Sunday, February 23, 2014

Dance/NYC 2014 Symposium

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When: Sunday, February 23, 2014, 9:30 a.m.-5:45 p.m.
Where: Gibney Dance, 890 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY

Dance/NYC's 2014 Symposium (Photo credit: Christopher Duggan).

A panel at Dance/NYC's 2014 Symposium. Photo credit: Christopher Duggan.

Dance/NYC's 2014 Symposium (Photo credit: Christopher Duggan).

Dance/NYC's 2014 Symposium explored the role and impact of dance in the New York City metropolitan area and dug deep into the current circumstances of funding, presenting, education, and community and civic engagement in dance. What does it mean to dance in New York, and what are the opportunities for advancing the City's 1,200+ dance makers on local stages? How can the City participate, learn, and lead in dance?

Envisioned as a meeting of stakeholders—advocates, funders, policymakers, artists, managers, scholars and audiences—the Symposium's primary goals are to stimulate awareness, interest, and ongoing engagement in NYC dance; share innovation and develop collaborative advocacy, marketing, management, and creative models and information for use by the dance community; and generate dialogue and forge dynamic partnerships among individuals and across nonprofit, government, and private sectors.

The 2014 event made use of multiple Gibney Dance studios for panel discussions, case studies, interactive workshops, one-on-one legal and management consultations, a networking lunch, and more.

FULL DAY'S SCHEDULE

2014 SESSIONS

DANCES FOR A VARIABLE POPULATION: INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP
9:30 - 11:00 AM

Dances for a Variable Population (DVP) is a multigenerational dance company featuring performers aged 24 to 83, which seeks “to bring the community into the concert hall” through inclusive, interactive performances and dance instruction. For this Symposium session, Artistic Director Naomi Goldberg Haas and a team of company members will draw from two of DVP’s signature programs, MOVEMENT SPEAKS and DANCES FOR SENIORS, and share specialized methodologies for engaging older adults in movement.

CASE STUDY: MUNICIPAL ART SOCIETY & THE FUTURE OF BROWNSVILLE
10:30 – 11:30 AM

Anne Coates, Vice President of Strategy and Community Engagement at the Municipal Art Society (MAS), presents a case study on the current and potential role of arts and culture as a catalyst for positive and sustained change in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Participants will examine dance activity in Brownsville, Hunts Point, and other City neighborhoods, and explore the challenges and opportunities associated with culturally driven community revitalization.

Lakai Worrell, Co-Executive Artistic Director, Purelements: An Evolution in Dance
Eva Nichols, Outreach Director, Mark Morris Dance Group
Arthur Aviles, Artistic Director Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre; Co-Founder of the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!)

MEET THE FUNDERS: LOCAL SUPPORT FOR NYC DANCE
10:15 - 11:30 AM

This panel of locally focused funders will address the impact of geography on charitable giving. What does it mean to support dance in New York metropolitan area? How can funders partner with, and encourage investment by, local government and the private sector? How can place-based philanthropy strengthen individual communities and the dance field as whole? How does dance fit into the larger creative ecosystem of New York City, and how can dance makers articulate a compelling case for the importance of the work that they do? (Working Copy)

Doug Bauer, Executive Director, Clark Foundation (Moderator)
Cecelia Clarke, President and CEO, Brooklyn Community Foundation
Jonathan Horowitz, Program Officer, Private Foundation Services at J.P. Morgan Private Bank
Leah Krauss, Senior Program Officer, NYC dance, Mertz Gilmore Foundation
Alton S. Murray, Strategic Partnerships Manager, Con Edison

DANCE FILMS ASSOCIATION
10:30 - 11:30 AM

A screening of selected short films from the 2013 Dance on Camera Festival.

MAKING SPACE FOR DANCE
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM

Gina Gibney outlines her vision for 280 Broadway and welcomes your feedback.

Recordings from the Making Space for Dance session

NATURALLY OCCURRING CULTURAL DISTRICTS: ADVOCACY WORKSHOP
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM

This interactive session spotlights the work of the Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts New York (NOCD-NY) Working Group, which supports and advocates on behalf of neighborhood arts, culture, and creative industry. Led by Caron Atlas and Kemi Ilesanmi, speakers will share examples of effective advocacy and coalition building, and engage attendees in a participatory exercise.

