Dance/NYC Spotlights Patrons for Dance as Part of its
NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE Video Campaign

New York City, NY (FOR RELEASE 11.10.15) --- Dance/NYC, dedicated to promoting the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan area, today announced the release of its new NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE video campaign spotlighting 35 patrons for dance. This is the latest in a series of digital storytelling initiatives by Dance/NYC that celebrate dance’s role in transforming lives and bringing communities together. Timed to coincide with National Philanthropy Month, it kick-starts the end-of-year fundraising season by expressing gratitude for the generous donors who support the art form and encouraging new patronage.

35 patrons for dance are featured in Dance/NYC’s NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE video campaign, each providing a personal statement on why dance matters to them and to their community. Participants range from Darren Walker (President, Ford Foundation) and Kate Lear (Chair, Board of Directors, Ballet Hispanico) to Dance/NYC Advisory Board members David Hallberg (Principal Dancer, American Ballet Theatre) and Virginia Johnson (Artistic Director, Dance Theatre of Harlem). Videos are now live on Dance/NYC’s website Dance.nyc and its YouTube channel. A robust social media campaign is also helping promote Patrons for Dance. @DanceNYC #patronsfordance

“I am a New Yorker for Dance,” says Joan Finkelstein, Executive Director of the Harkness Foundation for Dance, in her new video released as part of this campaign. She offers in a statement: “I support dance because it is the ultimate equalizer. Dance erases all boundaries of gender, age, race, culture, and identity.”

Jody Gottfried Arnhold, dance educator and advocate, and a patron for dance, offers in her video that “every child deserves a dance education in their school. Come on New York, support dance teachers and support dance!”

This campaign responds to Dance/NYC’s State of NYC Dance research showing how important contributed income is as share of total revenue for dance groups (47% of total revenue) and how important individual income is in that equation (46% of contributed revenue, an increase of 16% over five years). According to Lane Harwell, Executive Director, Dance/NYC, “with this campaign we are mobilizing patrons as advocates for the art form, reminding patrons how much they matter, and inspiring others to give.”

Major support for NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE has been provided by the Arnhold Foundation, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation/Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, and The New York Community Trust. Video by Nel Shelby Productions. Music by Andy Kautz. Graphic design by Monroe&Co.

About Dance/NYC

Dance/NYC's mission is to promote the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan New York City area. It embeds values of equity and inclusion into all aspects of the organization.  It works in alliance with Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance.

# # #