th Anniversary Online Dance Contest Winner and Finalists

VoiceofDance.com, the Internet's most esteemed and comprehensive dance information hub announces the winner and nine finalists of its very first Online Dance Contest. To commemorate its 10th Anniversary, Voice of Dance launched the first of many online video contests, allowing both professionals and amateurs to submit original work to be viewed and voted on by the public. The overwhelming success of the first contest saw an incredible range of styles and levels, from amateur to professional--contemporary to classical dance and everything in between, from dancers and choreographers spanning the globe. Voice of Dance has enjoyed a 500% increase in its traffic since the start of the Online Dance Contest, a testament to the growing interest in seeing dance come to life on the Internet.

Kentfield, CA (PRWEB) July 11, 2007 -- VoiceofDance.com, the Internet's most esteemed and comprehensive dance information hub announces the winner and nine finalists of its very first Online Dance Contest.

WINNER: Roche Janken, BFA student in dance from the University of Michigan

Finalists:
AXIS Dance Company, mixed ability contemporary dance company
Brian Gibbs, dance filmmaker
David Nguyen, hip hop dancer/choreographer
Dudley Brooks, dance theater artist
Fanny Ara, flamenco dancer
Hilary Bryan Dance Theater, contemporary dancer/choreographer
Jennifer Rozwood, Middle Eastern dancer
Lisa Townsend Company, contemporary dance company
Yaelisa, flamenco dancer/choreographer

To commemorate its 10th Anniversary, VoiceofDance.com launched the first of many online video contests, allowing both professionals and amateurs to submit original work to be viewed and voted on by the public. The overwhelming success of the first contest saw an incredible range of styles and levels, from amateur to professional--contemporary to classical dance and everything in between, from dancers and choreographers spanning the globe. Voice of Dance has enjoyed a 500% increase in its traffic since the start of the Online Dance Contest, a testament to the growing interest in seeing dance come to life on the Internet.

At VoiceofDance.com we are thrilled that the time has come for dance video online. The ease of watching and putting up dance video online is of huge benefit to the dance world and to the world at large. Now audiences can watch video clips of choreography and upcoming performances, thus becoming more educated and much more engaged in dance. At VoiceofDance.com, we want to spark young people who are putting up video online to experiment with dance, as well as to encourage dance veterans to give online dance video a try. It has become so much easier to do and lots of fun to watch.

Out of 65 contest entrants, the public voted and 10 finalists were chosen and asked to submit a final video for the last round of voting:

http://www.voiceofdance.com/vote.cfm

The winner is choreographer Roche Janken, a BFA student in dance from the University of Michigan. Janken will receive a cash prize of $1,000 and be interviewed for Voice of Dance Radio, VoiceofDance.com's exclusive dance radio show. The other nine finalists included two esteemed flamenco artists from the Bay Area, a hip hop dancer whose original video was shot in his kitchen, a belly dancer, a choreographer whose site-specific work was shot on location in Escalante, Utah, and a hilarious dance theater piece using puppetry.

Stay tuned for the next Voice of Dance Online Dance Contest coming in the fall of 2007!

For the past ten years, VoiceofDance.com has led the way in creating a comprehensive online resource for dance that continues to draw an increasing amount of traffic from all over the globe. Today it receives over 200,000 unique visitors per month. In keeping with its mission to bring the global dance community together, Voice of Dance is expanding its content area to reflect the growing interest in dance videos with the Online Dance Contest as well as Voice of Dance Backstage Videos. Voice of Dance Backstage features a backstage look at some of the top dance companies performing today. New York producer, Eric Wolfram, is currently spotlighting companies in San Francisco and New York.

Also announcing the latest from Voice of Dance: the Dance Photo of the Day

Today, VoiceofDance.com also announces a new feature: the Voice of Dance Photo of the Day. This new function will highlight an amazing new dance photo each day from around the globe. Professional dancers and companies will be featured as well as all kinds of dance lovers enjoying dance. The public will be able to submit their photos and visitors can vote on their favorites. In addition, we are creating a tool that will allow people to put the Voice of Dance Photo of the Day on their own sites--inspiring them each day with a new dance photo!

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"Voice of Dance has been a collaborative effort. Volunteers from the dance community joined together to create an open forum about dance and attract new audiences."
-Warren Hellman, Co-Founder, VoiceofDance.com with Lori Smith Sparrow in 1997

"A Decade of Difference: Voice of Dance Comes Into Its Own...Utopian, yes; but if no one imagines the future how will we get there?" -InDance March 2007

"They created a completely new news source for dance, one that used the latest technology and could reach the most people. The site has grown leaps and bounds since 1997. Cal Performances is a big fan of Voice Of Dance." -Robert Cole, Executive Director Cal Performances

"We can't wait to see what you are going to do in the next 10 years." -Joanna Berman, former dancer with San Francisco Ballet and CoHost of this year's Bay Area Dance Awards.

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