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What’s Working

Space + Presenters:

"I have felt supported by a dance institution specifically, the dance center of Columbia College Chicago. Recently, they held the dance buffet. Where any and every Chicago dance local had an opportunity to pitch a class or workshop to be instructed in their dance presenting series. The application was very simple, which I prefer. They organized the marketing smoothly for us, and provided space and technology. I was paid nicely and not micromanaged. I also enjoyed having a classroom full of students and locals from the community that I know. Ellen checked in short and sweetly. I also had dance center hosts who supported me during the workshop. I had support, freedom, I didn’t have to prove myself. I just felt a sense of trust from this community. I’m used to getting asked a lot of questions, but they just let me do my thing." -Keisha Janae

"This might feel further afield - but I feel that several arts organizations in Chicago are perceived to have a lot of resources, but it’s actually the opposite case. The budgets of several long-standing organizations (I’m thinking of Links Hall for example) are a fraction of their peer organizations in other cities. Similarly, other organizations are only able to function because they’re attached to larger institutions (like programs at U of Chicago, or even, the Dance Center). I don’t know whether artists realize how precarious organizations finances also are - this isn’t to excuse things but rather to call for more honesty and transparency about the situation and then action — how do we advocate?" -Anonymous

“Through Links Hall, I’ve come to recognize and occasionally belong to other Chicago-based institutions… such as the institution of angry Black women arts workers, or the institution of people who believe in the underutilized radical potential of somatics. Through CDF I’ve come to recognize and occasionally belong to the institution of recuperative self-taught historians—which is huge in Chicago. Through 3Arts I’ve come to recognize and occasionally belong to the institution of artists over the age of 35 without any idea what an IRA is, and the institution of artists you’ve never heard of who have been killing it for decades—also two extremely large groups here in Chicago. These institutions more so than any formalized foundation or organization feed me. I move with them in my heart, and they guide my spirit. I call them institutions because like any good institution they seem ever-present. You can’t remember a time before them, just as you can’t imagine a day they won’t exist. They’re foundational, constant, but—importantly—every-changing.” -Anna Martine Whitehead, I am a performance-maker and artist in Chicago. I am a queer Black low femme from Virginia, an Assistant Professor at SAIC, an insurrectionist with the Prison+Neighborhood Arts/Education Project, and a Chicagoan since 2014.

"I find that members of the Chicago dance community are well aware that the nature of the art form as generally unprofitable and a labor of love. Due to the inherent necessity of cooperation in the field, most members of the community tend to be approachable and open to participating in conversations around challenges and solutions. The Chicago Dancemakers Forum is growing in their ability and practices of fostering community here, and other funding organizations tend to have representatives who are available to get a hold of should the need arise. The precarious nature of the field feels unsupported. However, the organizations operating within it tend to be fair amidst the general disfunction." -Margaret M. Morris of https://quantumnegress.love

“Out of all the institutions in Chicago, Links hall and Chicagodancemakers have been the most supportive of me and my peers. They have made space for all creators to have a platform. Especially with Dancemakers giving a platform to New Era, Chicago Hip Hop Community Artists like Annie Franklin, B'Rael Ali Thunder etc.. I wish more institutions would allow this type of crossover so all dance artists are having access whether its just a stage or financially to create dope work.” -Dedrick D Gray

“I really respect the showcases or festivals I have been to here. See Chicago Dance’s "Chicago Summer Dance Celebration", "Endowed Movement Showcase," "Going Dutch Dance Festival," Emergence Choreography Showcase," Trifecta "Celebration of Dance 2020" and the collaboration of Peckish Rhodes and Moon Wasters "Take Up Space." The showcases and festivals have been so eye opening and inspiring to me as a dance maker and performer. Sharing the stages with dozens of other companies and talent has really made my Chicago experience.” -Sam Crouch, Black and Proud, He/Him, Gay, 27yo

“The artistic/work exchange program that existed at Links Hall absolutely opened doors, making it an affordable endeavor to premiere work as a self-producing independent artist. Links Hall had continued to be my most supportive institution. As a creator of mixed genre performance, it was difficult to find a specific corner of Chicago that would advocate for my work. The support I received from Links made a huge impact on my future success in this city.” - Anonymous

“What is supportive: When ‘providers’ seek out artistic communities that have extreme resonance with a lived experience in the city and provide a platform When "providers" begin dialogue and ask living artists in these communities what would support them When "providers" reflect upon what systems of oppression they are upholding as an organization, and how they are diminishing the voices of marginalized artistic communities When "providers" center marginalized artistic communities in their programming and funding When "providers" discontinue tactics that directly/indirectly limit opportunities of marginalized communities and create more space for well-endowed, white-led artists When "providers" create space for the communities of the artists presented to be a part of organizing events, fundraising, and the audience When "providers" create bridges between communities by distributing resources and having actionable conversation.” -Ashwaty Chennat, Indian-American (South Asian), Albany Park, Bharatanatyam and western dance forms, 29, low salary, arts administration.

