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March 3, 2010

Kimmel Cuts Budget, Programs and Staff
by Peter Dobrin
February 17, 2010
The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts is shrinking its budget, curtailing programming, and trimming staff by about 13 percent.

Yesterday the arts center dismissed 15 staffers - including its chief artistic voice, the vice president for programming and education, as well as the vice president of marketing and communications.

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Alvin Ailey's Legacy Has Been Kept, and Expanded
by Susan Reiter
February 28, 2010
The Los Angeles Times

Judith Jamison can recall vividly the April 1989 lunch in St. Louis when Alvin Ailey designated her his artistic heir. "He said, 'I'm not doing well; you know I'm sick, and I'd like you to take over the company.' I said, 'Sure, of course, Alvin.'

"That was it. The decision to do it was instantaneous."

Jamison, 66, was speaking last month in her comfortable office on an upper floor of the company's sleek, spacious Midtown headquarters. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater recently had completed its annual five-week New York City season, during which Jamison's 20th anniversary as artistic director was honored and celebrated in various forms.

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American Ballet Theatre Scraps Fall Season to Prepare "Nutcracker"
by Erica Orden
February 17, 2010
The Wall Street Journal

American Ballet Theatre, one of the top dance companies in the U.S., will not present a fall repertory season in New York this year, citing the need for rehearsal time for its new production of "The Nutcracker," and the difficulty of fund raising in the current economic climate.

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NPAC Update
February 23, 2010

The 2008 National Performing Arts Convention took place in Denver and drew 4000 artists, administrators, educators and business people to discuss common issues for the sector and to develop recommendations for how to prioritize areas for action. From the participants recommendations and subsequent conversations, five priorities were identified: advocacy, artists, arts education, diversity, and technology. During the first half of 2009, a multi-disciplinary and geographically diverse group of taskforces met on these topics and gave recommendations for action. Out of these conversations, two common threads emerged: 1) the need for a centralized resource for collecting information and sparking conversation on each of the five topics; 2) the need for additional opportunities to convene, either electronically or in person.

In response, NPAC is currently developing a new website which will have curated content on each of the five priorities. The website is being developed by Design Brooklyn. Our intention is to bring the site live in April.

Additionally, several of the national arts service organizations are collaborating on ways to create virtual content and virtual participation opportunities in their individual national conferences this year. Stay tuned for more information on the new NPAC website as well as "Virtual NPAC." We are also in the process of integrating various social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, as we bring these two initiatives forward. You can follow us now on Twitter at NPAConvention!

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NEA Announces Ralph Remington as the New Director of Theater and Musical Theater
February 23, 2010

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced today that Ralph Remington will join the NEA as the director of theater and musical theater as of March 15, 2010.

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Southern Arts Federation to Become South Arts
February 23, 2010

Southern Arts Federation announces that they are changing their name from Southern Arts Federation to South Arts beginning in March 2010. The new name and logo reflects the changes and new directions detailed in their 2010-2016 Strategic Plan: Crafting the Future of the Arts in the South.

A summary of the plan is available online and South Arts will present a free webcast with more information on March 9 at 2:00pm ET. A recording of the webcast will be posted online at www.southarts.org if you are not able to attend the live presentation.

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Wheeldon Quits Dance Troupe He Created
February 22, 2010
by Daniel J. Wakin and Alastair Macaulay
The New York Times

Three years after forming the Morphoses company to much excitement in the dance world, the choreographer Christopher Wheeldon is walking away from the ensemble amid apparent friction with his executive director.

In an interview Sunday evening Mr. Wheeldon said there was not enough of a cadre of full-time dancers to work with.

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Rex Nettleford, Jamaican Scholar and Educator, Dies at 76
by Rob Kenner
February 17, 2010
The New York Times

Rex Nettleford, a Jamaican scholar, educator and choreographer who devoted his life to studying postcolonial Caribbean culture and in the process helped shape it, died in Washington on Feb. 2, one day before his 77th birthday.

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The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Announces 2010 Dance Advance Grant Recipients
February 25, 2010

The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, through Dance Advance, announced $920,000 in grants to 16 artists, companies, and presenting organizations for the 2010–2011 performing season. Four grants out of 16 went to first-time grantees.

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An Arts Leader's Mea Culpa
By Ian Wilhelm
February 18, 2010
The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Arts managers across the country apparently are fuming about advice offered by Michael Kaiser, president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

On the Huffington Post, Mr. Kaiser writes that he has been scolded by his peers for saying that theaters, orchestras, and other arts groups should not cut programs or marketing due to the tough economic climate.

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U.S. Cracks Down on 'Contractors' as a Tax Dodge
by Steven Greenhouse
February 18, 2010
The New York Times

Federal and state officials, many facing record budget deficits, are starting to aggressively pursue companies that try to pass off regular employees as independent contractors.

President Obama’s 2010 budget assumes that the federal crackdown will yield at least $7 billion over 10 years. More than two dozen states also have stepped up enforcement, often by enacting stricter penalties for misclassifying workers.

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More Than a Quarter of Wealthiest of Americans Say Recession Led to Donation Cuts
by Maria Di Mento
March 1, 2010
The Chronicle of Philanthropy

Twenty-eight percent of wealthy Americans say the recession has caused them to cut back on the total amount of money they give to charity, according to the annual Wealth and Values Survey, by PNC Wealth Management.

Although such donors have reduced their giving, 55 percent of the respondents said they still believe they have a responsibility to donate to the nonprofit groups, about the same percentage who indicated such a view in the last three years’ surveys.

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