(FAQ after letter)

 

Dear Dance Community, 

As we near the second anniversary of COVID-19’s arrival in NYC and the notable collective shift of more permanently reopening, Dance/NYC remains committed to serving you, our beloved dance community. While the effects of the pandemic are ongoing across the arts and cultural sector and will require continued and intentional care, we welcome the arrival of a new season where we have the opportunity to reimagine our future together. 

To commemorate this season, we are proud to kick off the Dance/NYC 2022 Symposium: Life Cycles. Livelihoods. Legacies., a three-day virtual gathering led by the Dance/NYC Programs Team, in collaboration with guest curators George Emilio Sanchez and x, as well as the Symposium Programming Committee. Comprised of 20+ sessions gathering over 130+ speakers, this year’s event is an amalgamation of reflections from dance workers and what they need to make dance with dignity while responding to the realities of a changing world. We hope you will join us tonight for the opening keynote address Art-Making and Humanity: Interrogating Attitudes on Culture, Race and Politics Across Decades, at 6:00 p.m. EST via YouTube or through the Whova platform (for ticket holders only). We are very excited to share this special time with you online. You can learn more about the programming and features of this year’s Symposium by visiting Dance.NYC/DanceSymp. 

In our previous State of the Organization Address released in the Winter of 2021, we shared our desire as an organization and collective of workers to dive deeply, engaging in a spirit of inquiry while returning to more intimate and interdependent community relationships. To honor this intention, over the past three months we’ve focused our efforts on establishing stronger internal systems, completing key grantmaking initiatives initiated in 2021, and continuing to build strong legislative relationships to better advocate for the dance sector. Some highlights include:

• With thanks to the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, launching a Staff Wellness Program to provide mental health resources and coaching to the Dance/NYC team including individual and group coaching to supplement the demands of increased social justice work and free financial coaching via TrustPlus, which allows staff to budget, manage debt, and prepare for their financial futures;
• Welcoming new staff members and promoting existing employees to expand capacity as we continue to meet the sector’s pressing needs. We invite you to learn about our team by visiting their bios on our website;
• ​Continuing to advocate for dance workers by signing on on to eight legislative letters, offering four testimonies to government bodies, and ensuring the dance sector is up to date on shifting COVID-19 mandates through the Reopening Dance in NYC toolkit; and

• With the support of a coalition of 9 philanthropic partners, distributing another round of relief support to 150 dance making organizations to support their reopening efforts, and launching a new Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund: New York State Edition in partnership with NYSCA, to deliver much needed financial support to individual dance makers and organizations across New York State. 

As we look to the rest of 2022, we have three main goals as an organization:

• First to launch a new initiative focused on economic justice for the dance sector, whose anchor activity is to hear from you;
• Second, to begin a strategic planning period in order to reflect on our work as an organization and prepare for the years ahead; and​​
• Last but certainly not least, rest. 

So what does that mean for you and the services we offer?

From today through March 19, 2022, the entire Dance/NYC team will focus our efforts on producing the 2022 Symposium. During this time, all other Dance/NYC programs, communications, and/or events will be on pause. 

Directly following the Symposium, the Dance/NYC offices will be closed from Sunday, March 20, 2022 through Sunday, March 27, 2022 for spring break. Upon our return, we will focus on internal intention setting from Monday, March 28, 2022 through Sunday, April 3, 2022. During this period, our office will be closed for public-facing programs. To help you continue to access important resources, you can find the answers to your most frequently asked questions here, including details on where you can get timely information about the field while we are away.
 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

 

We will resume our outward facing services to the field and all communications with you on Monday, April 4, 2022. Upon our return, we invite you to join us for our upcoming Field-Wide Call on Thursday, April 14 at 4:00 p.m. Over the weeks that follow, you can expect to learn more about our new initiative and ways you can share with us your needs and vision for the future. Visit Dance.NYC for upcoming event announcements and registration information.

If you have any questions about what we are up to, how we are honoring our commitments to you, or recommendations for how we can do better, please feel free to contact us. Our emails are publicly available on Dance.NYC. 

