This report is the culmination of a 10-year process to understand the challenges of reintroducing American dance into the global scene and to formulate effective strategies to reverse the decline of international touring for American dance companies. Dance/USA is grateful to the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation for helping fund this research prepared by Carolelinda Dickey, co-director of the Internationale Tanzmesse NRW (Düsseldorf, Germany), and Andrea Snyder, co-director of American Dance Abroad.

This report reflects critical thinking that joins their work (and the work of others) with the needs of dance artists. It calls upon the resources of the U.S. government and the private sector. It is intended to be an inclusive and comprehensive strategy; one that can succeed only if cooperation, collaboration and clarity of roles are evident. The report’s recommendations are, first and foremost, to be sustainable and accountable with clearly articulated rationales.

• Read the Executive Summary
• Read the Full Report

The vision in this report encompasses two strategies: establish Dance America to develop and implement programs and services that support the international work of American dance companies; and create a Council of Advisors made up of providers of international programs.

• Strategy 1: Establish and Implement Dance America
• Create programs & services that research, advocate, promote, and provide technical assistance for America's dance companies, including the establishment of Dance America Abroad.
• Identify new resources to strengthen existing grantmaking programs as well as develop new grantmaking programs that support dance artists touring abroad, including direct financial support both to American artists and foreign programmers.
• Create a sustainable, positive working relationship between American dance companies and U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, including but not limited to programs originating from the Departments of State, Commerce, Defense and Homeland Security.
• Strategy 2: Create a cooperative operating structure (Council of Advisors) composed of the National Endowment for the Arts and independent program providers that will envision and coordinate present and future international dance initiatives and programs under a cooperative management team.
• The Council of Advisors is conceived as a cooperative operating structure for program providers. The model might be viewed as a cultural holding company for American arts and culture going abroad. The holding company would include programs spread across a number of organizations. While each entity works and functions independently, they all would agree to be accountable to the holding company for those programs that fall within the overall strategy. It will be necessary to coordinate existing programs, but not to radically change or appropriate them. Accountability would include coordination, communication and planning.