Hard work. Financial discipline. Artistic vision. Dancers and choreographers need them in spades — and so do dance companies. “Persistence, persistence,” adds Brenda Way, artistic director of San Francisco’s ODC, the modern dance company she co-founded in 1971. “Did I mention persistence?” Robert Moses concurs. “You run a company to create the art on your own terms,” he says, “but sometimes you’re just pushing.” Moses founded his contemporary outfit, Robert Moses’ Kin, in 1995. Like most dance companies, his is a nonprofit. As such it is reliant on donations, grants and limited government support — and extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of the economy. “We’ve got to figure it out again every year,” he says. Artistic directors want to focus on making dances. But to generate the funds and audiences to support their ambitions, they have to become savvy networkers. “You can’t just stay in your studio,” says Way. “In order to do what I wanted to do, I had to overcome my reluctance to talk about myself. I also had to talk about money, which I found very difficult.” Companies must also create dance that’s worth fighting for. “The most important thing is the quality product that you put… Read full this story
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