This event has already occurred. Please photos and event information below. 

When: Sunday, February 28, 2016, 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Where: Gibney Dance, 280 Broadway (enter at 53 Chambers), New York, NY
 Accessibility: Gibney Dance is an accessible venue. Wheelchair ramps and elevators are available via the 280 Broadway entrance. If you require reasonable accommodations please contact Michele Kumi Baer at mbaer@dance.nyc at least two weeks prior to this event.

Photo Credit: Christopher Duggan

The Dance/NYC Junior Committee, a cohort of young leaders in the dance field, is hosting a free AfterDark Party, immediately following the Symposium!                   

Dance/NYC's 2016 Symposium will invite participants to consider connections between the art form of dance and New York City and explore urgent questions of cultural planning, affordability, equity and inclusion, public-private partnerships, and the future of technology. How can New Yorkers, by working together and across sectors, act now to advance the art form and more than 1,200+ dance makers and companies in the metropolitan area? And how can the art form contribute to the future of all New Yorkers?

As the only full-day gathering of the dance community in the metropolitan area, the Symposium aims to share information and innovation and to stimulate awareness, interest, and ongoing engagement in dance. The Symposium will make use of multiple studios for panel discussions, case studies, interactive workshops, a networking lunch, and more.

#dancesymp

Pre-Symposium Sessions Saturday, February 27

Join us for the Disability. Dance. Artistry. Pre-Symposium - Learn about strategies for increasing inclusion and access to the art form through Dance/NYC's first ever Pre-Symposium sessions happening Saturday, February 27th, 2016 at Gibney Dance's 280 Broadway location. Learn more.

2016 Sessions

(Participant Bios)

Welcome Remarks
9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. 
Conversation with Ford Foundation President Darren Walker
9:15 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. 

Recordings from Darren Walker in Conversation with Dance/NYC's Lane Harwell

New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) Diversity Initiative
10:10 a.m. to 10:55 a.m.

DCLA Acting Commissioner Edwin Torres and Deputy Commissioner & General Counsel Kristin Sakoda will review the agency’s new report based on the results of a survey distributed to hundreds of cultural organizations in 2015. The report identifies trends and highlights areas in which the cultural sector succeeds in cultivating staffs and leadership that reflect the communities they serve, and possible strategies for addressing challenges and promoting the field’s most effective efforts to cultivating the diverse cultural leaders of the future.

Recordings from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Diversity Initiative

PS DANCE!
DANCE EDUCATION FOR EVERY CHILD!
DANCE EDUCATION IN EVERY SCHOOL!
10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

This session takes as it staring point the new documentary PS Dance! as way into creating a future where dance education is available for every child and in every school. Curated by dance educator and advocate Jody Gottfried Arnhold, it brings together the voices behind PS Dance! and future educators committed to realizing universal dance education. Participants will discuss approaches to "increasing arts education and cultural activities in the schools of [each] city school district,” which is included as one mandate for cultural planning for the City of New York recently required by the New York City Council. They will also discuss developments and opportunities at the Department of Education to expand arts instruction, and recommendations from Dance/NYC’s new report, Discovering Disability, to enhance instruction for disabled students.

Screening of PS Dance! Dance Education Documentary 
10:15 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.
Discussion 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Featured Speakers:

Jody Gottfried Arnhold (moderator), Dance Educator and Advocate, Executive Producer PS Dance!
Patricia Dye, Teacher, PS Dance!
Joan Finkelstein, Dance Education Consultant, PS Dance!
Ana Fragoso, PS Dance!; Director of Dance, NYC Department of Education
Catherine Gallant, Teacher, PS Dance!
Michael Kerr, Teacher, PS Dance!
Michelle Mantione, Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program, Hunter College
Nel Shelby, Producer and Director, PS Dance!
Ani Udovicki, Teacher, PS Dance!

A Conversation with Misty Copeland and Virginia Johnson
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Recordings from A Conversation with Misty Copeland and Virginia Johnson

Creative New York
1:45 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

In June 2015, the Center for Urban Future published its second Creative New York report, which tracks trends in New York's creative sector over a ten-year period and offers recommendations for real estate affordability, government funding and support, economic and community development, and diversity and inclusivity. This session, moderated by the researcher Adam Forman, puts members of the report’s advisory board into conversation about the study’s findings and its implications for dance artists and companies. What role does dance play in New York, and how can it lead?

