News
Working Toward a Comprehensive Cultural Plan (Huffington Post)
I am writing to advocate the inclusion of a comprehensive cultural plan in the New York City Charter, with thanks to the City Council for introducing this effort. In my role at Dance/NYC, I am focused exclusively on services for dance teachers and companies in the metropolitan area. Yet, I offer here that all of us in arts and culture are strongest when we are working together with all New Yorkers. For…
Testimony on a Comprehensive Cultural Plan for NYC
Submitted to the New York City Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations By Lane Harwell, Executive Director of Dance/NYC On behalf of the service entity Dance/NYC and more than 1,200+ local dance makers……
Opportunities for the Arts in Our New Mayor's One New York (Huffington Post)
It is official: we have elected new leadership for the City of New York. I write to welcome Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio and state my enthusiasm for working with the new Administration and City Council. I also call on New Yorkers who make and support the arts to act on opportunities at the core of De Blasio's vision for New York and framework for addressing inequity, One New York, Rising Together. I…
After Superstorm Sandy: NYC Dance Responds (Huffington Post)
Of the videos released so far as part of NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE -- a new visibility campaign spotlighting why dance matters to our city -- there is one I find particularly compelling: this statement from Luanne Sorrentino of Staten Island's St. George Theatre and Mrs. Rosemary's Dance Studio. Luanne's story is one of 15 families wiped out by superstorm Sandy and of the art form helping…
Hello There, Brooklyn Commune (Junior Committee Blog)
Sunday September 22nd, Hollis Bartlett and Alexander Thompson (Dance/NYC Junior Committee’s Chair and Vice-Chair) attended the fourth general meeting of the Brooklyn Commune. The Brooklyn Commune Project is a grassroots initiative organized by Culturebot and The Invisible Dog Art Center to educate, activate and unify performing artists of all disciplines to work together towards a more equitable,…
Making NYC Affordable for Artists (Huffington Post)
David Byrne of Talking Heads offers a much-debated provocation in Creative Time Reports: "the cultural part of the city -- the mind -- has been usurped by the top 1 percent." He goes on to argue that "there is no room for fresh creative types," the human capital that keeps the city vibrant. What he advocates for, and rightly, is making the city affordable for artists. I take issue with several of…
Testimony on Making New York City Affordable for Artists
Testimony to the New York City Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations By Lane Harwell, Executive Director of Dance/NYC I submit this testimony on behalf of the service entity Dance/NYC, all of……
Foundations for Arts and Performance (Huffington Post)
Monday night's New York Dance and Performance Awards (the Bessies) celebrated the gift of dance and performance to the people of our City. But as the presenters left the spotlight at the end of the evening, I was struck by the stage that was left behind, still glowing in half-light--the foundation under the feet of a dancer, the canvas for a choreographer. While experiencing a performance, New…