Thank you for trusting us to serve you and for all you do to ensure that dance can thrive here in NYC. See you at #DanceSymp!
 

With Much Appreciation,

The Dance/NYC Team

 

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DANCE/NYC FAQ

 

Key Dates: 

• March 17: Submit ads by 3:00 p.m. for website ads to run during the organizational break
• ​March 20–27: Dance/NYC offices closed
• ​March 28–April 3: Dance/NYC offices reopen for communications and internal activity:
  no external programs
• April 4: Resume external programs
• ​April 14: Resume Field-Wide Calls
   

Contact: 

Please expect a delay in response to any email communications, phone calls, voicemails, and/or direct messages via social media received from March 20–April 3.
 

Advocacy: 

1. Visit Dance/NYC’s Advocacy page for upcoming events, news, and updates on legislative efforts at the federal, state, and local levels.

2. Visit Dance/NYC’s resource pages including:

   1. Advocacy Resources

   2. Reopening Dance in NYC

   3. COVID-19 Resources

   4. Racial Justice Resources

   5. Sexual Harassment Resources 

   6. Land Acknowledgement Practice Resources

   7. Disability. Dance. Artistry Resources

   8. Immigrants. Dance. Arts. Resources

   9. Rehearsal Space Resources

   10. Fiscal Sponsorship Resources

3. If you would like to continue to engage in discussions dealing with advocacy and other issues of concern to NYC's cultural community, you might consider joining the Culture@3 calls which happen at 3:00 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. These calls are for leaders of nonprofit cultural institutions in NYC to connect with each other. For more information on joining the Culture@3 calls, email Lucy Sexton of New Yorkers for Culture & Arts: lucy@ny4ca.org

4. See New Yorkers for Culture & Arts for more action items

5. Sign up for Governor Hochul’s mailing list for the latest news and guidelines

6. Visit Be An #ArtsHero to learn more about arts advocacy and legislative actions

7. Join NYC Arts in Education Roundtable in advocating for the arts as essential to education for all students

8. Review Nonprofit New York’s legislative priorities for nonprofit organizations 

9. Check out Dance/USA’s Key Advocacy Issues 

 

Research:

1. Read the Coronavirus Dance Impact Informational Brief: A Dance Sector in Peril and review additional findings for independent dance workers and dance organizations, groups, and projects.

2. Read Dance/NYC’s research report Defining “Small-Budget” Dance Makers in a Changing Dance Ecology

3. Dance/NYC’s research page also hosts a library of all of the past research reports for your use
    

Dance.NYC, Advertisements, Communications, and Press: 

1. Advertisements: 

   1. If you are interested in advertising with Dance/NYC during this period, please note the following:

      1. For website ads to run during the organizational break, the submission deadline is Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 3:00 p.m.

      2. Social media ads will not be available from Monday, March 21 through Sunday, March 27, 2022

      3. E-newsletter ads will not be available from Tuesday, March 22 through Monday, March 28, 2022

      4. All ads must be submitted via our website

1. Press:

   1. If you are a member of the press, please direct your questions to Michelle Tabnick, Michelle Tabnick PR, michelle@michelletabnickpr.com, 646-765-4773

   2. Learn more about the organization by browsing our website and/or download our media kit here

 

Leadership, Training, Networking and Convening:

Listed below are the upcoming events in Dance/NYC’s Networking & Convening portfolio, and resources related to our major initiatives:

1. Dance/NYC 2022 Symposium: March 17–19, 2022 

   1. Attendees: Dance/NYC is grateful to have been in community with you for this event. Please let us know how we did and how the Symposium experience has impacted you through the post-event survey, which you will receive via email following the Symposium. 

   2. Vendors & Speakers: Thank you for being with us and for making this event meaningful for the dance field. If you have not already been paid expect follow up about payment by April 8, 2022. 