Caron Atlas, Co-Director of NOCD-NY and Director of the Arts and Democracy Project

Kemi Ilesanmi, NOCD-NY member and Executive Director of the Laundromat Project

Sheila Lewandowski, Co-Founder and Executive Director, The Chocolate Factory Theater
Anusha Venkataraman, Green Light District Director, El Puente

DYNAMIC PARTNERSHIPS: DANCE EDUCATION MODELS FOR NYC YOUTH

11:45 AM - 1:00 PM

This session brings together dance artists, educators, and policymakers to explore diverse models for youth dance education in New York City, and offer recommendations for building sustainable, inclusive education programs in schools and neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. What are distinct concerns and strategies for providing long-term, multi-year service to schools; short-term residencies or discrete lecture demonstrations and workshops; and extracurricular programs? In the case of school-based initiatives, how are educators incorporating the Department of Education’s Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Dance into curricula? What factors impact geographic equity and programmatic reach, and what are best practices for working with underserved youth?

Susan McGreevy-Nichols, Executive Director, NDEO (Moderator)

Jamel Gaines, Artistic Director and Founder, Creative Outlet Dance Theatre of Brooklyn

Aubrey Lynch, Dance Director, Harlem School of the Arts

Daniel Gwirtzman, Artistic Director of Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company

Juan Jose Escalante, Executive Director, Jose Limon Dance Foundation

Pascal Rioult, Artistic Director, RIOULT

Recordings from the Dynamic Partnerships: Dance Education Models for NYC Youth session

THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK DANCE INITIATIVE (CDI)
11:45 -12:45 PM

Jeffrey Rosenstock, AVP External Affairs and Executive Director of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Queens will inform the NYC Dance Community about the opportunity to participate in a new initiative to integrate the work of dance companies in multiple neighborhoods throughout the City. The City University of New York Dance Initiative (CDI) is a program designed to expand rehearsal and performance opportunities for NYC based dance companies. The primary goal of the initiative is to provide NYC dance companies and choreographers with accessible, locally based and fully subsidized venues for creating, rehearsing and performing that already exist on 24 CUNY campuses throughout the city. Resources may include rehearsal space, technical support, open rehearsals, workshop, and showcase or performance opportunities, along with marketing efforts to build interest and awareness of the dance companies among college

MEET THE BIDS

12:30 - 1:30 PM

A Business Improvement District (BID) is a public/private partnership formed between property owners, businesses, and public officials, with the aim of facilitating the collective maintenance, development, and promotion of a commercial district. New York City’s network of 67 BIDs is the largest nationwide, and collectively they invest more than $100 million annually in programs and services in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. Join James Mettham, Assistant Commissioner for the Neighborhood Development Division at the New York City Department of Small Business Services, and leaders from BIDs from across the City—and learn how dance artists and organizations can work with BIDS to access new opportunities and strengthen the communities that they live and work in.

Monica Blum, President, Lincoln Square BID

Tamara McCaw, Board Chair, FAB Alliance; Director of Government and Community Affairs, Brooklyn Academy of Music

Lisa Sorin, Executive Director, Westchester Square BID

Seth Taylor, Executive Director, 82nd Street Partnership

Tim Tompkins, President, Times Square Alliance

DANCE/NYC JUNIOR COMMITTEE DIVERSITY THINK TANK
1:15 - 2:30 PM

The Junior committee was created as a counterpart to Dance/NYC’s Advisory Board to advocate specifically for young professionals in dance and to serve as a liaison between Dance/NYC and its younger constituents. Come hear and participate in the messy account of their continued actions toward making diversity a priority within the committee. Guest facilitator Justin Freitas with The People's Institute for Survival & Beyond.

