Nonprofit Dance in America

Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance, seeks to advance the art form by addressing the needs, concerns and interests of artists, administrators and organizations.  Dance/USA believes that dance is essential to a healthy society, demonstrating the infinite possibilities for human expression and potential, and facilitating communication within and across cultures.

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 $100,000 to over $50 million.

ECONOMIC PROFILE FOR THE FIELD
Over two-thirds of professional dance companies are less than 45 years old. As an established art form with national identity and presence, dance has burst onto the scene almost entirely within living memory. And, yet, America can boast some of the great dance companies of the world. The key to this spectacular achievement was the creation of a national marketplace for dance, especially in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

When the National Endowment for the Arts instituted its Dance Touring Program (DTP) 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 became a national treasure spread across cities and through communities, schools and theaters in all 50 states.  NEA programs today, like American Masterpieces and its college component, continue to ensure that the best of American dance is for all of America.  There are over 600 professional dance companies in America as well as over 1,000 pre-professional and semi-professional groups.

Detailed census in four cities (NYC, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Washington, DC, and Chicago) show that companies over $500,000 make up only about 2% - 3% of the total dance-making entities in large metropolitan areas.  Small cities, however, are less likely to have diverse dance communities.  Dance/USA estimates that there are approximately 3,000 serious dance-making entities in the United States today.  Most of the smaller ones are culturally specific or modern/contemporary.  According to the National Dance Education Organization, dance in K-12 education is vitally important in the ability to:  read symbol systems; compute, interact and communicate within a multicultural society; understand what it is to create, perform, and critically analyze; develop skills for the 21st century workforce; and connect to life.

Professional dance in America is geographically diverse.  As of December 31, 2006, dance companies with operating budgets above $500,000 can be found in 38 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  Twenty-nine, or 21% of the total, are based in New York City.  The next largest metropolitan gathering of dance companies in this budget range is in the San Francisco Bay Area, followed by Philadelphia and Minneapolis.

Based on hard data collected in 2007, the 81 largest and most visible dance companies from 2006:

• Employed over 6,000 people in a mix of full-time and part-time positions.
• Performed for total home audiences of nearly 2.9 million people.
• Paid approximately $237.5 million in wages and benefits.
• Had operating expense budgets totaling $452.2 million.
• Earned $156.7 million, or 38% of their income, from performances.
• Earned $76.2 million from sales, tuitions and activities other than performances.
• Received $16.7 million, from state, local and government contributions.
• Received $21.6 million from corporate contributions.
• Received $46.2 million from private foundations.
• Received $98.7 million from individual contributions through donations, benefit events, guilds, and United Arts drives.
• Had over 24,300 volunteers, including over 2,700 members of Boards of Trustees.The percentage breakdown of revenue and expenses, as an average, for the 81 largest dance companies in America in 2006:

AVERAGE REVENUES AND EXPENSES