By Amy Harbison
Director of Communications, Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
Member of the Arts and Humanities Working Group
I was fortunate to have been able to talk with Sarah Kaufman, The Washington Post’s dance critic since 1996.
Ms. Kaufman has written extensively on all forms of dance (including football!). She was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize “for her refreshingly imaginative approach to dance criticism, illuminating a range of issues and topics with provocative comments and original insights.”
Born in Austin, Texas and raised in Washington, DC, she holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Maryland. She lives with her husband and three children in Takoma Park, Maryland.
Amy Harbison: Why is this an important time for funders to consider investment in contemporary dance?
Sarah Kaufman: Contemporary dance is a fragile art form; it draws a small audience relative to other performing arts, perhaps in part because it is still a relatively young art form and it is not taught in schools nor does it have many “household name” artists attached to it. In the recent economic downturn, many of its support systems have been hurt. Presenters are putting fewer dance programs on their calendars, and many of them are booking mainstream, sure-sell events instead. There is less money to commission new work, which is the lifeblood of any art form, and commissioning funds are what so many contemporary companies depend on for their survival.
But funders who choose to support contemporary dance can make an important mark in the career of an artist and in the future of this art form. Dance audiences may be relatively small, but my sense is they are also deeply loyal. Also, contemporary dance by its nature tends to attract a widely diverse audience. If funders are interested in an art form that promotes excellence, diversity, unity, discipline, self-respect and healthy living, that represents risk-taking, innovation and youthfulness, that serves to educate on a profound level about issues and experiences that are part of the universal human condition, there is no better exemplar than contemporary dance.
A.H: Many people seem to feel intimidated by modern dance. Why do you think that’s the case and what can help democratize dance so that enough people understand and embrace it?
S.K: I think educational efforts such as question-and-answer sessions before and after performances can help. Brief talks before the curtain goes up, perhaps even drawing out a few dancers to give demonstrations of what the audience can look for, are also helpful. Promoting a wide variety of performances, and especially helping (with funding, for example) to get contemporary dancers into schools to educate children about the art form–these are also tools that can help. It might help to approach dance as if it were a science, and think about how best to break down complex principles and interactions for an audience that is curious but not well-versed in those things. I think company directors or marketing directors or funders or whoever is asking this question might rephrase it as such: How do I best tell the story of this work? How do I tell the story of how it was made, what the artist was inspired by, what the composer was going for, what the rehearsal process involved? How do I tell these stories in a way to grab attention, to make a point, to keep people interested?
A.H: You said in a recent online chat that you found it so striking that all of the “name” choreographers most people know today all got significant support as they were developing and that the process of creating a body of work must involve a lot of “misses” as well as hits. And that support is needed to get the chance to create a body of work – hits AND misses! Can you say more about that?
S.K. To that I would say, modern dance relies on experimentation and research, and that needs to be funded just as it is in any industry. That is a crucial part of the art form’s development and its progress into the future, and a place where funding can play a critical role.
This is a part of a monthly series sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Working Group. Read past installments here.
“Mary Brown, Co-founder and Executive Director of Life Pieces to Masterpieces, shares how this organization’s first grant — from The Hitachi Foundation — put them on the way to positively impacting the lives of more than 150 African-American boys and young men each year.”
Posted by nick geisinger 
