This country has an abundance of training schools and college dance programs – but most of the graduates of the programs are ill-equipped to speak on why dance matters.  A new generation of arts advocates needs to be developed in order to give dance students the ability to speak effectively about the arts.

No one is too young to do advocacy! In many ways, the younger the dancer, the more persuasive the advocate. A ten-year-old does not need to communicate a complex message – they just need to communicate.

Goal

Develop your dancers into an army of arts advocates.

Commitment

Introduce the tools to speak clearly on why dance matters into one training or performing site in six months.

Action Steps

• Report your commitment to Dance/USA.
• Identify a site in your community where dancers rehearse or are trained.
• Reach out to the administration/artistic director to discuss why the artists they work with should be encouraged to do arts advocacy, get that person on board.
• Plan how best to speak with those artists – a workshop? Written information? Signs on the wall of the school? An online discussion forum?
• Begin the discussion with a focus on helping the artists understand why they have to advocate for dance, and giving them tools to talk about why dance matters. What makes dance special?  Why is dance a vital part of our society? How do the arts make good community partners?  
• Execute your plan.
• Report back to Dance/USA.