Dance workers are disheartened by the widespread undervaluing of dance’s role in our communities.
We are disillusioned with the insufficient support we receive from various levels of society, the lack of appropriate dance knowledge across education systems, and we are frustrated and perplexed by the limitations of current organizational structures, like the 501(c)3 model. With limited infrastructure for the arts and dance, 60% of dance workers operate from one ‘gig’ to another, facing similar challenges as other freelance workers nationwide—lacking essential benefits and protections, which is particularly challenging given the physical demands of our work and the additional jobs we take to make ends meet.
What are the Facts?
- Making art—and by extension dance—is viewed as frivolous, and artists’ societal contributions are not well understood, documented, or publicized.1
- Dance education greatly decreases with each level of education. 76% of public elementary, 44% of middle schools, and 21% of high schools provide dance education.2
- Dance educators make up only 12.5% of full-time and 7.2% of part-time certified arts teachers in NYC public schools.3
- Dance/NYC’s studies show consistent requests for training to successfully navigate business structures.
From the State of NYC Dance 2023 Report:
60% of dance workers operate as freelancers.
82% of dance workers do not have access to mental health care.
59% of dance workers do not have access to dental coverage.
37% of dance workers do not have medical coverage
37% of dance workers have not taken off a week or more in the last year.
29% of dance workers have worked five or more jobs in the last year.
44% of dance workers work without contracts some of the time.
82% of dance workers lack union protections and other provisions.
- Investing in Creativity page 9-12 ↩︎
- Arts in Schools Report 2022-2023 p. 27 ↩︎
- Arts in Schools Report 2022-2023 p. 31 ↩︎
How do we get to Valued & Protected?
By considering our relationship to larger systems, how we interact in community, and activities on a day-to-day level as well as incentivizing those in positions of power to take action.
Larger Systems
Dance is directly affected by the governing political and economic systems and their related laws, policies, tax codes, and social norms. These indicate the value of dance and set a precedent for how society interacts with and supports our industry. Here’s how you can help shift larger systems to better the New York City dance industry:
Quick Actions (5 minutes)
- Contact your New York State representatives to make arts education a part of the core curriculum for public school students.
- Contact your New York City Council representatives to ensure that all students have access to an equitable arts education.
- Sign on to this open letter to Mayor Eric Adams calling on our city to ensure that every student has access to arts education (certified arts educators only).
- Sign on to Grantmakers in the Arts’ endorsement of the Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act.
- Call or email your state representatives to support the policies outlined in Coverage For All.
- Call or email your state representatives to support the policies outlined in The New York Health Act.
Deeper Actions (30 minutes to 3 hours)
- Testify at public hearings at the city or state level in support of arts and dance education.
- Identify an upcoming hearing on the New York City Council hearing calendar and sign up.
- Use the General Testimony Guidelines from Nonprofit New York and NYCAIER’s Testimony to Support Dance and Arts Education Funding.
- Sign up as a volunteer to support Campaign for New York Health with events, education, or communications.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you understand the general advocacy environment and how it operates?
- Are there other ways you can support legislative policies that ensure universal health care, an expanded care and safety net system, and benefits for gig workers?
In Community
When we engage with others in and out of dance—through work, cultural connection or collaboration—we shape the tone of the industry and can mitigate the less-than-ideal environment in which dance operates. Here’s how you can engage in community with this in mind:
Quick Actions (5 minutes)
- Share the Healing, Bridging, Thriving NEA Summit with colleagues to get language for cross-sector benefits of the arts and dance.
- Encourage school leadership where you work or in your community to have meaningful dance programming and education.
- Consider your relationship to power/privilege before you send a request for labor.
- Practice mutual aid with other dance workers or pay forward a small action of kindness.
Deeper Actions (30 minutes to 3 hours)
- Read the research on the benefits of dance education.
- Consider bringing dance programming into your organization—arts and non-arts—as part of professional development to support embodied learning.
- Explore other business models besides nonprofit structures including worker cooperatives.
- Consider ways to support dance workers you engage to cover safety net costs, access costs, or to mitigate the risk they incur.
Questions for Reflection
- Are you creating spaces in dance that are transparent, affirming, and accessible, and that reinforce dance workers’ agency, creative/cultural genius, and effort?
- Are you aware of the limitations of the various business structures and what it means for how you can operate?
- Are you supporting culturally and vocationally relevant dance education in K-12 and higher education?
- Are you advocating for or developing better training and professional development for dance workers’ career and business navigation?
Day-to-Day
Our day-to-day actions can lead to small changes in our work environment, highlighting the value of dance and challenging the lack of protections in society. However, these changes often require us to be more mindful and deliberate in our actions.
Quick Actions (5 minutes)
- Use ‘dance worker’ to refer to all of us who keep the dance industry afloat through their labor.
- Learn about your rights to timely payment and contracts as a freelancer in NYC.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you have useful language to describe what dance means to you and its role in society?
- Are you pushing back on harmful connotations of dance within your wider community?
- Can you talk about dance work as dignified labor worthy of compensation, respect, and care?
- Have you considered the healthcare options available to you as a freelancer and arts worker?
- Do you have a healthy relationship with dance (i.e. personal and not for content, consumption, or hire)?
Positions of Power
Do you hold a position of power that influences how funding reaches the dance community or how policy is set? Review and prepare to advance the following actions for:
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