Featured Speakers:

Adam Forman (moderator), Senior Researcher, Center for an Urban Future
Patricia Cruz, Executive Director, Harlem Stage
Rick Luftglass, Executive Director, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
Potri Ranka Manis, Founder and Artistic Director, Kinding Sindaw Melayu Heritage
Deirdre Scott, Executive Director, Bronx Council on the Arts
Linda Shelton, Executive Director, The Joyce Theater Foundation
Sami Abu Shumays, Deputy Director, Flushing Town Hall

Dance for Public Space
3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

In May 2015, the New York City Council adopted legislation requiring a comprehensive cultural plan for the City of New York that addresses “the needs of artists and communities with respect to the creation of public art in public setting.” Moderated by Susan Chin, Executive Director of the Design Trust for Public Space, this future-focused session engages dance artists in a conversation about how public space can advance the art form and people of our city. What are the field’s needs and opportunities with respect to public space that can be supported by the plan?

This session will be followed by a performance from Brother(hood) Dance! Collective co-founded by panel guest and Dance/NYC Junior Committee member Ricarrdo Valentine. 

Featured Speakers:

Susan Chin (moderator), Executive Director, Design Trust for Public Space
Simon Dove, Executive and Artistic Director, Dancing in the Streets
Ana “Rokafella” Garcia, Co-Founder & Director of Full Circle Productions, Breakdance Pioneer
Jennifer Monson, Artistic Director, Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art, Nature, and Dance (iLand)
Peter Trojic, Dancer, Heidi Latsky Dance
Ricarrdo Valentine, Dancer and Choreographer, Dance/NYC Junior Committee

Voices on Race and Dance

These sessions bring together leading national voices on race and dance in order to explore and foster solutions. These sessions are meant to build upon one another; however, it is not mandatory to attend all.

Philanthropic Approaches to Advancing Racial Equity
11:05 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

This session will spotlight select funding initiatives underway to address racial justice and equity in dance and the larger cultural sector. What role can funding play? What more can be done? Moderated by Holly Sidford, President at Helicon Collaborative.

Featured Speakers:
Holly Sidford (moderator), President at Helicon Collaborative
Sage Crump, Program Manager – LANE, National Performance Network/Visual Arts Network
Laurie A. Cumbo, New York City Council Member - District 35
Maurine Knighton, Senior Vice President for Grantmaking, Nathan Cummings Foundation
Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, Executive Director, Queens Council on the Arts
Judilee Reed, Program Director, Thriving Cultures, Surdna Foundation
Katie Steger, Senior Program Associate, Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mellon Foundation

Recordings from Philanthropic Approaches to Advancing Racial Equity

National Voices: Embodying Equity and Inclusion at Dance/USA
1:35 p.m. to 2:35 p.m.

Dance/NYC works in alliance with Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance and shares its core values of equity and inclusion. This session will:

• Explore Dance/USA’s actions to-date in the areas of equity and inclusion – where the organization is now and what new activities are underway;
• Highlight examples of dance companies across the U.S. that are leading the way on imbedding equity and inclusion throughout their organizations;
• Offer a safe space for discussion with the session attendees.

Featured Speakers:
Amy Fitterer (moderator), Executive Director, Dance/USA
Michelle Ramos Burkhart, Attorney, Consultant; Trustee, Dance/USA
Denise Saunders Thompson, Chairperson/Executive Director, International Association of Blacks in Dance; Trustee, Dance/USA
Mina Matlon, Director of Research and Information Services, Dance/USA; Co-Founder, Plural
Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Dance Artist, Anonymous Bodies; Trustee, Dance/USA

Diversity and Inclusion in Dance Education
2:40 p.m. to 4:10 p.m.

Curated and moderated by Camille A. Brown, this session engages participants in a collective discussion around issues of diversity and inclusion in dance education. What schools and organizations are “bright spots” for inclusion? How do we begin to reimagine curriculum that is inclusive (on a national/international level or across a broader scale)? What can teachers and educators do to instigate change? Using leaders in the field as featured discussants, this conversation aims to specifically address cultural equity in dance education.

Featured Discussants: 
Camille A. Brown (moderator/curator), Founder and Artistic Director, Camille A. Brown & Dancers
Maria Bauman, Artistic Director, MBDance; Co-Organizer, ACRE (Artists Co-creating Real Equity)
Ananya Chatterjea, Artistic Director, Ananya Dance Theatre; Professor, University of Minnesota
Theresa Ruth Howard, Founder, MoBBallet.org
Joan Finkelstein, Executive Director, Harkness Foundation for Dance
Zazel-Chavah O'Garra, Artistic Director, ZCO/DANCE PROJECT

Recordings from Diversity and Inclusion in Dance Education

A Journey through Juba and Other Social Dances
4:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Rooted in the African-American vernacular, this movement workshop with Camille A. Brown celebrates the power of African-American social dance and its impact and influence on American dance forms. Using JUBA ("pattin juba") as a jumping off point, participants are taken on a social dance journey through time. From "the wing" to "the whip", attendees investigate the ways communities used movement as a way of protest, liberation, and/or healing. By learning about the past, it is Camille's hope that the spirit of expression through movement is embodied in our present day – providing the individual with a platform to celebrate their identity. All levels and all ages are welcome.

