“Dance is a field with more guerrillas than institutions” –John Munger, Director of research and information at Dance/USA

Dance/NYC’s mission is to strengthen the professional dance field in New York City.  They help to foster a society that appreciates the art of dance and supports the creative process.  In 2007, former Dance/NYC Executive Director Michelle Burkhart created the Junior Committee (JComm) to advocate specifically for young professionals in dance and to serve as a liaison between the organization and its younger constituents.  JComm is a diverse sample of the field’s guerillas and our partnership with Dance/NYC brings us in from the fringes and allows us to effect an institution.  Our relationship is mutually beneficial and we work together to serve the dance community.

We believe support for the arts is worth fighting for.  Last year the Junior Committee, with support from Dance/NYC, conducted a financial survey of our peers, the Dance Workforce Census: Earnings Among Individuals Ages 21-35, and the results were enlightening. 1,231 individuals volunteered to participate in our survey.  On average our peers make $28,000 a year.  Roughly 70% have jobs outside of the field to supplement their income and more than 40% of participants earned less than $5,000 from dance related jobs.  As Beverly D’Anne eloquently said after our report was published:

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