   3. Dance Community: Enjoy the opening and closing events of the Dance/NYC 2022 Symposium on Dance/NYC’s YouTube page and expect select content to be released throughout the year.  Feel free to share your takeaways from this content on social media tagging us on Instagram @Dance.NYC, on Twitter @DanceNYC and on Facebook at Dance/NYC.

2. ​Revisit Dance/NYC’s Town Hall series, now streaming on YouTube:

   1. Aesthetics and Artistry

   2. Redefining Practice

3. #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers As of August 4th, 2021, Dance/NYC’s #ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers campaign conversation series concluded. You can find an archive of all #AANW conversations [not captioned] on Dance/NYC’s Facebook Page and the growing archive of captioned conversation videos on our YouTube page. Visit Dance.NYC/ArtistsAreNecessaryWorkers/Tune-In for full conversation recap information. 

4. Disability. Dance. Artistry. Initiative Visit this page for information related to this initiative that aims to advance inclusion and access to the art form for disabled people including: research reports, resources and accessibility guides and recent fellowship recipients. 

5. Immigrants. Dance. Arts. Visit this page for information related to this initiative that aims to extend the role of dance artistry in fostering the inclusion, integration, and human rights of immigrants in NYC including: research reports, and resources.  

Grantmaking:

Included below are resources related to our major regranting programs:

1. Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund: New York State Edition

   1. The Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund: New York State Edition was announced on March 9, 2022. The application for Tier I: Individual Dance Workers will open on March 30, 2022, and the application for Tier II: Dance Making Organizations will open on April 6, 2022.

   2. For inquiries specific to the Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund: New York State Edition, please email covid19@dance.nyc.

2. ​Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund: Reopening Support: 

a. The Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund: Reopening Support for Organizations is a private application for grantees and eligible applicants of the Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund for Dance Making Organizations (2020). Eligible groups were notified of the program by direct email. The application closed on February 11, 2022.

b. Payments for eligible applicants have been processed on a rolling basis.

2. Dance Advancement Fund

a. The announcement of grantees of the third iteration of the Dance Advancement Fund was made yesterday, March 16, 2022.

b. Payments of application honorariums and grant awards are being processed and should be complete by March 18, 2022. If you believe you should have received a payment but have not received one yet, please check with your banking institution and/or fiscal sponsor, noting it may take 5-10 business days for transferred funds to become available, before emailing danceadvancementfund@dance.nyc. Payments that were not processed successfully due to inaccurate banking information will be processed upon our return.

c. For inquiries specific to the Dance Advancement Fund, please email danceadvancementfund@dance.nyc.

3. Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency Program:

a. The Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency Program application closed on October 31, 2021. Grantees were announced on December 21, 2021.

b. If you have requested feedback on your application, we are continuing to compile feedback and notes and will convey those to you by Friday, March 18.

c. If you are a grantee and have any questions about your grant report, please email artistresidency@dance.nyc, and we will accommodate your email as soon as possible upon our return on March 28.

4. Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program

a. The full application closed on March 13, 2022 and submissions are currently being reviewed. Notification of grantee selection will be made in April.

b. For inquiries specific to the Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program, please email rehearsalspacesubsidy@dance.nyc.

 

Funders and Donors:

We are so appreciative of our funders and donors and all they have enabled us to do over the past nine years.

1. Dance/NYC continues to advocate on behalf of the New York City metropolitan dance community. If you or anyone you know is interested in making a contribution to support Dance/NYC’s work and growing impact on the dance sector, please visit Dance.NYC/about/donate.

2. If you encounter any issues while attempting to donate online, please email vcapote@dance.nyc and our Development team will support you in your generosity upon our return.

3. If you wish to donate, but prefer not to submit payment processing information through our secure online form, you can:

   1. send your check to Dance/NYC 218 East 18th Street Ground Floor, New York, NY 10003, or 

   2. email vcapote@dance.nyc and our Development team will offer alternative methods of donation upon our return.

4. If you would like to inquire about stock donations, please email vcapote@dance.nyc and our team will provide you with next steps upon our return.  

5. If you have donated previously and would like to request documentation, please email vcapote@dance.nyc and we will accommodate your request as soon as possible upon our return.