We talk a lot about the time you spend on stage and the time you spend in the studio. But we don’t often

talk about how much time you spend in the audience.

The arts audience is a topic of concern for any professional, or aspiring professional, dancer. Yes: first and foremost, you dance for the love of dance. But if you’re going to support your dance habit, you have to find a paying audience.

We can worry about the fact that the arts audiences seem to be aging and shrinking . We can look at the way young audiences view dancers and try to overcome the prejudices they might hold . But we should also think about our own contributions to dance: not as dancers or as dance makers or as dance teachers, but as paying audience members.

Your Last Show

When was the last time you attended a ballet? Do you buy tickets to every production at small theater near your home? Or, do you spend that money on a single expensive trip to see the same Nutcracker by the same large dance company every year?

Don’t misunderstand: there’s nothing wrong with supporting a large company. The company is big for a reason: it’s great. But if you never buy tickets at a local theater, are you really supporting the growth of performing arts?

If you perform in a small company, chances are that you dream of securing a spot in the company whose posters you once plastered on your bedroom walls. If you’re dancing with a large company, you remember those days of dreaming.

Almost any artist understands the importance of local arts scenes. But turning that knowledge into action (think monetary support–putting your butt in a seat) is a transition that artists don’t always make. Of course, you want support for your own company. So does every other dancer.

For Your Own Good

The thing about supporting a small company other than your own is that it can’t hurt you.

Work on Your Reputation

You say, I’m going to New York to see a ballet. The common reaction: Oh, that will be great! But why not get the same reaction when you say, I’m going to Smithsfieldville to see a ballet?

When you support your local dance companies, the arts in your area flourish. And as your town gains in its reputation for arts, your company can only benefit.

Take It All In

A second reason to support your local “competing” companies is that you’re studying technique, absorbing different styles, and understanding new ways of presenting dance when you attend their performances. A show doesn’t have to be groundbreaking in order for it to teach you something. Though it just might be groundbreaking (and you’ll be lucky to have been there).

Learn to Work Well With Others

Finally, as you support the work of dancers in your area, you learn how to practice one of the most important–but most difficult–elements of dance: collaboration.

The dance world is fiercely competitive. But the art of dance is intrinsically cooperative. It requires interaction, cooperation, sharing, exchange, diversity, challenge, invention, experimentation, and revision: these necessary elements don’t exist in a vacuum. They’re elements that some dancers only learn to practice after years of maturing under various masters.

Do It All

Yes: large dance companies need help and support. And anyone with the means to offer support is enhancing the world with creations we can’t yet imagine. But we need to train the dancers and choreographers for those companies, and we need to do this at home, in our own towns. You want others to support you. Help support others…especially during this season, when you’ll have plenty of outstanding opportunities to see great shows right at home.

 

Image Sources:

• by Micah Taylor on Flickr
• by Lower Columbia College on Flickr