The Business Art of the Dance
By: Heather Bayley

When most people think about the dance world, they think about a form of recreation or maybe even an art form.  In reality, there is a whole other world behind dance, on all of its levels, that is the backbone of dance in the economy today.  That backbone is the business aspect of dance.  In order to run a studio on a local level or even start a dance company that will tour the United States or even the world, knowledge of how your business will run is mandatory.

Business is very important to the dance community.  On the local level, there is a growing want for dance studios.  Dance studios hold great social responsibility.  Taking dance classes not only educates children in a different way and keeps them healthy, it keeps them off the street and teaches them something that they can take with them into adulthood.  While dance studios add a recreational level to a community, they also add to the local economy.  The business itself helps with the flow of money, stimulating the economy with fees for classes.  Local dance studios also add to the spending pool themselves.  First of all they supply jobs in the community.  The bigger a community and studio is, the more dance teachers they need.  Dance studios also need to rent space to hold recitals and need to buy costumes, stimulating the flow of money to those different organizations.

On a bigger level, dance companies, such as the Boston Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, also need to have a great knowledge of business.  They need to learn how to balance their fees, rent for studio space and performance space, salaries and costumes, against their income that comes from ticket sales and donations (in not-for-profit organizations).  Dance companies are often times known for their creative and sometimes risqué dances that can either make or break the company.  From a business side of the for-profit companies, they need to make careful investments and watch their money flow so that the companies don’t go under if a piece isn’t a huge hit.  Most for-profit companies tour the country performing for a specific audience.  The not-for-profit businesses on the other hand choose to do a large number of dance forms.  The Boston Ballet, for one, does contemporary ballet as well as the classic ballets that it is known for.  These are all different factors that make dance companies need a complete knowledge of how dance and business are intertwined.

While there is a lot more to the running of both local dance studios and nationally recognized dance companies, there are many reasons to support and look into them.  Dance helps jump-start the economy in many ways and helps keep the flow of money going in communities.  Dance broadens people’s views and shows them different things they might not get in a traditional learning environment.  While dance continues to change along with the times, one thing will always remain the same.  In order to keep up with world around it and learn how to survive, the dance community will always need a thorough knowledge of business.