Year: 2025-2026
DanceForce Member: Kim Engel
Audience: 500
County: TBD

Recently, the Capital Region has seen an unprecedented decline in the number of performances presented by dance venues in the region. This waning is likely the combined result of change/loss of venue leadership, diminishing dedicated dance audiences and increasing costs to present quality dance companies. Concurrent renovation plans in two dance venues in the 2025-26 season are also negatively contributing to the situation.

DF member Kim Engel is passionate about supporting presenters who begin or continue to forge ahead and present dance in their venues despite the many challenges. She is currently actively in conversation with four venues to entice at least one of them to 1) add more dance to their schedule, 2) consider alternate sites for dance during renovation periods or 3) venture into presenting dance.

She plans to use a portion of her allocation as the enticement, knowing full well that it can only act as seed money for an engagement. Along with the financial commitment, she is offering to assist administratively in communicating/negotiating with the selected company’s agent, in seeking other grant opportunities to help fund the engagement and on other on-the-ground activities to help support it.