Dance and Parenthood: A Case Study
Despite the daunting landscape for independent and freelance dance
professionals, we’re seeing encouraging trends in how some dance
companies regard the family lives of their employees.
Moving On: A Close Up Look at the Closing of the Trey McIntyre Project
The announcement in January by the Trey McIntyre Project that its
performances June 25-29, 2014, at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival would be
the company’s last sent both shockwaves and shrugs through the dance
community. The shockwaves were because despite the company only being
a full-time entity since 2008 (it had begun in 2005 as a summer pickup
company); it seemed to be a model of success in a dance world that is
constantly searching for new blood.
Affordable Care Act: Important Dates (revised)
Important revised dates to put on your calendar regarding the Affordable Care Act.
Every Dancer Insured: An Affordable Care Act Primer
With the passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, and its full
implementation beginning this past month in October 2013, it has now
become possible for every member of this group to obtain health
insurance with full benefits at a reasonable cost.
One of the most significant changes in health
insurance, is the option to purchase
insurance on the individual market, as many dancers do. Read on for more on this new insurance program and the options available.
At Holiday Time Ballet Trumps Pro-Football
Since when does ballet trump NFL football? When more than 300 craft and
Nutcracker-themed vendors and artisans overtake Reliant Center for the
Houston Ballet’s long-running annual pre-Christmastime event dubbed the
Nutcracker Market. In fact, dance lovers take note, the general manager
of Reliant Center, where the Houston Texans play their NFL home games
and a rodeo rides, each year ensures that a week in November gets set
aside for the ballet’s beloved annual Nutcracker Market.
Ten Important Lessons in Asking for Charitable Gifts
Like books about how to become successful in business, how-to tomes
about fundraising for non-profits have multiplied over the past several
decades. As helpful as some of these works are about the mechanics of
establishing and maintaining a fundraising apparatus, precious little
has been written about what happens or should happen during the
face-to-face meeting between non-profit leaders/volunteers and donors,
the time when a specific gift is requested — the “High Noon” of
fundraising. Read on for ten succinct lessons on what
should and should not happen when we ask for a gift.
Is the Great Recession Over for the Arts?
The Great Recession that began in 2008 was the worst economic disaster
to hit America and the global economy since the Great Depression. While
the Great Recession is technically over as measured by economists,
millions of Americans are still out of work or have stopped searching
for work and some sectors of the economy still have not recovered.
What about the arts? Read on to see where the arts stand in the economic recovery.
Buyer Beware: Dancers and the ACA
Most dancers can easily spot a hazardous bobby pin on the studio floor. It’s also important to be aware of a few potential pitfalls when buying health insurance.
Lessons Learned: The World Trade Center Performing Arts Center Project and the Joyce Theater
On the 12th anniversary of 9/11, Dance/USA speaks
with Linda Shelton, executive director of The Joyce Theater Foundation,
about the plans for the World Trade Center performing arts center.
Originally, a two-organization complex with a purpose-built dance
theater, during over nearly a decade of planning, including budget cuts
to the project, the complex has been downsized and reshaped from the
original vision. Should the dance field be concerned about what happened
to this model project? What, if anything, can and should the dance
community be doing now as the project proceeds?
Affording Affordable Care
Many dance organizations have long been unable to afford health
insurance for dancers, even though they are the tools through which we
fulfill the missions of our companies. The Affordable Care Act and its subsidies to small businesses provide
an opportunity for dance companies to invest resources in their
employees’ health care, many for the very first time. Great! But, wait …
what options are available? What can we afford? Is my organization
required by law to provide insurance? What if my company can’t afford
insurance?? What are the deadlines???