This week, we turn the tables. (No, not wicki-wicki.) gendance was put under the bright white light in the hot seat by loyal readers. Listen in to what happened during our private interview session (followed by an after-party of course). Learn why we publish, what our future means for you, and what we do in our spare time below. If you like this interview, send it to your friends. Spread the word of what happens when you’re inspired and you act. Thanks for reading gendance. This one’s for you.

Who came up with gendance?
Elizabeth Barry created the concept and name five years ago. The clouds parted, a light shone down and the universe said: “Build it and it will come.”

And then what?
EB gathered her creative team in the back room of an Italian restaurant. (Picture a Sopranos location.) After pinkie swearing to secrecy, she unveiled 5 lbs worth of folders with months of ideas and said, “Ok... this is gendance, let’s make it work.”  Whiteboarding sessions went into the wee hours and weeks. We wanted to make a product that towered over everything the industry had seen. The words quality, refreshing, fun and cutting-edge come to mind. We pressed send of our first email magazine on November 6, 2008.

So, you’re the very first emag for performing arts?
The first modern email mag, yes. We’re an ORIGINAL. We’re smart phone ready and next gen worthy. And most of all, we tell the stories of the people who give a pulse to the industry.

Kinda like ‘People magazine’ for performing arts, eh?
Kinda-without the gossip. We’re more motivational. With 91 issues published so far, we continue to inspire even ourselves everyday by reading the individual stories we cover.

Why is it about “the people”?
Elizabeth worked for the print dance magazines a while back. She noticed that most of her colleagues, choreographers and friends found it frustrating to get their stories covered. So, she changed the rules and created her own product to give rise to the next generation-her way.

How did you land Lois Greenfield?
We immediately invested in her work as our signature branded characters. Lois is our VIP GFF.

What the heck is a GFF?
It’s the gendance version of a BFF. ;)

And what’s a GFF golf clap? I see that written all the time.
A GFF golf clap is our way of congratulating people. Everyone loves a good golf clap.

Ahhh. We get it now. So what’s your biggest thrill of this weekly fix?
The readers. They write in inspired all the time. Oh, and the people we cover usually say, “I’ve never seen myself in that light before, thank you!”. Then each page gets sent in the thousands to individual lists and Facebook pages and so on. We have a lot to live up to every week, but we’ve recently switched from water to Red Bull, so it’s all good.

Do you have a favorite issue?
Course! Our faves include gendance’s first birthday and Halloween issue, gendance thinks you’re cute (Valentine’s issue), Holly gendance Christmas. Actually, we love every Thursday issue. That’s why we call it gendance Thursday.

So is gendance Thursday like a national holiday at your office?
Yes! We greet each other that morning with “Happy gendance Thursday” or “Happy gd day”. No joke.

Who are your readers?
Industry professionals, pop culture fans (and their ‘rents) and smart next gen tastemakers... 22,000 of them and growing across the globe. We have lots of Celebrity Ambassadors helping spread the gendance love by handing out COOL CARDS.

What’s a COOL Card?
Ask Drew from Celebrity, GEO Hubela, Gregg Russell, Nick Gonzalez or Courtney Galiano. They’ll tell you.

We’ll do that. So, you must have a ton of people working for you?
Hmm, we can’t give away that answer, but everything happens with a few major players who are passionate about the project’s mission. We have smart interns too.

Do you have fancy offices?
Yep. We work in an air-conditioned mansion with oompa loompas, chocolate lakes and host an open bar after the issue’s published on Thursdays.

Really?
No, everything happens at Elizabeth Barry & Associates. They’re the masterminds behind it all. It’s a boutique, next-gen marketing and PR firm.

What’s your next move in 2010?
We’re gearing up for a national search for the gendance “dance” starting next week. Video submissions will be requested in our Watch section. And there’s a HUGE surprise for our 100th issue, September 30th. Get your party hats ready.

What do you do in your spare time?
We throw a ball of yarn around with Toonces the office cat and we sit around drinking Perrier while getting grapes fed to us. Oh, and there’s the personal masseuses, too.

Nice. Gotta love a good massage. What’s your secret to publishing gendance?
In two years we can honestly say that we’re more technically advanced, graphically pleasing and socially acceptable than the larger media players. Our secret is believing we can do it... and not being afraid to break rules or boundaries.

What’s been your proudest moment?
There have been so many. (We cry all the time in excitement over here.) We built a 147 sq. ft foot banner filled with hundreds of photos for a show last year. That was awesome. Honestly, every week, we’re proud of what we do for the next generation.

What’s gonna make you famous?
Our advertising model called “The adverstorial.” (Psst. it’s also the way we get funded, so tell your rich friends that have products to sell to call us.)

Well, there you have it. Straight from the gendance vault. The real deal behind who, what, why, when, how and the Red Bull behind it. Next week, it’s back to reality with more celebrity madness.