Written Statement of

Andrea Snyder
Executive Director
Dance/USA

Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives

The Importance of Funding for the
National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
March 16, 2006

Introduction
Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee, Dance/USA is grateful for this opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of our members. We urge the Committee to designate a total of $170 million to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This testimony is intended to highlight the importance of the federal investment in the arts to sustaining a vibrant cultural community.

Dance/USA, the national service organization for not- for-profit professional dance, seeks to advance the art form by addressing the needs, concerns and interests of professional dance. To fulfill its mission, Dance/USA offers a variety of programs for the membership and national dance community, including data research and regiona l professional development, and it works with organizations within and outside the arts field with whom common goals are shared. Dance/USA’s membership currently consists of over 400 ballet, modern, ethnic, jazz, culturally specific, traditional and tap companies, dance service and presenting organizations, artist managers, individuals, and other organizations nationally and internationally. Dance/USA’s member companies range in size from operating budgets of under $50,000 to over $30 million.

The NEA makes it possible for everyone to enjoy and benefit from the performing arts.
Before the establishment of the NEA in 1965, the arts were limited mostly to a few big cities. The Arts Endowment has helped create regional theater, opera, ballet and other art organizations that Americans now enjoy. NEA funding provides access to the arts in regions with a history of inaccessibility due to economic or geographical limitations. The endowment embodies the ideal that no one should be deprived of the opportunity to have art in their lives.

Despite diminished resources, the NEA awards more than 1,000 grants annually, to nonprofit arts organizations for projects that encourage artistic creativity. These grants help nurture the growth and artistic excellence of thousands of arts organizations and artists in every corner of the country. The Arts Endowment has helped the arts become accessible to more Americans, which in turn has increased public participation in the arts. NEA grants also preserve and enhance our nation's diverse cultural heritage, and make the performing arts available to millions of Americans. The modest public investment in the nation's cultural life results in both new and classic works of art reaching all fifty states.

NEA grants are instrumental in leveraging private funding. On average, each NEA grant generates at least seven dollars from other sources. Government cultural funding plays a leadership role that is essential in generating private support for the arts.

Americans want art in their lives and their communities.
The Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC)* survey released in June 2004 revealed that performing arts audiences are large and diverse and comparable in size to audiences for movies and sports. Of 800 respondents, over 67% report attending at least one performing arts event in the past 12 months, and 16% of respondents have been to 12 or more performances in the past year. Performing arts attendees place a very high value on the role of the arts in their lives not only because it offers enjoyment but also because it increases their understanding of themselves and other cultures, stimulates critical thinking and provides a connection to their communities.

Performing arts attendees strongly believe that the arts improve not only their own lives but also the lives of the entire community. They believe that the performing arts improve the quality of
life and are a source of community pride, promote understanding of other people and different ways of life, help preserve and share cultural heritage, provide opportunities to socialize and contribute to lifelong learning in adults. More than three-quarters of respondents in the PARC report agree that the performing arts stimulate critical thinking, and over 70% of respondents believe that the performing arts increase cultural understanding. And, above all they believe that the performing arts contribute to the education and development of children.

The NEA is a great investment in the economic growth of every community.
The return of the federal government’s small investment in the arts is striking. The non-profit arts generate approximately $134 billion annually in economic activity, support 4.85 million jobs and return $10.5 billion in federal income taxes. Few other federal investments realize such economic benefits, not to mention the intangible benefits that only the arts make possible. Even in the face of tremendous cutbacks in recent years, the NEA continues to be a beacon for the arts organizations across the country. The NEA also acts as an important catalyst to generate additional private funding for the arts.

Educational Benefits
NEA funding also makes it possible for many non-profit arts organizations around the country to provide educational programs to people of all age groups from diverse economic, geographic and ethnic backgrounds. Studies show that students who participate in arts programs learn how to think critically and to solve complex problems, skills that will be essential to success in an emerging global economy. Over 90% of PARC survey respondents agree that the performing arts contribute to the education and development of children.

NEA Grants at Work
NEA grants are awarded to dance organizations through the core programs Access to Artistic Excellence, Challenge America: Reaching Every Community, Federal/State Partnerships, and Learning in the Arts, as well as through initiatives such as American Masterpieces: Dance. The following is a description of what a 2004 NEA grant allowed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to bring to a community in Nevada:

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District serves 1.5 million residents in a 7,000- square- mile area in Clark County, Nevada. In FY 2004, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District received an NEA Challenge America grant of $10,000 to support a residency with the Ailey II Company of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the West Las Vegas Library and Theatre. The residency included a lecture/demonstration for elementary and middle school students, a master dance class for youth, and a free evening concert. West Las Vegas is historically an African American community located near downtown Las Vegas. The residency was a featured part of the library’s African American Heritage Month celebration in February 2005. Many of the activities related to the celebration revolved around the subject of dance, focusing on its broad role within the African and African American cultures. The residency fit well with the theme, as Ailey II showcased jazz and modern dance with a decidedly African American focus, often using jazz and blues as musical accompaniment. The master dance class for young dancers ages 10 to 17 included 68 participants and was led by Ailey II dancers. More than 150 students attended the lecture/demonstration. The evening performance drew more than 350 people.

The Non-Profit Professional Dance Community
In 1965, there were approximately 35 non-profit professional dance companies. Today, there are more than 600. The vast majority of touring dance companies participate in community outreach events such as performances at schools and community centers, and performances for at-risk and underprivileged youth. Of the 38 largest and most visible dance companies in America, 28 have reported that they stage anywhere from 25 to 30 educational outreach performances every year.

America’s dance companies perform a wide range of styles and genres. These include both classical and contemporary ballet, both classical and contemporary modern, as well as jazz, tap, cross-disciplinary fusions and traditional to modern work rooted in other cultures.

When the National Endowment for the Arts instituted its Dance on Tour program in the 1970’s, great dance became accessible to every community in America. What used to be a handful of professional companies and a scattering of “regional” dance has become a national treasure spread across cities and through communities, schools and theaters in all 50 states. NEA programs today, like the National Dance Project, continue to ensure that the best of American dance is for all of America, and a showpiece for the rest of the world as well.

Based on recent surveys, Dance/USA estimates that the 79 largest and most visible non-profit dance companies in the United States do the following:

• Employ over 7,500 people;
• Perform for total home audiences of nearly 3.7 million people. This does not include touring audiences, nor does it count the millions who attend performances given by the hundreds of dance companies with budgets under $1 million;
• Utilize 26,500 volunteers, including 3,100 members of boards of trustees;
• Pay nearly $259 million in wages and benefits;
• Receive 3.3% of their income from government sources which help generate:
• 43% of their income from private support
• 38% of their income from earned performance revenue
• 16% of their income from other earned revenue.

Dance/USA
1111 16th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20036
202.833.1717

*The Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC) is a project of the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Dance/USA, OPERA America and Theatre Communications Group. The survey studied the level of participation in and support for the arts in 10 communities Alaska, Cincinnati, Denver, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Austin, Boston, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Sarasota, FL, and Washington, D.C. For more information on this research, please visit: http://www.operaamerica.org/parc/home.html .