Membership Dashboard
This page is constantly evolving with new offerings and COVID-related resources. If you experience any trouble please be patient and let us know.
Also note, our membership is in the midst of a massive expansion and we are not allowing new members to register at this time, but will be in the near future!
Resources from some of our partner organizations
Dance and Training Considerations during COVID
Courtesy of the Dance/USA Task Force on Dancer Health
COVID FAQ for Dancers and Companies
Courtesy of the Dance/USA Task Force on Dancer Health
The purpose of this paper is meant to provide more specifics for dancers and companies as we all work to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 and provide safe environments for dancers in the studio. As the knowledge regarding COVID-19 is constantly changing, please also refer to the resources contained in this document and your local public health officials. This paper is meant as a companion to the previous paper titled: Return to Dancing and Training Considerations Due to-COVID-19. Written by Heather Southwick, PT, MSPT, Selina Shah, MD, FACP, FAMSSM, Kathleen Bower, PT, DPT, Kathleen Davenport, MD under the auspices of the Dance/USA Task Force on Dancer Health (2020 - UPDATED JULY 2020)
Join and Follow DANC
DANC
Dance Artists’ National Collective (DANC) is a growing group of freelance dance artists organizing for action toward safe, equitable, and sustainable working conditions. They hold weekly meetings on Zoom, Mondays at 10am PacificTime. Their current work includes the creation of a letter of agreement template and a negotiation toolkit for freelance dancers, covering wages, benefits, working conditions, and standards of equity.
Professional Development
Through the Actor Fund Career Center
Don't be fooled by the name Actors Fund - this resource is extremely valueable to anyone with a career in the performing arts. Their workshop offerings include: Budgeting Nuts & Bolts, Managing Cash Flow, How to Job Search During a Pandemic, Resume Writing, National Dancer Info Session and Career Center Orientation. Do yourself a favor and check it out!
Sign up for an Orientation
Through the Actors Fund Career Transitions for Dancers
This program enables dancers to define their career possibilities while developing the skills necessary to excel in a variety of disciplines in order to thrive during all phases of their careers. Eligibility for dancers interested in career counseling and guidance: Active Dancers: must currently be working professionally (or within the last 12 months) in the performing arts and/or entertainment industry. Former Dancers: must have a minimum of seven years paid employment in the performing arts and/or entertainment industry. Pre-professional Dancers: must be currently enrolled in a competitive dance/training/education program and intend to derive income as a professional dancer.
Resources to increase your PROSPERITY as a dance artist or organization
While some things may require you to sign in to access them, they are no longer paid features.
Members Only Newsletter
Click to Subscribe
Subscribe to our Dance Community Network newsletter. Our network of members currently includes 140 dance artists and organizations in Portland. Dance Wire connects our network with people, resources and opportunities within the dance community and beyond. You will get a monthly email letting you know about funding opportunities, professional development, calls for artists, dicounts, the Citywide Dance Audition, Dance Wire events and more. Sign up today, then keep an eye on your inbox and if you don't receive an email from us at the beginning of the month, check your junk folder and get us out of there!
Job Board
Phew! No more long hours at the computer searching for jobs! We post as many opportunities as we can find like - dance teaching jobs, paid gigs, admin work for dance nonprofits, studio managers, whatever we can find. Check them out here. We hope that you'll spend all your new spare time in dance class!
Health Network Directory of Providers
Hive five - or maybe even a high kick! Check out our Health Network Directory where you will find providers who get you. Most of these providers are, or have been dancers themselves. They understand that keeping your body healthy and strong is important to your sanity and probably your livelihood. So go ahead, schedule a visit without fear that they'll give you a sideways look and say "you want to do what with your body? Why don't you take 3 months off and see if the symptoms go away." Not here! Our motto is Stay healthy. Stay dancing.
Citywide Dance Audition
Cancelled for 2020
Every year Dance Wire hosts the Citywide Dance Audition. Dancers learn choreography in various styles of dance then present to auditors seeking new talent or just seeing who is out there. Auditors can be independent choreographers, company directors, casting directors, talent scouts, basically anyone who may need to hire dancers. While it was scheduled to occur in May 2020, we have put it on hold until further notice.
Professional Development Opportunities
Woohoo! This list includes training events in topics like taxes, social media marketing, and grantwriting. You will also find grant opportunities and deadlines which we've marked to indicate if individuals and fiscally sponsored projects are eligible.
SpaceFinder
Finding space or listing yours is now easy peasy! Dance Wire is proud to be one of the Community Partners that brought SpaceFinder to Portland! Finding space for rehearsals, performances, and events has never been easier. You can also list your space by creating an account on the SpaceFinder site.
Resources to improve your VISIBILITY to new and existing dance audiences.
While some things may require you to sign in to access them, they are no longer paid features.
Get Featured
Currently on Hold
Woohoo! Join our Dance Community Network and you will automatically be eligible to be featured. We love showing off our members by highlighting the awesome things they do. We do about one feature a month, please click and fill out this quick form to get added to the list.
List in Studio Directory
For dance companies, studios or independent dance teachers teaching ongoing classes. Create your studio/class listing so the 16,000 annual visitors to our website know about you. List your studio/classes on the Find a Studio directory and just sign in again to update it at any time.
Promote on our YouTube Channel
Keep Portland dis-DANCING through the COVID-19 crisis. It was no surprise to us that artists (inherently resilient and resourceful) were the first to adapt to the new reality and nearly immediately started sharing virtual classes. This channel is a collection of dance warm-ups and combinations collected by Dance Wire and taught by YOU! From this channel we will link people directly to your donation/payment page. We are certain that our audience will love being able to try that class they've always been curious about, but never had the courage to go to! To add your class please email Sarita and she will send you full details.
Add Events to the Dance Calendar
Join our Dance Community Network to add events to our calendar all year long. Now, no payment required. You will also be considered for our mini calendar of what's coming up that is shared on our newsletter, social media as well as sent to Community Partners like Travel Portland. Congratulations in advance on your new audience!
Include Show Trailers in Performance Previews
Pro tip: When you add your event to the Calendar, be sure to include a Promo Video so we can add it to our Performance Previews. Just like a movie trailer, it gives potential new audience members a chance to browse for something that interests them. These do not have to be big budget professionally filmed trailers, if you have a high quality video of your rehearsal that you think represents the show well, or an interview with your artistic director, those work too. Once you've entered your link, your job is done, we take it from there.
Press List, Templates, and Guides
Score! Take a moment to imagine all the time you'll save on press releases with Dance Wire's handy Press Kit. Let's face it, we are not all marketing experts because there's a lot to keep up with. This resource has multiple parts:
- a list of press outlets you can send press releases to (updated annually with contact changes at each publication),
- a template for a press release
- a guide to best practices (each media outlet tends to have their own preferences on how to be contacted, so we've done all that messy research so you don't have to.)
Close your eyes, take a deep breath and in no time get back to what's most important about your job - dance!