IDAT CALL FOR HOSTS

From: Richard Povall (richard@halfangel.org.uk)
Date: 06/19/01


Greetings all

You may remember some discussion on the list some months back about 
what was happening with IDAT.  A small group of volunteers has been 
working away on this, and has come up with a CALL FOR PROPOSALS for 
HOSTS for the next IDAT meeting.  There seems to be a strong feeling 
that IDAT is still needed, and we hope that this call will result in 
some proposals for a meeting in 2003, and hopefully beyond.

We are also working on the formation of an IDAT organisation, but 
watch this space for more news on that in the near future.

The call for proposals is attached to this e-mail, and also attached 
at a WORD document, as a TEXT document and as an RTF document. 
Hopefully you will be able to read at least one of these!

===========



Call for Proposals to host
the 2003/4 International Dance & Technology event


issue date: June 19, 2001
deadline for outline proposals: July 30, 2001


Background
The International Dance & Technology series has taken place in a 
variety of locations throughout North America since 1992, where they 
began at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Other hosts have 
included Simon Fraser University (BC), York University, and Arizona 
State University (where it was first named "International", becoming 
IDAT for the first time.  Each event has been unique, providing a 
different slant on the topic at hand, and a different interpretation 
of what such a gathering should be.  In this document, we have 
avoided using the terms conference or symposium because we hope that 
future IDATs will be neither, or perhaps both.  Certainly we are not 
looking for straightforward academic conference, although we do think 
that words and ideas are important and need to be presented.

Performance has been at the heart of past IDAT events, none more so 
than at IDAT-99 at Arizona State University.  There is strong opinion 
that we do not want to talk about Dance & Technology in a vacuum and 
that any event that comes under the IDAT umbrella should be centred 
in live performance in some fashion.  That said, there are many ways 
in which a three- or four-day event can be focussed in/on 
performance, and we welcome any suggestions you have.

There is, then, an automatic assumption that any potential IDAT host 
will have the physical and human infrastructure to support a variety 
of performance events.  We look forward to hearing your ideas for the 
shape of a future IDAT, and how you can support it (see below under 
what your bid should tell us).

The 1999 IDAT was the most recent IDAT.  We are therefore looking at 
a gap of four to five years between events, which is far from ideal. 
We hope that a more formal approach to bidding will prevent this from 
happening in the future.  Perhaps because of this long gap, there is 
some feeling in the dance/tech community that the event should not 
happen at all, that it's outlived its usefulness.  Any proposal for a 
future IDAT should therefore contain a strong rationale for its 
existence.  We need to feel that you feel that there is sufficient 
interest and need for an international gathering in order to make 
that gathering financially viable.




Who/What is IDAT?
International Dance and Technology has been the adopted name only 
since the most recent conference in 1999.  Prior to that date, the 
conference titles did not include the word international.  Despite 
the fact that there have been four conferences to date, there has 
never been a central organisation, a central committee, or any kind 
of membership.  For some years there has been a strong interest 
expressed in forming a membership organisation, and that is now going 
ahead.  A small group of people, an offshoot of the dancetech 
discussion list, is currently forming an interim management group 
with a view to creating a formal organisation, probably to be known 
as IDAT (International Dance & Technology).  This is fluid group of 
people who are willing to volunteer their time and money to get this 
organisation off the ground - so if you're at all interested in 
getting involved, please send e-mail to proposals@idat.org.  The 
symbiotic relationship between IDAT the organisation and the 
international conferences/events will emerge over time, we hope.  At 
the outset, the organisation will play a role only in choosing future 
sites for IDAT events, with the vast majority of organisational work 
and content development undertaken by the local host.  The 
organisation, in the meantime, will develop services for its members 
and serve in general as an advocacy and development force within the 
field.

In the past, hosts for IDAT events have been agreed upon in a very 
informal manner, largely by an institution coming forward and saying, 
"I'll host the next one".  First come, first lumbered, as it were. 
We'd like to change that, and have a formal committee nominated by 
the dance/tech community at large, who will vet and choose 
prospective hosts for future IDAT events.  For this next event only, 
the interim management group will look at prospective applications 
and make a decision quickly.  For future events beyond the next one, 
we hope there will be a formal structure in place as part of the IDAT 
organisation that will make the decision.

In the near future we will post information at http://www.idat.org, 
outlining some of the information contained in this prospectus, and 
providing a place for more frequent updates.



Preferred Dates for IDAT-03/04
There are many good reasons why we would prefer either 
September/October 2003, or February/March 2004 for the next IDAT 
event.  We are willing to look at other options, but a strong 
rationale needs to be given for your chosen dates (eg, how does it 
fit within the respective international academic calendars;  is it a 
likely month for people to be away to attend a major conference?).



What your bid should tell us
Outline bids to host the next IDAT can be formatted however you 
choose, but should contain, at a minimum, the information outlined 
below.  Please note, however, that we are not looking for a detailed 
business plan, breakdown of the event structure, or detailed budget. 
What we'd like to get is a flavour of the kind of event you propose, 
and indication of how many people you could support with your 
facilities, and a general sense of how the event might work.  You 
will need to have some sense of budgeting in order to estimate the 
likely cost to delegates.  This is an important factor, and it should 
be noted that at the 1999 conference only 30% of the overall budget 
was covered directly be delegate fees.

Please include:
… Proposed dates
… Name of venue(s), and secondary venues, if appropriate.
… Name of host, or primary host with partner venues/hosts
… Primary organiser(s).  Do you intend to run the conference with 
existing staff, or hire an external conference organiser?
… Local/regional involvement of co-sponsors or partners
… Details of venue(s), including performance spaces, workshop spaces, 
labs, lecture theatres, etc.
… Proposed outline of the event (this does not need to be highly 
detailed, but we'd like to have a sense of how the event might be 
shaped).  Do you, for example, envision commissioning any work 
specifically for the event?  Please explain the outline of the event 
in relation to the physical layout of the venue(s).  Is there, for 
example, a common social space for coffee/tea? 
… Rationale for the event, and why you would like to host it
… Funding sources, and a very rough budget.  We at least need to have 
a sense of the size and scope of your budget.
… Cost to delegates (estimated).  This must include approximate cost 
of accommodation and food - or at least in idea of the range of 
prices if you are relying on local hotels/motels.  Will meals be 
available on campus, and/or included in the cost of registration?
… Cost to participants
… Technical support
… Other support from the host institution
… Approximate timeline, including deadlines for submissions
… Management structures.  How will the event be managed any by whom? 
How will participants be selected?  How will you involve the IDAT 
organisation in your planning?  How will you pay for the management 
of the conference?
… Some information about where you are, access by road, rail, air, 
etc., and some information about the host city.  If you are relying 
on off-campus housing, we need to know whether they are within 
walking distance, or whether you will provide necessary transport to 
the main site.



Where to send it
Proposals should be e-mailed to proposals@idat.org in either 
Microsoft Word or PDF format.  Please don't send it in any other 
format!  Proposals should arrive by midnight (local time) on Tuesday, 
July 31, 2001.  If you have a strong desire to make a proposal but 
absolutely can't complete it by this date, please let us know, and 
try to send an outline proposal in by the deadline.

As you put your proposal together, if you have any question they may 
also be sent to the same address.

We will aim to make a decision no later than August 20, 2001.

-- 
R i c h a r d   P o v a l l
digital artist; co-artistic director, half/angel
http://www.halfangel.org.uk;  richard@halfangel.org.uk
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