Recordings from A Journey through Junba and Other Social Dances

"Black Jones," a Performance by Brother(hood) Dance! Collective
5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Through a ritualistic process, we intend to create and dream of a safe space for black men to activate their emotional and spiritual selves that is denied in contemporary religious dogma. Black Jones is an exploration of manhood through the naked lens of two same-gender loving men.  Inspired by ShiKeith’s #Blackmendream project, this new work will investigate the humanistic and emotional connection that is viciously suffocated by the lack of societal images of black male intimacy. We question the notion of vulnerability when connecting with ones self and others. How does one detach from their fears and insecurities to live authentically under hetronormative standards? What does black male intimacy look like in different spaces globally and how are those bodies navigating, connecting, and/or resisting in a society with harshly strict perceptions?

Performers:
Orlando Zane Hunter, Jr and Ricarrdo Valentine

City Agency Partnerships 

 

This session will feature discussions between dance artists and/or companies and representatives from New York City government agencies exploring how partnerships are successfully formed and maintained and how they can be mutually beneficial and supportive. It will consist of a series of 15-minute one-on-one or small group discussions between a dance artist or company and a representative from a City agency. Each discussion will focus on the same three (3) questions and will be followed by a 15-minute Q&A. (Some sessions will include performance)

Discussion Session and Performance 
11:00 a.m. to 11:40 a.m.

Commissioner Victor Calise, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities 
Heidi Latsky, Heidi Latsky Dance

 

Discussion Session
11:50 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

Commissioner Donna Corrado, Department for the Aging
Naomi Goldberg-Haas, Dances for a Variable Population 

 

Discussion Session
1:40 p.m to 2:10 p.m.

Ana Nery Fragoso, Department of Education with 
Lakai Worrell, Purelements: An Evolution in Dance

 

Discussion Session and Performance
2:20 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.   

It's Showtime NYC! (IST) 
Ian Bassin, Former Deputy Advisor to the Mayor
Sarah Marcus, Director of Education at Mark Morris Dance Group
Aviva Davidson, Program Director, It’s Showtime NYC!
Kester “Flexx” Estephane, Dancer with It’s Showtime NYC! 

 

Discussion Session and Performance
3:10 p.m. to 3:50 p.m.

Harriet Taub, Executive Director, MFTA (Materials for the Arts) with  
Edisa Weeks, Artistic Director, DELIRIOUS Dances

 

Discussion Session and Performance
4:00 p.m. to 4:40 p.m.

Cecile Noel, Commissioner, Mayor's Office to Combat Domestic Violence with
Gina Gibney, CEO & artistic director, Gibney Dance 

Dance with Technology: Silicon Alley Meets Silicon Valley

Join Sydney Skybetter, Payal Kadakia and Robin Zander as they talk technology, one-on-one, with some of the smartest, crankiest, most brilliant and most cantankerous minds in the dance and technology industries from both Silicon Valley and Silicon Alley. Dance/NYC is partnering with Stanford-founded Design for Dance on this discussion series to share learning and catalyze innovation.

Sessions curated by Payal Kadakia, ClassPass, The Sa Dance Company
10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Featured Speakers:
Shira Dickstein, Consultant, Capacity Interactive
Theresa Ruth Howard, Founder, MoBBallet.org
Jes Nelson, Dance Outreach Lead @ Kickstarter
Mark Travis Rivera, Founder and Artistic Director, marked dance project
Diya Vij, Digital Communications Manager, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs

 

Sessions curated by Sydney Skybetter, Edwards & Skybetter | Change Agency
1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Featured Speakers:
Keira Chang, Manager at Kate Weare Company, Hacker
Catie Cuan, Dancer at the Met Opera, Cultural historian of gestural interfaces in virtual reality
Thomas DeFrantz, Professor, African and African-American Studies and Dance, Duke University
Jason Tseng, Community Engagement Specialist, Fractured Atlas
Andre Zachery, Artistic Director, Renegade Performance Group

 

Sessions Curated by Robin Zander, Design for Dance
3:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.

Featured Speakers:
Anna Botelho, Google 
Amy Cueva, Founder and Chief Experience Officer Mad*Pow
Ayelet Aldouby, Partner + Artist HR, Special Projects Curator/RU, xLab IDEAS
Wen Dombrowski, MD, Resonate Health

Consultations and Workshops
 

Legal Clinic

10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (sign up is available in-person on the day of the event)

The Legal Clinic, organized by DNYC Board Member Elissa D. Hecker offers 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, among other issues. The Legal Clinic will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; sign up is available in-person on the day of the event, from 9:00 a.m.. Registrants who wish to participate in the Legal Clinic should bring a copy of their most recent tax returns.

