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DANCE IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA:
A NEEDS ASSESSMENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
SIGNIFICANT FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS
Dance in the San Francisco Bay Area: A Needs Assessment
represents a yearlong study of the Bay Area dance community, with
specific attention to the needs of dance artists and companies.
Details of specific issues and profiles of the community are included
in the full version of the report. Three particular observations
need to be brought forward, as they provide the most helpful context
in which to interpret data on singular or narrowly focused issues.
Small- and mid-size companies are under severe economic stress.
The most significant findings reveal the current financial and environmental
challenges facing small- to mid-scale companies and artists. Their
circumstances indicate a general trend, but with no single explanation
or simple solution. Often, they regard their difficulties of being
under-institutionalized and undercapitalized as overwhelming. The
conditions under which many dance artists create and perform are
marked by an intricate cross-hatching of obstacles, claiming sacrifices
from the artists and their supporters. As the reader considers the
statistics and evidence of the community's needs elaborated in Part
3, "Topics and Issues of Concern," we hope that the specific
problems will be interpreted in light of the complete picture.
The ethnic dance communities of the Bay Area are undervalued.
Rather than a regional anomaly or fringe element, the ethnic dance
communities are an integral part of Bay Area dance. They are serious,
dedicated, professional, experienced, and extensive. And their forms
and contributions to the cultural milieu may be underestimated by
audiences, funders, and media of all kinds. The evidence demonstrates
that the holistic acceptance of the ethnic dance communities into
the Bay Area is due.
Many characteristics of the Bay Area dance community correspond
to national trends. In terms of the genres represented among
Bay Area dance--their quantity and their dynamics--the region has
some unique characteristics. But, as a final noteworthy observation,
in terms of the challenges facing the whole dance community, its
profile faithfully follows the trends observed nationwide (1). The
sense of isolation articulated by many artists, therefore, may come
not from regional boundaries but may be related to the isolation
caused from being overburdened, a situation true of organizations
across the nation. Small- to mid-size dance groups feel the hardships
of an overtaxed infrastructure and unstable incomes, in the Bay
Area and nationwide. The ladder upward--whether toward stability,
greater size, more opportunities or funding--needs secure rungs
in the Bay Area and nationwide. Touring opportunities have also
been observed to be shrinking everywhere. Nonetheless, there is
a national influx of young energy into dance communities that seems
to be a trend, especially as fueled by graduates of college dance
departments. There is a parallel trend of increasing energy and
visibility among ethnic, culturally specific, and national dance
forms, even within communities less richly endowed with these forms
than the Bay Area. The means to bring together the creative resources
and achievements of these newcomers and seasoned professionals is
a necessary goal of our future.
SYNOPSIS OF TOPICS OF CONCERN
In the course of the accretion of interview and statistical evidence,
the study identified a number of topics where new or revamped initiatives
could mitigate problems or respond to needs faced by many professional
choreographers and companies.
Infrastructure. The stress upon the artistic leaders of
small- and mid-size dance groups is significant. Economic and time
pressures conspire to limit the artistic activity and maturation
of many of these ensembles. New choreographers and small companies
bubble up regularly, showing the region's artistic energy; however,
the lack of financial and personnel support for many essential activities
in keeping dance ensembles together creates a volatile or unstable
situation for the majority of respondents. Suggestions for strengthening
infrastructures included funding for general operations, shared
and centralized information and support services, among others.
Performance Opportunities. As in other cities, the dilemma
faced by most artists in the Bay Area is getting their work seen,
but without incurring severe financial liabilities. The second most
common need listed on the survey was "access to performance
spaces." In varying degrees, this issue confronts young independents
all the way up to the largest, established companies. The most frequently
described spaces listed as needs were (1) a mid-size space of 200-400
seats, and (2) multi-functional spaces that can accommodate the
process of dance-making-research, development, and showing of works-in-progress,
rather than just performances in their final form. In what may be
a link to the need or preference for shared administrative services
and overhead, the desire for additional festival series or showcases
was also noted.
Space. Information about and access to space, whether for
teaching, rehearsals, or performances, emerged as a priority. As
San Francisco has experienced a critical space crunch in the last
three years, this priority is not surprising; however, different
regions within the Bay Area ranked their need for "information
about space" and "access to space" somewhat differently.
Recurring in the comments was the specific need for a mid-size performance
space (200-400 seats). In January 2002, real estate prices in downtown
San Francisco were reported as having returned to 1999 levels because
of the decline of the dot-com industry. Whether this development
will ease the space crunch in a measurable way has yet to be seen.
Services. The need for a service provider for the Bay Area
dance community emerged as a recurring concern. In addition to being
a central place for information on funding, space, contact lists,
calendars of events and classes, and the like, a case was made that
a hub for dance would encourage more networking and connection among
the dance community. Smaller groups and independent choreographers
endorsed structures for shared support services, so that the time,
cost, and space required for administrative and other tasks could
be more efficiently shouldered.
Funding. The Bay Area has a spectrum of municipal and foundation
support for dance, but results of the study suggest that two critical
areas in particular could be shored up. First, the paucity of support
for infrastructure puts economic and planning burdens on small-
and mid-size companies that have fewer funding options and scarce
administrative resources. Second, there seems to be an absence of
funding programs to smooth the path as smaller groups move from
entry-level support into competition in the mid-size funding pool.
A number of smaller concerns (such as unpredictability of funding,
short funding cycles, and shifts of funding priorities) emerged;
these worries seem linked to the difficulty of long-range financial
planning when grants or other income is not assured.
Print Media. Alternative and print media documentation of
all dance activity needs to be more encompassing, timely and informed.
Reviews, or other forms of print recognition of dance concerts,
were specifically identified as important to audience-building and
fund-raising.
Genre-Related Concerns. The study revealed that the size
and experience of the ethnic dance community in the Bay Area was
under-recognized, and thus undervalued. In connection with this
primary difficulty, the ethnic dance community voiced specific concerns:
eligibility problems with some grant programs, performance opportunities
for ethnic forms, the need for connection among ethnic-based dancers
and companies, and absence from traditional print media.
Teaching and Arts Education. Although teaching and arts
education were not primary focal points or concerns of this study,
the study uncovered significant ongoing involvement of the professional
dance community with teaching in many venues and with all age groups.
Teaching provided some professional and financial stability, but
at the same time often jeopardized the amount of time and energy
available for creative art-making. Additional study of the relationship
of teaching to the professional dance community is warranted.
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A significant value of this project has been in giving voice and
face to the composition and identity of the smaller, less visible
dance companies in the Bay Area. These companies emerge clearly
as an integral part of the dance landscape. The data show they are
not less important or less successful, in the context of their aesthetic
goals and leadership, though they may not approximate corporate
or media-driven models of success. This study suggests that strategies
to sustain the smaller or less "mainstream" companies
may be an essential part of the equation yielding a more secure
and sustainable health for all Bay Area dance. We hope that policy
makers who are motivated by this report to undertake particular
projects or studies will continue to make the inclusion of these
voices integral to their process.
(1) For additional data on national trends, see "Dancing with
Dollars in the Millennium: A Ten-Year Summary of Trends," co-published
by Dance/USA and Dance Magazine as a supplement to Dance Magazine,
April 2001.
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