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Like all living organisms, a dance entity requires support and sustenance from its environment.
Much of this support comes through the development of healthy relationships between the entity and the many different publics that affect or are affected by the dance entity — other artists, the audience, the Board, funders, and the public. Nurturing relationships with these diverse publics requires a lot of work and attention. The benefits, however, are enormous.
In particular, areas of operation that are critical to the survival of a dance entity require constant networking and relationship building. It is impossible to achieve successful collaborations to share resources without first establishing good working relationships among the partners. Raising contributed income depends on developing mutual understanding of each other's needs and goals, which can only be learned through ongoing dialogue with donors and funders. Developing a core audience requires the building of trust and appreciation between the artist and the audience through a reciprocal communication process.
This process becomes a balancing act in terms of how much time to devote to it and the benefits returning to the dance entity.
Article originally contributed by Jane Marsland
RESOURCES:
McDaniel, Nello & Thorn, George. Defining a New Arts Era. ARTS Action Issues and the Alliance of Resident Theatres: New York, 1997.
Theobald, Robert. Reworking Success: New Communities at the Millennium. New Society Publishers: Gabriola Island, British Columbia, 1997.
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