Safe House: Dancing in the Ivory Tower, Part 1
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.
How Long? The Life Span of a Dance Company
What constitutes the life span for a dance company? Is it better to see a company close rather than become a shadow of what it once was? Responding to a recent Facebook inquiry, Houston-based dance writer Nancy Wozny stated, “The life span of a dance company should be as individual as the artists themselves. Not every arts organization needs to be around forever. Some pop up as a result of a particular time in an artist’s life, and the world they operate in. Times shift and things do go away. I feel we need to be more welcoming of things that end.”
Things I Learned About Artistry at the 2012 Dance Forum in NYC
Artistry doesn’t come out of thin air; it evolves by being nurtured, sweated over, re-worked, perhaps a little bloodied, and revived. Believe it or not, sometimes art needs to fail. Jennifer S.B Calienes, director of Tallahassee’s Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, one of our nations top-tier dance residency programs, says of necessary artistic failures, “Some of the best work dies … but it is critical that (dance makers) have that time and space to think, develop, edit, and hone.” These efforts are called the artistic process.
FY12: Not Just About Appropriations
Funding for the NEA has been a flagship issue for arts organizations for years. Arts advocates must be spending their waking hours working to restore funding to the NEA so that we can continue to support the work of the non-profit arts community by funding the creation, presentation, and education of quality arts programs. This is serious, right?
Would it surprise you to learn that the answer to that is actually, “Yes, but ….”?
The Hundred Flowers’ Long March East: Achievements and Challenges of U.S. Dance Tours in China
While 2009 marked the 30th anniversary of Sino-U.S. diplomacy, dance exchanges between China and the U.S. continue to be a renewable theme. For both countries, cross-cultural dialogues in the arts offer significant potential for strengthening ties between people. Although in recent years, more U.S. dance companies have appeared onstage in China, due to many circumstances, the road to China is indeed long and full of obstacles.
The Hundred Flowers’ Long March East: Achievements and Challenges of U.S. Dance Tours in China, Part 2
Besides collaborating directly with Chinese dance troupes, U.S. repertory companies may tour in China by following the Department of State’s Administrative Regulations on Commercial Performances (in effect since 1997). Main steps include seeking a Chinese presenter and obtaining a performance license.
Copyright Basics for Dance Works
The creator of a dance work does not always own the copyright. This often comes as a surprise to the dance artist who has created the dance work or piece. In some cases other persons or entities own the copyright. In dance this can come back to bite a choreographer
Mother May I … Dance? Copyright, Fair Use, and Dance
One of the rights the owner of copyright possesses is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce his or her work in copies. However, this right is subject to certain limitations found in sections of federal copyright law. This article serves as a primer for dance artists and the area of fair use.
Reconsidering the Artistic Director Model: Dance Company Looks to Past To Get to Future
Rather than employing a new, permanent artistic director to shape the company’s artistic footprint in the dance world, Morphoses is planning to reemerge this fall without a permanent artistic director.
Pico Iyer Remix: Seven Questions and Answers
Pico Iyer, travel writer and philosopher, spoke this morning at the Dance/USA Chicago conference. From the Green Room, Dance/USA’s eJournal, is re-releasing Iyer’s inspiring Q&A from earlier this summer.