Katie Wiegman’s “On Board,” partially funded by FEAST Miami and the Knight Foundation, is an interactive series of spontaneous, pop-up interactive dance performances co-created by the audience. The performances will take place on the boardwalk on Miami Beach from 5-6 p.m. on December 4th, 6th and 7th. The audience will be given verbal and written prompts to help choreograph the performance, and audience members will be asked to use their phones to become dance filmmakers.

Katie Wiegman, “On Board.”

Neil de la Flor: “On Board” depends on audience participation. Why is it important for you to include the audience in your performances?

Katie Wiegman: As a dance artist, I am passionately invested in the way an audience experiences dance. I believe that to stay engaging, relevant and meaningful for today’s audience, concert dance must reach out and touch people more than it ever has before. Each stop is designed to be activated by the audience–the dance is dependent on their presence.

ND: Spontaneous interactive public performances are important because…

KW: Audiences in traditional performance settings are diminishing. Amateur arts participants–everyday individuals creating film/dance/music/animation/etc. at home and sharing their work digitally–are multiplying with the advent of accessible tools. Anyone can create an art film; view dance on YouTube and post their own choreography; create and edit photographic masterpieces without the outdated necessity of professional status in each field. As an artist observing this shift, my responsibility is to be curious and explore how to engage an audience of potential creators themselves, in an art form that typically requires a passive spectator/ performer relationship. ND: What’s your hope for “On Board”?

KW: I want to create an engaging, spontaneous dance experience for people to experience on a personal level. “On Board” will surprise passersby and informed audiences alike. It is my vision that people will interact with each of these dance installations and have an appreciation for dance because they had a personal experience with it. They will see how dance expresses emotion, how choreography is created, metaphors in movement. They will even have the opportunity to become dance filmmakers and see their creations projected and manipulated.

“On Board” takes place on the boardwalk on Miami Beach from 5-6 p.m. on December 4th, 6th and 7th. Exact locations are yet to be determined.