“Advocacy felt like daring to have fun.”
August Advocacy Update
For me, this summer for me has been an incredible opportunity to reconnect with my personal why: my community.
I’ve been privileged to attend arts conferences and anime conventions and of course dance my heart out in all of these places! There, advocacy felt different; advocacy felt like daring to have fun.
Daring to invite joy into a world that is depending on your nihilism is not a “nice-to-have,” it’s critical. In a society that feeds on our rage, choosing joy for yourself and your community is the first step to creating a new world.
With joy as your guide, you can begin to identify the barriers that exist for you and your community. And then, you can ask,
How does your community engage with these barriers
What extra labor do folks have to do because of these barriers?
These are the key questions that I grapple with as I engage with and advocate for the dance field.
When you dare to joy, you dare to win!
In solidarity,
Bertrand Evans-Taylor
Director of Government Affairs
advocacy@nulldanceusa.org
Take Action Now 📣
Action #1: Prepare Your Organization for Nonpartisan Voter Engagement
Independent Sector, Nonprofit VOTE, the League of Women Voters, and Bolder Advocacy have launched Voices in Action, a new initiative to help nonprofits engage their communities in the democratic process ahead of the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. Sign up to receive monthly nonpartisan resources, including key election deadlines, voter engagement guidance, outreach strategies, and tools to help your organization participate confidently and legally in civic life.
Action #2: Take this Survey: Impact of AI on the Performing Arts
Annie Dorsen is partnering with SMU DataArts to conduct a study of the material impacts of generative AI on artists working in theater, dance, and live music. The survey explores how AI is affecting artists’ income, employment opportunities, creative processes, administrative work, and future planning. Findings will help inform policy, advocacy, funding, and support efforts across the field.
The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete.
📰 Policy & Advocacy Updates
NEA Funding Outlook Shifts to the Senate
The Senate has introduced a bipartisan continuing resolution that would maintain current federal funding levels through December 11 while Congress continues work on the regular FY27 appropriations bills. For the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities, that would temporarily preserve their current $207 million funding levels rather than enact the nearly 35% cuts being advanced in the House. The Senate has not yet proposed its final FY27 funding level for either agency, so advocacy continues for level or increased funding and for preserving the formula that directs 40% of NEA grant funds to state and regional arts agencies—the partners responsible for bringing a significant share of federal arts funding into communities across the country.
Dance/USA Speaks Up for Fair and Predictable Federal Grants
Dance/USA joined Chorus America, the League of American Orchestras, OPERA America, and Theatre Communications Group in submitting formal comments on proposed changes to the federal rules that govern grants and other financial assistance. Alongside nearly 500,000 public comments and advocacy from nonprofit partners across the country, those concerns are now being reflected in Congress: the Senate’s bipartisan stopgap funding bill would temporarily block the proposed grant rule from taking effect through December 11. Senate appropriators have raised concerns about the rule’s potential to politicize federal grantmaking and harm smaller communities and organizations. While the provision is not yet final, this is an important reminder that public comments and coordinated advocacy can shape federal policy.
Who Benefits from the Ticket Resale Market?
A recent CBC investigation based on StubHub’s public filings found that its CEO, Eric Baker, is also a part-owner and managing director of Andro Capital, a fund that buys and resells large volumes of tickets on StubHub. An affiliated company also provides financing to other professional resellers referred through the platform. These relationships are raising concerns about transparency and whether resale platforms can function as neutral marketplaces when their leadership may also benefit from large-scale ticket brokering. For artists, presenters, and audiences, the story adds to broader questions about inflated prices, artificial scarcity, platform fees, and who ultimately captures the value created by live performance.