Hollis Bartlett, Dancer, Doug Varone and Dancers
Charles Gushue, Choreographer, Rebecca M Sproul and Imaginary Monsters; Dancer, A+S Works
Denae Hannah, Dancer/ Choreographer
Alexander Leslie Thompson, Associate Artist Program Manager, New York Live Arts
Nehemoyia Young, New York Live Arts

Recordings from the Dance/NYC Junior Committee Diversity Think Tank session

THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND & NEW AUDIENCES FOR NEW YORK

1:30 - 2:30 PM

As Dancemakers and administrators, how can we challenge our perception about how we think and speak about our work? What themes and filters can be applied? How can we bring new audiences into the theater? Victoria Bailey, the Executive Director of Theatre Development Fund, will share the research and evolution of the New Audiences for New York program. This program is a TDF initiative to make Broadway and theater more accessible to New Yorkers from across the five boroughs. How can we relate these findings to the field of dance?

MEET THE ARTS COUNCILS

1:45 - 2:45 PM

This interactive session will offer Symposium attendees the opportunity to learn more about the mission, programs, and application processes of arts councils located throughout the New York City metropolitan area. What can arts councils offer dance artists and organizations, and how can dance artists form productive and lasting relationships with their local council? What programs have the greatest relevance for dance makers, and what new or noteworthy initiatives are happening in 2014? Come ready to share your ideas and ask questions!

Dick Caples, Executive Director, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company (Moderator)
Melanie Cohn, Executive Director, Staten Island Arts
Bill LaRosa, Director, Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs
Joanne Mongelli, Deputy Director of Programs and Policy, Arts Westchester
Will Penrose, Program Manager, Artist Residencies, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Ellen Pollan, Deputy Director, Bronx Council on the Arts
Morgan Tachco, Grants Manager, Brooklyn Arts Council

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE BESSIES
2:45- 3:45 PM
An informal discussion with Lucy Sexton and members of the 2013-14 Bessie Selection Committee.

ARTS RESEARCH NOW: NYC DANCE IN CONTEXT

2:45 - 4:00 PM

This session examines new developments in New York City’s arts research landscape, including recently completed and in-process studies investigating workforce conditions, activity growth and decline, public-private partnerships, and culturally driven economic development. Where is dance thriving in New York City, and where are opportunities for growth? How do these findings impact local public policy and other sectors, such as technology, real estate, and healthcare? How can the dance field work with sister disciplines to maximize learning and drive innovation?

Pamela Epstein, Assistant Director, Community Arts Development Program, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (Moderator)
Jennifer Wright Cook, Executive Director, The Field
Anne Dunning, Principal Consultant at Arts Action Research
David Johnston, Executive Director, Exploring the Metropolis
Sarah Maxfield, Independent Artist/Curator and Consultant
Ian David Moss, Research Director, Fractured Atlas
Monica Valenzuela, Director of Development and Community Programming, Staten Island Arts

Recordings from the Arts Research Now: NYc Dance in Context session

THE ACTOR'S FUND-NAVIGATING HEALTHCARE REFORM
3:00 - 4:00 PM

This workshop, led by Renata Marinaro, Director of Eastern Region Health Services at The Actors Fund, will help you understand the Affordable Care Act and provide a clear guidance on what your options are. The workshop includes a Q&A session and time for individual consultations.

CREATIVE MONEY: THE ART OF MONEY BALANCE

3:00 - 4:00 PM

Are you ready to make a change? Learn to navigate your financial life with creativity, clarity and strength. Create opportunities instead of responding to crisis. Learn how to bring your creative and financial lives into dynamic balance. Using fun, straightforward language and artist-centric tools, Art Home Founder and Filmmaker Esther Robinson will cover topics including:

The Artists’ Core Strengths
How to re-imagine your relationship to money
Producing creative progress not creative debt
Using your creativity to create: Solvency, Stability, and Security

CANDOR, TECHNOLOGY AND THE NEAR FUTURE OF THE NYC DANCE ECOLOGY
4:00 - 5:00 PM

Led by Jennifer Edwards and Sydney Skybetter of the Edwards & Skybetter | Change Agency, this session will explore conflicting visions of the future of the dance field in New York City. Touching on such subjects as the future of audience engagement technologies, removing barriers to institutional sustainability and the long-term effects of emerging media on the performing arts, the panel will simultaneously map out the near future of the field while candidly dialoguing about our endangered dance ecology.

