Key Accomplishments
Dance Wire’s programming was an interconnected suite of activities intended to advance the following vision:
dance studios, schools, and training in every neighborhood
dance opportunities for people with all abilities
all dance styles represented and visible
high quality performances in a range of dance styles occurring all over town in a variety of settings
flourishing arts spaces of all sizes, all across the city
a healthier dance workforce physically, mentally, and emotionally
business fluency among artists and arts organizations
enhanced engagement from individuals to uplift the arts
more effective government support for the arts
increased investment from businesses to keep Portland a wonderful place to live and visit!
$687,591 raised for dance in Portland!
Personalized support for 56 artists over 241 Sessions
Dancers spend the majority of their time working on their craft. But when it comes to the business side of sustaining a career focused on dance or starting their own company, most have never been taught necessary business skills. Most places that teach business skills do not understand the work of dancers.
Dance Wire’s PROPEL and Arts Incubator Programs were designed to help dance artists work through stuck points, identify priorities, make step-by-step progress toward goals. The true triumph of this ongoing support was the less obvious features of it. The feeling of having a team championing the artists and their progress. The validation of who they are and what they want to offer the world. The industry-specific guidance their well meaning friends and family can’t offer. The personal introductions we made to people within our network.
Emily will continue offering this service through her new entity Dance at the Intersection.
Ambassador Program
Dance Wire Ambassadors were selected as both dancers and leaders. Their role was to help keep the Dance Wire team connected to the wide array of dance activity happening in Portland. We relied on our Ambassadors to bring their connections, insights, and unique stories to the table. We specifically sought out dancers who were seeking to build community across dance styles and were seen as leaders in their genre, role, and/or community.
Each cohort of 10 Ambassadors averaged 300 years experience in dance - a clear illustration that dance can be a lifelong endeavor!
39 Artist Stories told through our podcast
We also hosted a podcast called Artist Stories where Ambassadors shared their stories by answering:
what does dance mean to you?
what challenges have you faced as a dancer?
what people, resources, or opportunities helped you the most?
what is your perspective on the current dance scene in Portland?
what is your dream vision for the dance community 10 years from now?
The purpose of this podcast was simultaneously to share the stories of artists in our community, learn from their experiences, and give Dance Wire better insight into how to shape our programs to best support our community into the future!
You can still listen to these anywhere you get your podcasts.
7 Citywide Dance Connector Events
This annual event was about connecting dancers to dance-related work and giving those who hire an opportunity to meet the immense pool of talent in Portland. Part audition, part high-energy functional networking extravaganza!
The event was a marathon day of classes that included an audition-style presentation of choreography, structured group networking, and a sweaty after party with free food and a backstage vibe.
“We Need a Bridge” - Community Visibility Project
In September 2020, months into the COVID-19 pandemic and facing an upcoming national election, Dance Wire’s Executive Director Emily Running knew that it would be an especially difficult year for fundraising. On her daily walk across Tillikum Crossing she had an idea for a fundraising project meant to boost the visibility of the whole community.
Within 2 weeks she recruited 80 dancers to show up in full costume to dance on the bridge. There were no rehearsals. Dancers showed up ready to dance and Emily clocked over 6 miles during the shoot as she ran up and down the bridge using a bull-horn to give instructions. All the footage was shot within 45 minutes and then edited together to create this video.
It was a feat Emily is very proud of, and a video that brings tears to her eyes every time she watches it!
“Circles” - Community Visibility Project
The “Circles” video was the another Community Visibility Project we did in 2022. The format of dancing within a circle shows up in many different styles of dance and is used as a way to celebrate, communicate, and challenge all dancers who participate. We used it as a metaphor for how both Dance Wire and dance as an art form gather, connect, and uplift the community.
Emily will continue to explore dance as a means of storytelling through Dance at the Intersection.
Dance/USA + Service Org Council
As the only dance service organization in the region, Dance Wire’s presence in Dance/USA’s Service Organization Council and at Dance/USA Conferences gave Portland and the region a voice it hadn’t had before.
In 2021 Emily was elected Chair of the Service Organization Council and led a national group of service org leaders with a birds-eye view of their communities through a methodical exploration of the national and local dance landscapes, examining how things were shifting in real time. They mapped the different stages of a dancer’s career, identified pain points at each stage, and assessed the components of a healthy dance ecosystem. They shared insights from their respective cities, discussing what worked, what didn’t, and where systemic cracks were forming or already existed.
For a more comprehensive understanding of the value of Arts Service Organizations - check out this research study which aims to understand the role, impact, and ongoing evolution of arts service organizations in the United States today.
Additional Support For Artists
-
Opportunity Board
What made our Opportunity Board different were the categories so dancers could learn what was available for dance and dance-adjacent jobs, gigs, and funding.
Calls for Artists/Freelance – residencies, festivals, collaborations, private parties, corporate gigs etc.
Paid Ongoing Work – dance instructor, studio manager, box office associate, marketing assistant etc.
Volunteer – usher, ticket taker, bartender at shows/events, intern etc.
Grants and Proposals – grants or funding opportunities ex: RACC, OAC, OCT, MCCC
-
Press Kit
This was an extensive spreadsheet that listed:
Press Contacts - including the name, target audience, and periodicity of the publication, how to submit your listing, direct website link, names and direct emails of people who specifically covered arts, and notes direct from the publication.
Seasonal Publications - including name of special (Fall Arts Preview, Kids Camp Guide), when it comes out, how far in advance to submit, target audience and estimated reach, plus how to submit.
