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.

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The reality is that great pioneers can’t do it alone. George Balanchine had Lincoln Kirstein working in the background. All of these great pioneers, all of these great visionaries, always had someone behind them building the organization while they were out challenging the conventional wisdom.

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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.

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It’s been said that the university ranks as one of the chief supporters of the arts in the United States. With the migration of more and more working choreographers into university environments, it’s clear that artists are able to continue to create both inside and outside of these institutions. While the halls of academia offer some distinct advantages, most particularly to oft-itinerant and nearly always-struggling dance artists, other challenges and demands can sap their time and energy in their new environment.

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It’s been said that the university ranks as one of the chief supporters of the arts in the United States. With the migration of more and more working choreographers into university environments, it’s clear that artists are able to continue to create both inside and outside of these institutions. While the halls of academia offer some distinct advantages, most particularly to oft-itinerant and nearly always-struggling dance artists, other challenges and demands can sap their time and energy in their new environment.

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If you wish to conduct legislative visits in Washington, D.C., outside of Arts Advocacy Day, Dance/USA’s Government Affairs Department will schedule your meetings, prepare you with talking points and leave-behind materials, and accompany you during the meetings.

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It has often been remarked that “Europe breeds artistry,” and that, to a certain extent, European dancers have an edge compared to their American counterparts. In defense of the American dancers, it is noted that they possess grit, tenacity, and a hunger that exceeds that of some of their European equivalents, yet the elusive artistic core lags or appears untapped in our culture. Certainly the environment of Europe provides a cultural banquet to nourish artistic growth, but does the European approach to training dancers incorporate more diversity, which in turn can contribute to greater creative growth? If so, can American dance schools fashion strategies based on this assumption?

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 It’s easy to lose sight of the big picture when we stay so busy putting out fires and keeping a dozen balls in the air at once. But as dancers, arts managers, and company directors, we shouldn’t discount the importance of forging and solidifying relationships with our government officials on the local, state, and national levels.

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It’s important to remember that arts advocates are not only lobbying for increased appropriations for the National Endowment for the Arts. We’re also working on policies for tax, technology, education, and international exchange.

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I believe dancers are losing pace with their historic and artistic companions. The musicians’ protests last week against Paul Taylor Dance Company highlight the economic challenges facing today’s performing artists in New York City. Larger questions about wages, work, union representation, and economic resources for all of these artists must be answered — but especially for the dancers.

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