Beyond Our Borders

(Training and Networking for the Global Dance Market)

Funded by the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation

Beyond Our Borders is a new training and networking initiative to better prepare dance companies (choreographers, artistic directors, and administrators) for international exchange through an intensive training seminar and networking practicum. Beyond Our Borders is a year-long seminar that provides the tools, skills, and resources needed to function in the global dance marketplace.

Through selection from letters of interest, 11 companies have been selected to participate.  They are:

• Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion
• a canary torsi
• Brian Brooks Moving Company
• Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, A Dance Company
• Kate Weare Company
• KEIGWIN + COMPANY
• LeeSaar The Company
• Limón Dance Company
• Stephen Petronio Company
• RJ Lazier/Terrain
• RIOULT Dance NYC

Beyond Our Borders is divided into three parts – Training Intensive, Networking Practicum, and Realization. The Training Intensive will consist of several monthly seminars. For the Networking Practicum, American Dance Abroad will work with each company to identify a schedule of several international marketplaces or platforms for global networking. Beyond Our Borders will support travel, conference registrations, and hotel costs for these events. Finally, should the opportunity be possible for an international engagement, American Dance Abroad will provide Realization funds to help initiate or enhance the engagement.

Should the project be extended into a second edition, selection of companies will be made through letter of interest.  Sign up for our mailing list to stay updated.

Training Intensive

Working abroad takes knowledge and unique skills not often required in the U.S. These include: understanding how other countries operate with regard to their own dance organizations; understanding how cultural differences impact one’s ability to be a good partner; knowing who the important players are on the global scene; to what level local customs in a country impact one’s behavior, sensitivity to, and respect for those customs; letting go of pre-conceived assumptions about behavior and practice; and others. Working abroad also requires specific short- and long-term planning different than goal-oriented planning practiced in the U.S.

These objectives will be addressed through a series of progressive workshops for the selected companies ready for the preparation necessary to be visible and active in the global dance market. The companies will meet as a group, allowing them to build a network among themselves as a resource toward implementing what they learn. Several seasoned colleagues may be included as “guest faculty” in the workshops to provide first-hand, experiential guidance.

Networking Practicum

The third edition of American Dance Abroad’s project, American Dance Recon (ADR), scheduled in New York City November 6-10, 2014, providde a critical skill building and networking opportunity for the selected companies. ADR is a comprehensive colloquium designed to introduce 10 international programmers to U.S. dance. In addition to several scheduled ADR events that the companies may attend, Beyond Our Borders organized a “speed dating” session during ADR that provided the participating companies with the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the international programmers.

Each of the organizations in the training intensive, in consultation with the American Dance Abroad staff, identified a manageable schedule of international travel over a nine-month period (overlapping with the training intensive and ADR) to attend potentially two to three festivals, meetings, marketplaces, platforms, etc., where a concentration of dance professionals will gather and where they can put into practice what they are learning in the training intensive. (These American Corner opportunities may include such events as CINARS, the Nordic platform ICE HOT, British Dance Edition, and others.) The companies will prepare for each event by identifying key people to meet, scheduling appointments, and preparing promotional materials to bring with them. American Dance Abroad’s Co-Directors will use their extensive network and database to facilitate the process of introductions and network building.

Realization

The final component will provide the opportunity for each company to help realize an international engagement.  International invitations often happen quickly and within a short time frame. Incentive funding will allow the participating companies to respond to or generate an opportunity, or to invite other programmers to see the work in the international region where the company may be performing.