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Dance/USA offers four major program areas in service
to the field:
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The Public Communications program provides a central source of
timely and accurate information to our members and to the field.
The program encompasses a variety of Dance/USA's public activities,
including its publications and Government Affairs program.
Regular publications include the Dance/USA Journal which is published
quarterly and presents articles of importance to the arts community,
particularly the dance field. The Member Bulletin, published eleven
times a year, offers listing of opportunities, funding available,
and job positions. Other publications include the Member Toolkit that includes a directory of all Dance/USA members.
The Government Affairs program reaches broad groups of individuals
with information about the concerns and needs of the professional
dance field. Through membership in Dance/USA, organizational members
also are members of the
American Arts Alliance, a consortium of arts institutions recognized
as a principal advocacy organization for the professional arts community.
Dance/USA's Government Affairs Program serves as a liaison between
its members, the American Arts Alliance and members of Congress.
Dance/USA keeps the field abreast of current issues affecting the
arts, such as federal cultural agencies (NEA, NEH and IMLS), nonprofit
postal subsidies, corporate sponsorship, appreciated property, charitable
giving, Goals 2000: Community Arts Partnership Act, INS and immigration
laws.
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The Information Services program provides statistical information
on professional dance. Since 1983 Dance/USA has conducted annual
Data Surveys of its member companies, collecting comprehensive fiscal
and operational information on dance company activity. In 1986,
Dance/USA began producing the Personnel Compensation survey. The
Survey collects and monitors personnel compensation and benefits
trends in the field. This information is distributed to participating
companies. Aggregate analysis of data is available to the general
public.
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Dance/USA has provided professional development opportunities for
dance managers and artists since its inception. Our biennial National
Roundtables offer prime networking opportunities for professionals
to meet their peers, exchange information and share experiences.
Roundtables also offer workshops and seminars on topics which define
and influence the artform.
In addition, Dance/USA hosts more frequent Council meetings around
the country. The Managers' Council, conducted semi-annually, brings
managers of member dance companies together to address specific
trends and concerns. The Artists' Council meets annually and consists
of artistic directors, choreographers, and other individual artists
in the field. Service Organization directors and Presenters also
meet regularly.
The Dance Forum is a leadership, issue and professional continuum
for professionals in dance. The Forum includes the Dance BASIC,
a seminar for entry-level managers and administrators introducing
them to the fundamentals of dance management, the Dance ADVANCED
for experienced administrators, and issue forums, special gatherings
at which individuals participate in a focused discussion on specialized
topics.
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Over the years Dance/USA has undertaken various special projects
on topics of significance to the field. Past projects have included
a series of archives and preservation workshops, career transitions
for dancers research and programs, and a dance touring task force.
The most recent task forces have focused on dancer health, dance education and
dance audiences.
The Mission of the Dance/USA Taskforce on Dancer Health is to maintain the health and safety of professional dancers. Meeting under the auspices of Dance/USA, the Taskforce on Dancer Health is composed of dance medicine practitioners who work directly with professional dancers and/or dance companies. Participants include therapists of all types, physicians, trainers, specialists in dance movement and injury, chiropractors, nutritional experts and specialists in mental health. The very great value of meeting as a part of Dance/USA is that the Taskforce communicates directly with the managers and executive directors of North America’s dance companies – ballet, modern and ethnic. It is the opportunity to devise strategies that improve dancer health and to see some of those strategies put into practice in the professional setting.
The National Task Force on Dance Education, a major two-year task
force exploring the needs of dance education in the United States,
was launched in 1992. A final report on the dialogue, research and
recommendations of the Task Force, Widening the Circle:
Towards a New Vision of Dance Education, was published in 1994.
A companion piece to this report, the Classical Ballet Training
Study examines the conditions and needs in ballet training in
relation to the legacy and future of dance in America.
The National Task Force on Dance Audiences was launched in 1996
to address the growing concerns about audience development within
the dance field as well as the complex challenges that dance professionals
face in sustaining the future vitality of art, especially in an
era of diminishing subsidy. The Task Force accumulated a valuable
cross section of collective data and wisdom on the subject, including
identifying "best practices" and revealing case studies which might
be adapted and further developed. The final report of the National
Task Force on Dance Audiences, Invitation to the Dance: Audience
Development for the Next Century, was published in December
1997.
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Additional information is available in the following areas:
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