Posted on November 14, 2003

Arts and Culture

According to a new report from the National Endowment for the Arts, the number of nonprofit dance companies increased by more than 90 percent from 1987 to 1997. Raising the Barre: The Geographic, Financial, and Economic Trends of Nonprofit Dance Companies (52 pages, PDF) examines the geographic concentration of dance companies and their funding sources and finds that, compared to theaters and symphony orchestras, which were more evenly distributed throughout the country, most dance companies were located on the East and West coasts, with heavier concentrations in New York, California, Florida, and Massachusetts. Dance companies also relied more on ticket sales and individual donations during the ten-year period covered by the report, while income from foundations, corporations, and government declined. The report is part of the NEA's ongoing effort to conduct and disseminate research on arts organizations.