It’s All in the Journey
An artist-centered sharing of culture and creativity is a practice
embraced by many choreographers; serving an essential purpose in
fortifying artistic inspiration and creative explorations, stimulating
the artistic journey from the studio to the stage.
Making a Mark: Dance and Social Justice
Increasingly, community outreach is just the tip of the iceberg for some dance companies, and artists and social justice organizations are finding mutual benefits to deeper and more prolonged partnerships. That deliberate choice of engagement, as opposed to outreach, seeks to erase some of the traditional hierarchies between dancers and community members.
Telling Your Dance Company’s Story Through Social Media
Someone should choreograph a dance about the sweeping importance of social media and the ups and downs of trying to manage a social media presence. No sooner does an arts organization begin to use “the next best thing” when something new, shinier, and sexier takes its place.    Â
From the Sun King to Twitter: Ballet Branding, Then and Now
American Ballet Theatre soloist Daniil Simkin examines individual branding and marketing: “I am branding myself. No, I am not applying a hot iron to my buttocks as cowboys do with steers. But I am doing something that, at least among some of my colleagues, is equally as controversial. I am attempting to make myself into a ballet product.”
Focus on Dance Writing, Content Creation, and Audience Engagement
Perhaps then, teaching dance-lovers the importance of entering the conversation may be a better project to undertake. Dance writing, whether it appears online or in print, begs a response from the community. With the advent of new media, dancers, choreographers, and dance enthusiasts have more opportunities than ever to share thoughts and opinions and so sustain their field.
Fall Advocacy Forecast—Partly Cloudy, Partly Sunny
It’s important at times like these to remain actively engaged with our elected officials. This might mean contacting them about the important role of government funding for the arts and arts education, the role the charitable deduction has in strengthening the arts in every community, or the value in making sure that the nonprofit arts sector is considered in any legislation benefitting employers.
Cultivating the “Ah-Ha” Moment
Many of us working in larger cities take exposure to high-caliber arts for granted. We are presented with a myriad of professional performance options on a daily basis. This is not the case, however, across the country particularly in dance where touring is getting more expensive, presenting is getting riskier, and selling tickets is more and more challenging.Â
The Managers’ Dance: Choreographing Engagement
Amid the intensity to embrace and understand the new, it is worthwhile to consider enduring dynamics that apply to an old yet evergreen story: the care and feeding of a volunteer patron base. With an eye toward continuous improvement in how we manage relationships and cultivate commitment from patrons, it is worth reviewing – and recommitting to – skills that have always made a difference in forging strong relationships with our most dedicated supporters.
Seven Questions for Pico Iyer: Dance Is a Home … and a Sanctuary
It may be running every morning, or doing yoga or tai-chi, or in fact dancing; but without this anchoring discipline and exercise, we’ll be lost in a wilderness of flashing bytes.
Program Notes: Are We Editing Out Our Dance Legacy and Missing a Means To Engage Audiences?
Why is it that, often, when I read choreographers’ biographies in performance program notes, I can’t find any information about their artistic evolution: who they studied or danced with, who was their mentor, or who inspired them to become a dance maker? I miss learning about dance artists’ choreographic development.