• Join Your Colleagues in the Field at the Dance Forum during the APAP Conference
• Government Affairs Update

Join Your Colleagues in the Field at the Dance Forum during the APAP Conference

Friday, January 8, 2010
9:00 AM–noon
Hilton Hotel (6th Ave between 53-54 Streets)

Preceding the Arts Presenters conference, we hope you’ll take the morning to gather as dance colleagues for some much needed discussion about our field. This year’s Dance Forum will explore bold new ideas and strategies that address current issues and opportunities for the next decade of dance. The session will begin with a brief "tour" of projects and initiatives focused on artist residencies, dance presentation and touring, audience engagement, presenter mentoring, and technology developments.

At the current moment, you’ll hear from:
Jane Forde, representing NEFA’s National Dance Project
Suzanne Callahan, representing Dance/USA’s Engaging Dance Audiences Project
Rosemary Johnson and Ivan Sygoda, representing Southern Arts Federation’s Dance Touring Initiative
Pam Young and Randy Swartz, representing the "Building a Network of New Dance Presenters" Consortia
Chris Elam, representing the Audience Engagement Platform Innovation Project
David Sheingold, representing Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography’s Artist Residency Program
Marc Kirschner, TenduTV's "Dance Anywhere" Initiative

Additional presenters may be added. Hope to see you there!

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Government Affairs Update
Dance/USA Statement on Health Insurance Reform
Dance/USA supports health insurance reform that ensures the existence of accessible and affordable insurance for all individuals, including those self-employed and in non-employer groups, and organizations involved in the creation and presentation of dance in the United States. In addition, Dance/USA supports health care legislation that includes measures that provide incentives to nonprofit employers that are equivalent to those provided to for-profit employers.

Many individuals in the dance field are young and often self-employed. Many dance organizations operate on small budgets and may be unable to offer health insurance benefits to employees. According to research conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts (2003-2005 American Community Survey):

• Professional dancers and choreographers are the youngest group of artists with a median age of 26 and 80.8% under the age of 35.
• Only 25% of professional dancers and choreographers work full-time year-round; 22% are self-employed.
• In 2005, the median income was $20,000 for professional dancers and choreographers.

And, according to data collected by RAND Compare and the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Compensation Survey in 2007:

• Households with income of less than $25,000 (in 2007 dollars) are nearly three times as likely to be uninsured as are households with incomes of $75,000 or more.
• By age, the majority of the uninsured are under the age of 35.
• 24% of part-time private-industry workers have access to medical health care benefits.

In addition, according to studies done by Dance/USA between 2001 and 2006, a majority of dance artists hold an average of four part-time jobs, most of which do not carry health insurance. Some of the most common examples of part-time work include serving as a choreographer, performer, dance instructor, part-time dance administrator (often at different organizations) and/or part-time work outside the dance field.

Dance/USA has sought to share information on the health insurance reform proposals with our membership, and we encourage our members to take action in accordance with their own personal beliefs and values.

Federal Appropriations for FY10

• The National Endowment for the Arts received a $12.5 million increase for FY10. This brings the agency’s total budget to $167.5 million.
• Arts in Education Programs at the Department of Education received a $2 million increase for FY10. This brings the AIE funding to $40 million.
• Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs received $635 million for FY10, an increase of $97 million. Arts advocates anticipate cultural programs to receive only $8 - $10 million out of the total $635 million for FY10. In FY09, the Cultural Program Division received only $9.1 million out of $538 million.
• Corporation for National and Community Service received $1.149 billion, an increase of $260 million over FY09 levels. The $1.149 billion includes:

$50 million for the new Social Innovation Fund
$4 million for the new Volunteer Generation Fund
$1 million for the new Nonprofit Capacity Building Program
$2 million for the Summer of Service

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