Encouraged by Dance/USA's Board Chair, Dance/USA has created a pocket-size advocacy resource on dance.  The bi-fold card is the size of a traditional business card and can be referenced on short-notice for quick advocacy facts.



Here are some additional facts to reference when designing your own Pocket Advocacy!

• Surveys have shown that more people attend arts and culture events in the US than professional sporting events. Source:  Performing Arts Research Coalition 2002


• A strong arts and culture sector and a creative workforce attract and keep businesses in a community.


• Clinical reports suggest that dance therapy helps in developing body image; improving self-concept and self-esteem; reducing stress, anxiety, and depression; decreasing isolation, chronic pain, and body tension; and increasing communication skills and feelings of well being. Source:  American Cancer Society, Dance Therapy, http://www.cancer.org/docroot/mit/content/mit_2_3x_dance_therapy.asp


• According to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, a four-day square dance convention raised $6.5 million in revenue for the city.  Source:  The Journal Record of Oklahoma City, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_20030630/ai_n10158569/


• A 2008 study by the Dana Foundation noted that "learning by observing and physical learning lead to the same action resonance and prediction. This strong link between learning by doing and by observing suggests that early exposure to dance might enhance this link, through consistencies between the training methods."   Source:  Dana Foundation, http://www.dana.org/news/publications/detail.aspx?id=10744#Top


• New York City high schools with the highest graduation rates also offered students the most access to arts education. Source:  The Center for Arts Education, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/arts/19arts-ARTSEDUCATIO_BRF.html 


• The arts cut across learning styles and language barriers and engage students who might otherwise be uninterested in school and on a path to dropping out. Source:  The Center for Arts Education, http://caenyc.org/arts-education-report/conclusion


• A vigorous rumba burns up the same number of calories and requires the same exertion as a bicycle competition or a footrace over a similar period of time. Source:  University of Freiburg in Germany, study published in the November 3, 1997 issues of Forbes Magazine, http://www.essortment.com/all/dancesportolym_rgjl.htm


• 15.8 million people, or 5% of the population, attended a dance performance in the United States in 2008.  Source:  National Endowment for the Arts, 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts


• The majority of dance audiences attend performances by companies smaller than $500,000.  Source:  National Endowment for the Arts, 2008 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts

Sources for advocacy facts include:
Americans for the Arts, Dana Foundation, Dance/USA, The Wallace Foundation, Performing Arts Research Coalition, Pew Charitable Trusts, Doris Duke Foundation, The Rand Corporation, National Endowment for the Arts