Advertising - including rate sheets, target audience, and direct contacts.
Tips + How To - All this info was accompanied by a Press Release Template and insider tips.
-
Dancer Whole Health Series
In the early days, Dance Wire built relationships with dance medicine providers in the area who all got together to develop a unique curriculum specific to dancers’ needs. We called this the Dancer Whole Health Series. For multiple years, the providers volunteered their time to teach these workshops to dancers. The goals was twofold:
One, to make sure dancers knew who in the health field specialized in working with dancers.
Two, was to offer a curriculum built specifically for dancers by a collective of health providers on topics like Strength & Stretch, Rest & Recovery, Body Image, and Nutrition.
-
Buzz Builders
For many years Dance Wire held informal happy hour events to bring the dance community together and spark inspiration. Dancers regularly learned about jobs and auditions at these events or even found people who would become long-term collaborators.
Audience Engagement Activities
-
Directory of Dance Classes
(for all ages, all styles, all levels)
With 79 different styles of dance in Portland, our directory of dance spaces helped people explore a form of expression that fit their vibe and purpose for dancing!
-
Comprehensive Event Calendar
(performances, workshops, participatory events, fundraisers, festivals)
Arts are a key element that make any city unique because no two artistic voices are the same! Our calendar was built for locals and visitors alike.
-
Dance Curious Club
We didn’t just connect people to dance, we invited them! All about building community, the idea was simple - invite The Club to a wide variety of shows each year establishing a community of familiar faces who are connected by their shared interest of dance.
-
Find a Class Blog
This blog was intended to help introduce people to the various class offerings in the city in an un-intimidating way. Emily took each class, filmed a small portion of it from a “fly on the wall” standpoint and posted that with an article that helped newcomers know what to expect - where to park, if there are changing rooms, what people wear, the level of the class.
The idea was to eliminate the small points of friction that prevent people from trying new things. The article spelled out the basics, and the video showed the real people in real class, not a polished advertising version of it.
-
Written Feature Articles
Early on, Emily wrote 20 feature articles on Dance Wire members which helped both her and the public get to know the various artistic voices in the city. She worked with each company to highlight one specific thing that made their work unique. Here is the collection!
Shows Produced
-
MOMENTUM
A pandemic project, we partnered with Portland Opera and Profile Theatre to host an outdoor stage at Zidell Yards where our office was located to keep performance opportunities alive and to cross-promote. Dance Wire hosted 8 outdoor workshops and produced a one night performance featuring 10 of our Ambassadors.
-
Old Moody Roadshow
In the very very early days of the pandemic, we participated in another collaboration at Zidell Yards. This included numerous performances on outdoor stages around the property. Audience members drove up to each site, parked and watched from their cars the moved on to the next site. Dance Wire hosted a stage and featured multiple performers in all different styles of dance.
-
Ambassador Showcases
These informal shows featured our Ambassadors. The idea was to expose audiences to 10 different styles of dance all in the same show and at an informal venue where audiences could meet and mingle with the performers after. Audiences LOVED these.
-
The Refineries
This idea came from a board member who volunteered to produce the events. Three performers were selected to show a work in progress and ask the audience for very specific feedback. Ex: Did the costume choice add or detract from the work? The questions were asked before the audience watched the piece, then we asked for their feedback after. These events always sparked lively and engaged discussion that helped the artist while also helping educate audience members about all the nuance and detail that goes into creating the art!
Behind the Scenes
-
Portland Business Journal
Emily attended Portland Business Journal events and was an active member of the BIzWomen’s Coalition. She was featured in article on their website and was invited to give voice to dance on a panel discussing the Future of Women’s Sports in Portland.
-
Travel Portland
Emily built a relationship with the Community Engagement Officer at Travel Portland. She was also part of the Industry Insider’s list which got her invited to their Strategic Planning session in 2021 where she advocated for the Arts to be uplifted as one of Portland’s most unique assets.
-
Nonprofit Workers for Justice
Emily was an active member of a task force called Nonprofit Workers for Justice, a grassroots group of nonprofit workers seeking to effect systemic change in philanthropy. The group spent two years developing the first-ever community-led evaluation of the practices of Oregon and Southwest Washington foundations.
-
Safe Working Environments
In response to the #MeToo movement Emily was on a Safe Working Environments task force hosted by Dance/USA and composed of leaders from dance organizations across the nation. We generated a set of agreements that advocated for healthy organizational environments that do not tolerate harassment of any kind or abuse of power and equitable company cultures where individuals have supportive pathways to speak up. The agreements were distributed and signed by companies across the nation.
-
Cultural Planning Process
Our Creative Future was a two-year planning effort to develop a regional framework to advance arts and culture throughout the tri-county Portland area. Emily was personally invited to share her insights with the consulting team where she highlighted the following topics/questions/suggestions:
Arts Census and Assets/Gaps Map/Inventory | Do we know the makeup of our current arts community? Do we know what resources we have (such as Service Orgs, Space, Venues, Professional Development, Funding Channels)? Do we know where (if location is applicable) they are?
Healthy Arts Workforce | What programs or infrastructure could the City create and/or invest in to support artists throughout all stages of life?
Funding | Is dance getting left behind? If so, why?
Appreciation and Investment from outside the Arts | Do the tourism and business communities value what artists and arts orgs bring to the community? If not, how do we fix that? If so, is it through action and meaningful investment?
-
Philanthropic Liaison
Emily developed relationships with numerous funders over the years who came to value her birds-eye view of the field and her unique insight into the real-time needs of individual artists and companies.