November 10, 2005

Dance Insider Calls for New Management for Dance Notation Bureau

Paul Ben-Itzak of The Dance Insider continues his critique of the Dance Notation Bureau, which was forced to lay-off most of its staff on October 28th.

(Dance Notation Bureau press release describing downsizing and November 7th New York Times article (registration required) about this development).

Paul calls for new leadership to continue the important work of the DNB, which documents and preserves classic and contemporary dance pieces using the Labanotation notating system:

In breaking this news and commenting upon it last week, I tried to be understanding; after all, just as no one sets out to make a bad dance, I'm sure that neither Weber [board chair] nor DNB executive director Ilene Fox set out to make a bad dance notation bureau. And if they were showing any real acknowledgment of the work they need to do -- instead of attributing the DNB's problems to an errant grant, disappearing bookkeepers, traveling executive directors and departing board members -- I would be all for rallying behind them. But frankly, from the press releases and other words filtering out from Weber over the past week, I now believe that if this invaluable organization is to continue with its precious mission and fulfill its utility, the DNB needs an entirely new and more dynamic board leadership, including people who either have money or have the clout to raise it.

I agree with Paul, but I would go well beyond a call for new management. I believe that the Dance Notation Bureau should have a completely new structure and new focus in order to ensure the vitality and profitability of all forms of dance.

In my next post I will share my vision of how a revitalized and refocused DNB can reposition dance so that dancers, dance companies and choreographers around the world can make more money from their creativity and talents.

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