A presentation system is disclosed for distributing a performance of a presentation synchronously to a plurality of client nodes on a network such as the Internet. The presentation system distributes presentation content data to a plurality of network server nodes, and during a performance of the presentation, the client nodes receiving the presentation determine a particular variation of data presentation to retrieve from the network server nodes. In particular, the retrieval of presentation data depends upon the transmission characteristics of the network such as data transmission rate. Thus, if a low transmission data rate is detected at a first client node, presentation elements of a reduced size can be retrieved. Alternatively, if a higher transmission rate is detected at a second client node, presentation elements of greater size (and corresponding enhanced quality of presentation) can be retrieved. Thus, within a single performance, client network nodes with varying available network bandwidths can be utilized for synchronously and simultaneously performing the presentation.