Anne Dunning, Principal Consultant at Arts Action Research

Jennifer Edwards, Edwards & Skybetter | Change Agency
Chad Herzog, Director or Performing Arts at Juanita College
Jaamil Kosoko, Producing Associate for Humanities and Engagement at New York Live Arts
Sydney Skybetter, Edwards & Skybetter | Change Agency

SPACES FOR NYC DANCE

4:15 - 5:30 PM

From traditional concert stages to public parks, museums, storefronts, and city streets, New York City’s dance venues are remarkably varied. As the field’s collective notion of “performance space” becomes increasingly fluid and expansive, what are the implications for local artists, presenters, and audiences? What are the distinct challenges and benefits of working at non-traditional or alternative sites? How can artists and managers establish and leverage relationships outside of the dance community in order to create new places for performance?

Linda Shelton, Executive Director, The Joyce Theater (Moderator)

Kemi Ilesanmi, Executive Director, The Laundromat Project

Tom Gold, Founder and Artistic Director, Tom Gold Dance

Anita Durst, Artistic Director, chashama

Aviva Davidson, Executive and Artistic Director, Dancing in the Streets

DANCE FILMS ASSOCIATION CREATIVE WORKSHOP
4:15 - 5:15 PM

Brighid Greene, Dance/NYC Junior Committee member and DFA Communications Associate, will lead an interactive workshop highlighting the collaborative process of dance filmmaking. By creating a movement “script”, how can dance translate from stage space to film space.

MOVENZE MOVEMENT WORKSHOP
4:15 - 5:15 PM

Inspired by contemporary dance, Movenze is a strength and conditioning movement practice that focuses on strength, coordination, agility, balance and body awareness. The goal of each class is to achieve physical and emotional wellness and harmony while exploring different muscle actions, combinations, lines and dynamic movements. This workshop will be taught by Movenze creator Ilaria Malvezzi.

CONSULTATIONS

LEGAL AND FINANCIAL CLINIC
10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

The Legal Clinic features 30-minute individual consultations with arts and entertainment attorneys who are volunteering through the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law and Intellectual Property Sections of the New York State Bar Association. Attorneys are prepared to discuss legal issues concerning entertainment, intellectual property (i.e. copyright and trademarks), licensing, corporation/incorporation, and collaboration agreements.

Jina Paik, Associate Director of the Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Advisory Services, advises nonprofits and their funders in areas of financial planning and management. Ms. Paik will answer questions in 30-minute individual consultations about finance basics, optimizing the value of your financial reports, and planning and strategy.

SMART BAR CONSULTATIONS
2:00 – 5:00 PM

SmART Bars are free, 30-minute individual strategic consultations that follow the National Performing Arts Convention model. Teaming with arts consultants from the Arts and Cultural Consultants Network (ACCN), SmART bar tenders will respond to any range of questions—from board and fundraising issues to fresh business ideas—providing tailored recommendations and direction to further resources. SmART Bar tenders’ specialties include: Board Development, Fundraising, Human Resources, Marketing, Strategic Planning, Technology, and Disaster Planning: Preparedness and Recovery, Licensing and music resourcing among others. The

SmART bars take place in Studio 8 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm; sign up is available in-person on the day of the event.

Participating consultants:

Helene Blieberg, Principal, Helene Blieberg Associates LLC
Lauren Gibbs, Partner, Sanders & Gibbs Arts LLC
Walter Grandberry, Founder and President, Pathway to The Arts
Amelia Lukas, Promotion Associate, G. Schirmer, Inc.
Honie Ann Peacock, President, HAP’nings now, Inc.
Susan Schear, President, ARTISIN, LLC
Janice Shapiro, Director of Development, National Jazz Museum in Harlem
Susan Stedman, Principal, Nonprofit and Philanthropic Management
Kate Taylor, Principal, Kate Taylor Consulting

OUR 2014 SYMPOSIUM SPONSORS

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation provides leadership support for Dance/NYC's Symposium. Dance/NYC convenings are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and also made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.