April 24, 2006
Press Contacts: Deborah Rosen, Local Coordinator, 626-396-9794
Dance/USA: Ann Norris, (202) 833-1717, anorris@danceusa.org
The Los Angeles Dance Community Gets Down to Business
Dance/USA On Tour Professional Development Seminars Arrive in May
Washington, DC – Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance, in collaboration with REDCAT, Roy and Edna Disney/CALARTS Theater and the Dance Resource Center of Greater Los Angeles brings Dance/USA On Tour to Los Angeles May 20-21, 2006. Dance/USA On Tour presents a series of professional development seminars and workshops led by top-level consultants with vast experience in the dance field (please see attachment for full bio information). Hosted by the Miles Playhouse and MKM Cultural Arts Center, these seminars provide customized training opportunities for dance artists and administrators by approaching key topics of concern from fresh angles.
The seminars will be held from 9am – 6pm, Saturday, May 21, in Santa Monica at the Miles Playhouse and on Sunday, May 21, in North Hollywood at the MKM Cultural Arts Center Interested members of the LA dance community can register for Dance/USA On Tour events through the Dance/USA website (www.danceusa.org ) or by calling Deborah Rosen at the Dance Resource Center (www.drc-la.org) , 626 -396-9794.
Topics and content for Dance/USA On Tour sessions were planned in collaboration with the local community and were customized to address what the community viewed as the most pressing challenges currently facing its dance artists and administrators. By providing opportunities for professional development and networking for dance communities such as Los Angeles, Dance/USA On Tour helps to sow seeds for greater unity, build up the community’s skill base and strengthen its collective voice.
The two days of Dance/USA On Tour seminars will focus on communicating artistic vision, building diverse audiences and creative fundraising techniques. David Bury provides the concepts, knowledge and skills needed to design and implement effective fundraising programs in his seminar, “Creative Engagement: Strategies for Fundraising Success.” Using realistic approaches that demystify the process of growing audiences, Donna Walker-Kuhne examines the marketing and press strategies used to engage diverse communities and promote performances in her seminar, “Building Multicultural Audiences.” Ivan Sygoda joins the LA community for one-on-one consultations to help artists and managers gauge how panelists, funders and other decision-makers, might judge work upon viewing work samples and reading presentation materials. The aim of the experience is to analyze how effectively the work is contextualized for various interested parties.
As a special incentive, all participants present will be eligible to possibly win a drawing for performance tickets to: Festival Passes to REDCAT's New Original Works Festival, July 2006; or two tickets to Miami City Ballet – Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, July 30-August 3; or gift certificates for body treatments at The Body Clinic in Playa Vista or privately offered by movement expert, Charlotte Holtzermann (Watsu, Alexander Technique, Yoga, or T’ai Chi Chuan).
Dance/USA On Tour in Los Angeles is kindly supported by the James Irvine Foundation. The Irvine foundation has enabled Dance/USA On Tour to return to Los Angeles in the Winter of 2006, and the Spring of 2007 in order to ensure the best possible training and support for the Los Angeles dance community so that it may continue to grow and thrive. Look for more information regarding the upcoming ‘06-’07 dates on the Dance/USA website.
For more detailed information about Dance/USA On Tour seminar topics as well as speaker biographies, please refer to the attached documents. For updated information including workshop topics, speaker bios and agendas, please visit www.danceusa.org/meetings/ontour.htm. Dance/USA On Tour is generously supportedby the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.
In support of its mission to advance the art form of dance, Dance/USA is grounded in the conviction that the concerns and aspirations of dance artists and institutions can be addressed effectively through active, cooperative endeavors with its membership, the broader dance field, and with other performing arts disciplines. Since its founding in 1982, Dance/USA has evolved to become the sole national service organization representing the great variety of organizations and dance genres that exist in the field. Membership today includes almost 400 ballet, modern, ethnic, jazz and tap companies, dance service and presenting organizations, artist managers, educational institutions, business affiliates and individuals, both nationwide and international. Core programs and servicesconsist of Public Communications in the form of publications, and web, email and media communications; Advocacy on Capitol Hill in support of federal policies designed to strengthen arts organizations and individual artists, in the media to represent a unified voice for the field, and in the philanthropic community to articulate the field’s needs; Research andInformation Services in the form of statistical information on professional dance through data research and needs assessments; Professional Development workshops, training seminars and annual meetings; and Special Projects.
