Dance/USA members agreed that dancers need to be “out” as artists – everyone around should know and understand the impact of what you do, and why it enriches your life. One way to do that is through informal conversations.

Goal       

Raise awareness of the impact of the arts on individual lives through informal peer-to-peer conversations.

Commitment

A group of people (for instance, your board of directors) commit to having three of these conversations in a month (or another time frame that is achievable for your group).

Action Steps

• Report your commitment to Dance/USA
• Orient your group to the action idea
• Role play a few conversations
• Agree on the number of conversations and time frame
• Ask entire group to check in with each other halfway through the commitment period to report on their progress and at the end of the commitment period
• Modify process if necessary, repeat

The conversations should be with non-participants – people who are not already convinced of the value of the arts. These two questions can plant the seed for the conversations:

Do you remember what you watched on TV last night?
Do you remember the first performance you attended?

Typically, the respondent will have to think for a moment about the first question, but will have a deep and indelible memory of the answer to the second.

Your group can brainstorm other ways to broach the subject, and try them out. Please report to Dance/USA any particularly effective conversation starters.