More Legal Issues for Dance Companies

February 27, 2011

Dance/NYC held it’s Mid-Season Symposium today at 3LD Art and Technology Center in downtown New York. Four main panels were presented on fundraising, dance and diplomacy, collaborative efforts, and spaces for dance making. Underpinning all of these topics was the issue of funding.

To help audience members navigate the funding process, U.S. Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand (N.Y.) provided “A Guide to Historic Preservation, Arts & Cultural Institutions, & Tourism Funding Opportunities and Incentives.” The panels discussed a number of ideas for creative projects with quantifiable elements that meet grant requirements.

The most serious concern was this month’s decision by the House of Representative to cut funding to the arts. The National Endowment for the Arts was nearly cut all together. The dance community was encourage to urge their local representatives to prevent the Senate from going forward with these cuts. ‘Advocacy’ was a buzzword for the event.

On the panel for cultural diplomacy was a speaker from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Bureau administers projects that help dance cross international borders and provides related services, including helping dance companies to obtain visas and providing information about foreign tax laws. It was suggested that, given current priorities, a dance company might have a better chance of receiving government funding if foreign policy were an element of its project proposal.

The dance community faces a number of legislative challenges, but there was energy and optimism in the air. The event was a wonderful success.

See information about the event at Dance/NYC

Also, check out Battery Dance Company’s Cultural Diplomacy Toolkit