A Collective of Four Cases Illustrating How Educational Partnerships Help Sustain Regional U.S. Nonprofit Dance Companies. Issue 2 (2nd April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Duffy, Ali
• Is Part Of: Journal of dance education. Volume 20:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 78
• Page End: 87
• Publication Date: 2020-04-02
• Subjects: Dance -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Dance -- Study and teaching -- United States -- Periodicals; 792.8071
• DOI: 10.1080/15290824.2019.1572156
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1529-0824

Abstract

ABSTRACT: As a result of decades-long dwindling arts funding sources, U.S. nonprofit dance companies struggle to emerge and be sustained. However, mutually beneficial relationships are often developed between nonprofit dance companies and educational institutions such as K–12 schools, universities, and private studios. These relationships enhance students' education through experiences with dance companies, and companies are, in turn, supported and, in some cases, sustained by these institutions. In this collective of case studies of four artistic directors of regional U.S. dance companies, I feature examples of educational partnerships acting as important support structures for the sustainability of regional nonprofit dance companies. These examples illuminate specific educational visions that some dance companies embrace and use to their advantage. The complex issues emerging for these artistic directors who negotiate a multiplicity of professional needs illustrate how dance professionals work to support nonprofit companies while also valuing and practicing dance education in differing ways.