Gallim Dance in a K-Swiss Commercial
March 30, 2009
Gallim dancers Andrea Miller, Francesca Romo, Jason Fordham, and Moo Kim appeared in a K-Swiss commercial made by Andreas von Scheele. It looks like they had the freedom to incorporate a lot of movement from their repertoire. Some photos from the shoot are on Gallim’s website. Plus, every month the company’s dancers are sharing some things they like at the Gallim Dance Blog.
Arts Organizations are Businesses, Too
February 21, 2009
Michael Kaiser, photo by Nancy Ellison
Two weeks ago, I wrote about Arts in Crisis, the new initiative at the Kennedy Center that offers free advice to struggling performing arts organizations. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, William Triplett spoke with Michael Kaiser, president of the Kennedy Center, about the overwhelming response to the initiative. Having saved several struggling arts organizations since the 1980s, Kaiser is considered to be the leading arts manager in the country. His recent book, The Art of the Turnaround, should be required reading for anyone managing an arts organization. In a desperate attempt to slash costs, too many managers make the mistake of cutting programming and marketing, which is “the worst thing you can do”, according to Kaiser. Cutting in these areas leads to less visibility, less funding, and more financial problems.
In addition to stressing wise budget cuts (like eliminating $30,000 spent annually on coffee for staff!), Kaiser notes the need for better training for arts managers:
“There are a substantial number of organizations that are not well run or realistically run because very little investment is made in this country in training people to run arts organizations,” says Mr. Kaiser in a voice not much louder than gently running tap water. In his dark suit, white shirt and striped tie along with his graying hair, he could pass for a board member of General Motors.
“We spend disproportionate amounts to train artists – performers, choreographers, oboe players — and we spend almost nothing to train people who would employ them. So arts organizations always operate very close to the edge,” Mr. Kaiser notes. “But add the problems of the economy and a crisis becomes absolutely clear. I’ve never seen anything on this scale.”
An arts organization should be treated like a business because it is a business, but managers (who, in the case of dance companies, tend to be former dancers) often believe that their passion for the art form is enough to qualify them for the job. Passion certainly plays a role, but arts managers need to possess the same skills as the CEO of a major corporation in order to be effective leaders. Without these skills, they aren’t prepared for the job, and poor management choices are a disservice to the organization’s artistic goals, staff, the performers, and eventually, the public.
The Art of the Turnaround
November 24, 2008
I’m currently enrolled in an arts management certificate program at NYU and just finished my first course, Managing the Arts (the prerequisite for everything else). One of the required readings was Michael Kaiser’s The Art of the Turnaround, which reveals the author’s ten guidelines for creating and maintaining healthy arts organizations. Kaiser, who is known as “the turnaround king” because he has successfully managed and saved so many organizations, presents five case studies to show how he applied his own guidelines to his experiences managing Kansas City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, the Royal Opera House, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The book is an easy, straightforward read that I recommend to anyone interested in arts management or curious about the ups and downs of these five organizations.
Kaiser’s thesis can be summed up in four words: “good art, well marketed”. Establishing a financially stable organization is more complex than that (think fundraising, leadership, press coverage, and board structure), but this phrase suggests that at the heart of every stable arts organization is high-quality programming, effective marketing, and visibility to the public. In the introduction, Kaiser states, “When one cuts artistic initiative and marketing, one cuts the very reason people supply revenue to the arts organization” (Kaiser xi). Without art – whether it’s dance, theater, visual art, film, etc. – the organization does not exist, and without effective marketing, the organization’s art has no audience.
Jo Strømgren Kompani – Ticket Discount
October 14, 2008
Jo Strømgren Kompani in The Society, photo by Knut Bry
Starting tomorrow, PS 122 presents Jo Strømgren Kompani (JSK) in The Society, a full-length work about a society of sworn coffee drinkers who discover and question the significance of a used teabag. Last June I saw Strømgren’s thrilling Sunday, Again, created for and performed by Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, but this is JSK’s first appearance in New York City. The Norway-based company produces contemporary dance and theater, and Strømgren is known for his candid, in-your-face approach to performance. His note to all audiences: Don’t panic, the performers do not even know what is being said on stage.
Tickets are $25, but thanks to Norway.org, you can receive a discount by entering one of the following codes. Use code FF15 for $15 single tickets, or code FF241 for $10 tickets when you buy two or more. Click here and follow the link to purchase online, or mention your code by phone at 212-352-3101.
Jo Strømgren Kompani’s The Society
October 15-19, Wednesday-Saturday 8:30 PM, Sunday 6:30 PM
Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, between Willett and Pitt Streets
Fall for Dance: The Long-Term Impact
September 20, 2008
Leslie Kraus from Kate Weare Company
Let me preface this post by saying that a full review of Friday evening’s performance is coming soon. But first, here are some thoughts and questions (and no real answers) about marketing dance at the Fall for Dance festival.
Since 2004, audiences have packed New York City Center for its Fall for Dance festival, which offers $10 tickets and an array of different companies sharing the stage each night. The festival is an ambitious undertaking, and of course, would not be possible without some serious financial support, much of which comes from Time Warner. As encouraging as it was to see a full house on Friday evening, I continue to wonder what long-term impact Fall for Dance has on dance performance attendance in and around Manhattan. Just because the festival is an annual success – cheap tickets and an incredible variety of talented companies over a ten-day period is pretty extraordinary – doesn’t necessarily mean that FFD attendees are going to attend performances for the other eleven months of the year, especially when tickets for most performances are more expensive.
I think FFD has two goals: to raise the public’s awareness about the variety of dance by presenting numerous companies from all over the globe, and to cultivate an enduring audience for dance – one that is interested in attending more performances after being wowed (hopefully) by the festival. Since audiences are treated to a diverse program no matter which night they attend, the former goal seems to have been accomplished. But it would be interesting to know how FFD has influenced annual dance attendance throughout NYC. City Center is smart to include audience surveys (and discount coupons for upcoming performances) in its programs, asking mainly about previous attendance at City Center and the types of performances that are most appealing to an individual (movies, dance, theater, etc). However, this survey is more focused on providing information to City Center so that it can increase its membership, which is certainly a reasonable and much-desired outcome of FFD. It would be interesting and incredibly useful to determine what percentage of FFD audience members – as a result of their experience at FFD – are attending performances at other venues in Manhattan, and how often they’re going.
It’s important to note that Fall for Dance isn’t solely marketing its own performances, nor is the festival only about the dancing on stage. The FFD lounge is open before, during, and after each performance, and offers pre- and post-performance cocktails, food, music, and dance lessons for the general public. A large table displayed brochures for a variety of companies and venues throughout Manhattan, and I was pleased to see so many people huddled around and perusing the offerings. Hopefully this information encourages audience members to attend more performances while increasing their awareness of the numerous dance offerings that exist in NYC, but choosing what to see can be tricky, especially for dance newcomers.
The wonderful thing about FFD is that no matter which night an individual attends, he or she will probably see at least one piece that they enjoy and appreciate, and at least one that just doesn’t speak to them. For $10, it’s worth it. But when someone’s paying $30 or more to see about two hours of one company on stage, he/she wants to make sure it’s their cup of tea since they’re taking a bigger risk. So, how do dance companies and venues address this issue? And what else can dance samplers like Fall for Dance do to encourage audiences to see more performances, and more frequently? Box office success and general buzz throughout the ten-day festival is one thing, but transferring that success and increasing overall long-term arts attendance is an entirely other challenge, and one that requires ongoing discussion and consideration.
