Dance Magazine: There's a big difference between one-size-fits-all outreach projects that exist to check a box on a grant application and work that has a lasting impact. As more dance companies incorporate engagement efforts into their seasons, they're finding that truly purposeful projects require careful consideration of the communities they serve.
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I am so glad to have stumbled upon this article because outreach projects to me are one of the coolest things to be apart of in the theatre community. I think some of the things that were mentioned in this article to make meaningful outreach projects should be taken into our practices on every cutting edge show that a lot of theatres are doing. One practice that I think should be transferred is the idea of having educational workshops alongside arts. Say a show about sexual violence is being done maybe there should be experts to do a talkback a couple of times during the run or workshops about sexual violence given in conjunction with performances like how DDT did a workshop about trafficking. This is a huge cost take on and I know that theatre’s do talkbacks but there is a difference between having a group of artists talk about their work and trained professionals take about issues. I also think the idea of using your strengths also applies to these talkbacks. At some talkbacks here, the team will bring in experts and other times a dramaturg/director will do something. However as talented as our dramaturgs/directors are, they are really good at creating art and not necessarily a trained professional when it comes to talking about sexual violence or mental illness or other challenging topics.
This article offers some useful advice. I think that, for some reason, we tend to look at nonprofit organizations under a microscope, and we express a great deal of skepticism regarding whether or not they are doing anything good. Generally, it seems like the most successful, most valuable organizations and outreach programs target very specific populations facing very specific challenges. There is a tendency to look at these narrow programs and think that they are only doing so much good. In reality, each individual who participates is likely to be permanently impacted by their involvement. The possibility to make a significant impact on a single person’s life is always worth the investment. Every year, I provide technical support for a community outreach show at a very large venue in Orlando. Our teaching artists create dances with a small group of senior citizens and a small group of teenagers with disabilities, and we put up a single performance for family and friends. Every year, our team receives the feedback that that show is the most worthwhile show this massive venue does all year. Providing specific opportunities for specific individuals is always a step forward.
I love the many and varied examples of dance programs that are being built in this article! Outreach is often vital to a non-profit company’s success. Even for-profit companies can benefit greatly from community outreach. “If you build it, they will come” does not work if you do not know who they are and what they need, and often that simple lack of research into a market area is what contributes to the downfall of many great intentions. I am very glad to see the dance industry in particular finally pushing towards more community engagement and outreach that serves the community they are in, as opposed to trying to outsource to other groups outside of that community. As well as being a great way to make what we do more accessible to a more diverse range of people, engagement and outreach also can help build future audiences, ensuring the longevity of your total mission.
I love this! It reminds me of the work we did in Theatre Management where we looked at a theatre we had very little knowledge of, and analyzed how well they represented their mission in the programs they had and the work they did. I chose Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis, and their key point is Radical Hospitality: making theatre available and accessible to all, through their in-house policies, and in the programs they choose to support. They go out and engage with their community, using theatrical practices and techniques to have a dialogue with these members. I think that this article does an excellent job at telling us why these practices are so important, how it creates more meaningful art, and how it can improve our society. I also very much appreciated that they specified that it's important to collaborate with experts in every facet of the outreach program, and to rely on the mediators who can help create a safe space for the participants to learn from one another.
This article offers up some wonderful “tips” in relation to outreach projects. While they do rely heavily on dance-specific examples (it is a dance publication, after all), these are not hard to implement tactics when working in outreach. Regular outreach programs - in any capacity - are great, but it’s time we start doing something bigger (on a smaller scale). It is seemingly the most successful outreach projects that are the most specified. Sure, you could start an organisation to help at-risk students with their math homework - and that would be fantastic - but there is at least one organisation like that in any city you’ll visit. In arts outreach, especially, I think it’s important to specialise because, sometimes, art is what makes an unbearable situation bearable and what makes an unlivable not only livable but survivable.
The examples listed here are both moving and so admirable. I would add, the outreach programs should teach kids and teenagers how they can pursue their preferred art form as a career. I was a theatre kid in a specialized art school. Not once I heard how I could become a professional technician. When It was time to go to college, I went to nursing school for two whole years, before learning I could go to college for theatre. Art and out-reach programs can help students figure out what to do with their lives. I truly believe most of the advice in this article is very much needed. Sometimes well-intentioned programs are not flexible in their ways, and do not take into account the need of the population they aimed to serve. Although sometimes they become an oasis for people who are trying to escape other realities, not being flexible and accommodating their needs can create a very conflicting space.
This article points out a huge importance of outreach projects that I think people shy away from, and it’s the idea of creating a partnership that is meaningful and geared towards the community you are working with. The companies that want to jump into outreach without really thinking through the community or target audience that they are after make a more general and less impactful relationship with the people they are trying to work with. Outreach projects should be beneficial to the whole community, and if they are done and curated properly they have the ability to have that effect. Arts outreach can truly do a lot in communities because of the way that they encourage people to speak up, speak out, and be confident in themselves. Not just speaking about dance, but arts in general, has a true power to influence and inspire, and it is important to truly utilize that energy.
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