Smart Bar Consultations and Financial Clinic (101) 
2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

SmART bars are individual strategic consultations that follow the National Performing Arts Convention model. Drawn from the Arts and Cultural Consultants Network (ACCN), Nonprofit Finance Fund’s Advisory Services, and other partners, SmART bar tenders will respond to any range of questions—from board and fundraising issues to fresh business and marketing ideas—providing tailored recommendations and direction to further resources. Financial topics covered include better budgeting techniques, crafting your financial story, communicating with and through financial reports, balancing money with mission, effective capitalization, investment strategy, and more. Sign up available at the event.

 

Workshops

 

Government Advocacy
10:10 a.m to 11:00 a.m. 

As arts institutions increasingly interface with government agencies and officials regarding funding, contracts and policies, our organizations have been forced to think creatively about how we can increase our visibility and effectiveness in leveraging resources and reforms through a comprehensive government relations and advocacy strategy. In this seminar, participants will learn the players, roles and responsibilities of city and state government entities; how the budget process works; what makes an effective advocacy strategy and smart tactics to engage government officials.

Featured Speaker:
Jose Davila, Vice President for Policy and Government Relations for the Hispanic Federation.


Building New and Non-Traditional Dance Audiences: A Discussion and Workshop with the CUNY Dance Initiative
11:10 p.m. to 12:10 p.m.

Learn how the CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) is developing new dance audiences while offering NYC dance companies free space to rehearse and perform. By placing resident artists on CUNY campuses in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs, CDI aims to help choreographers and dancers experience the impact of their work on less “traditional” dance-going audiences. 

Join us in a discussion on how to find non-traditional audiences and get them to attend your programs. Hear from the CDI Manager and CUNY venue directors about their efforts to connect dance artists with CUNY communities, and dive into an interactive, hands-on training with social media manager Jamie Benson, who will share how CDI's online strategies can help you harness the power of social media to build an avid following.


Learn About ArtsPool 
12:20 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.  

ArtsPool was incubated by A.R.T./New York and launched as an independent company in December 2014. ArtsPool's members are nonprofit arts organizations that share a team of administrators and a technology platform that handles finance, workforce administration, and compliance. ArtsPool's goal is to save time, control costs, and elevate output in these core administrative areas to help arts organizations stabilize and strengthen their operations, allowing them to focus more time and resources on their artistic, programmatic, and strategic work. Members of ArtsPool's team will be on hand to explain ArtsPool's core functions, to share information about membership, and to respond to your questions.

Featured Speakers:
David Sheingold, ArtsPool
Max Dana, ArtsPool

Independent Contractors 
1:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

Employment lawyer Steve Hurd will discuss the distinctions between employees and independent contractors and the importance of classifying and compensating them appropriately to avoid Department of Labor scrutiny and costly lawsuits. This workshop will clarify these laws for both administrators and artists alike.

Featured Speaker:
Steve D. Hurd, Partner, Proskauer


Planned Giving 101
2:40 p.m. to 3:40 p.m. 

Financial Advisors Melinda Cloobeck and Christian Templeman share how Planned giving can help create long-term sustainability for dance organizations. This session will aim to demystify planned giving and give attendees easy to implement ideas to get their planned giving program up and running.  Perfect for non-profit staff and Board members who want to plant the seeds for long-term impact. 

Featured Speakers:
Melinda Cloobeck, Financial Advisor
Christian A. Templeman, Financial Advisor

 

Data Arts
3:50 p.m. to 4:50 p.m.

Data Arts (formerly the Cultural Data Project) shares it's powerful online management tool designed to strengthen arts and cultural organizations. This groundbreaking project gathers reliable, longitudinal data on the sector. DataArts emerging national standard enables participating organizations to track trends and benchmark their progress through sophisticated reporting tools, empowers researchers and advocates with information to make the case for arts and culture, and equips funders with data to plan and evaluate grantmaking activities more effectively.

---

                                                  

The Dance/NYC Junior Committee, a cohort of young leaders in the dance field, is hosting a free AfterDark Party, immediately following the Symposium!

Sponsored by Lagunitas Brewing Company and Trader Joe's, this event serves as a destination for debriefing, digesting, and unwinding after the Symposium. It is also a networking opportunity and access point for millennials in the dance field. JComm members will give brief summaries of the panels, tie in twitter conversations, and encourage continuing engagement following the Symposium.

AfterDark is located at the TERP Studio at 392 Broadway, not far from Gibney Dance. TERP Corp is a silicon alley start-up founded by choreographer Patrice M. Regnier. Their movement-based TERP System for play and problem solving will provide a dynamic and movement based backdrop for our conversations to continue.
 

---

Funders
 

Leadership support is provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Howard Gilman Foundation. The Symposium is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and from the National Endowment for the Arts.

   

---

Sponsors and Partners