Hortense Gerardo

Strategies for Survival of Performing Arts Organizations: a Study of Three Emergent Dance Companies Hortense Gerardo

Based on thirty months of fieldwork in Boston, thisbook examines how three recently incorporated dance groupsestablish collective identity, define the roles of leadership, andreconcile private interests in social and economic advancement with thedemands of funding from government, corporate, and privatesectors. It shows how individuals and institutions negotiate in orderto find a level of common ground in which an artistic enterprise cansuccessfully proceed. Research focused on dancers who became entrepreneursby forming corporations and obtaining funds to realize theirartistic intentions. Described are differing strategies of the threecompanies as they try to survive: an egalitarian ¿¿¿bottom up¿¿¿ strategy, ahierarchical ¿¿¿top down¿¿¿ strategy, and a co-operative ¿¿¿parallelprocessing¿¿¿ strategy. Each has merits and problems, which are illustratedby concrete examples. The ability to innovate as well as surviveis considered, both in social and economic terms. The book will be of practical value to artsorganizations and funding agencies as well as of interest to social scientists.