“What makes me feel supported and therefore playful to take risk as a dance maker and performer is when dance institutions, funders and/or platforms, and other colleagues are open, excited and curious towards new/different approaches of creation, process, and dance making, without fear of the product itself but instead nurture this new approach/idea to let it bloom.” -Silvita Diaz Brown

“I feel supported when: … dance institutions, funders, and platforms genuinely encourage process-based inquiry and experimentation. … dance institutions, funders, platforms, and writers acknowledge and address systemic inequities. … dance institutions support young artists without infantilizing them. I am not your student; I am your peer. … dance institutions, funders, and platforms prioritize investing in people over projects. … dance institutions, funders, and platforms experiment/risk as much as the artists who they support.” -Anonymous -31-year-old white, straight, cisgender woman working in the performing arts and higher ed

“I have felt supported by Links Hall, Outer Space, and Chicago Dance Forum in terms of performance spaces, workshopping, professional/project development, and actual performance opportunities in the past.” -Chicago-based dance artist

“I feel supported to create dance work by Elastic Arts Chicago. It's an incredible non for profit arts organization that has been the home of my curated show, Freedom From and Freedom To. I approached them a few years ago to host my event. I've loved working with live musicians and wanted to expand to inviting a lot of amazing players that I've been fortunate enough to meet, along with dancers. The idea was to have surprise collaborations within each set of dancers of musicians and to have audience members pick them. It really allowed for a lot of spontaneity and a palpable energy exchange with the audience. Dave Rempis is one of the founder's of Elastic and hosted my first two Freedom From and Freedom To events on his improvisational nights. The first was such a success that my event became a recurring quarterly series.” - Cristal Sabbagh, I am a Black woman, a high school art teacher, interdisciplinary artist, and mother

Resource Distribution:

"I feel supported when I see folks who aren't often given opportunities presenting work and dancing in paid gigs. It feels like the same group of people are working for a small handful of companies that get the big grants. I honestly don't know where to place myself in regard to opportunity, but I wish we were more willing to spread those resources around." -Kait Dessoffy (they/them), white, working class, modern dancer

“Support irrespective of dance genre, not putting me in a box or categorizing.” -Kinnari Vora

“I see many of Chicago’s organizations put forward a good faith effort into advocating for and on behalf of Chicago’s independent artists, and I don’t think those regional and national efforts should go unnoticed. As of this year, I also see the organizations I work for making a real effort to get fair pay into the hands of artists, and taking action on things like equitable access. On a personal level, I have been directly supported by these organizations (especially during the pandemic) and I am forever grateful for this kind of continued take-a-chance career mentorship. I’ve also been lucky enough to have my dance work written about! Having my dance work reflected on, engaged with, and brought into the public sphere does feel like a positive, supportive thing for the most part.” -My name is Emily Loar. I am a white, 29 year old, queer person. I am also a dancemaker, improviser, performing artist, writer, arts admin support person, and events coordinator living in Logan Square.

"I mostly feel supported when I'm given the freedom and the space to create my art without having to worry about my finances. The more I (the artist) am able to just be supported in that way I feel like I am being seen and heard and most importantly valued for my thoughts and ideas. Because the CDF Digital Dance Grant was unrestricted I was able to pay myself and support myself and just make my art." -Alyssa G. 34, Black, Queer, Cis-woman, Avondale, dancer + dancemaker + podcaster

Writing:

“What makes me feel supported by writers are those who have an understanding of the conversation that is happening the work I done. Writers like Briana Heath and Felicia Holman wrote about the Treasures of the work I done because they UNDERSTOOD the dialect!” -Dedrick D Gray

“People with different dance backgrounds representing our work to the public, and being represented by people who are active participants in many sections of the community. A few people who come to mind who I'm proud to be represented by are Maushane Hardy, Surinder Martignetti, Kesha Pate, Shawn Lent, and Ginger Farley.” -Anonymous

“Those who write from the heart and the gut about what they are seeing, feeling...“ -Kristina Fluty, I am white, cis, het, "veteran" at 43, instructor, always-working, full-time employed. I am a modern dancer, specifically release and other somatic practices. I live in Rogers Park. I still do not own any property, but am solidly middle class.

“To write about art is an art, a privilege, an act of care, and an act of service -- to witness, question, and express this world, how we live, and what we imagine together.” -Irene Hsiao, dancer, writer

"In the early stages of my career, I was grateful for supportive and enthusiastic reviews from Zac Whittenburg and Laura Molzahn. They approached my work with an understanding that I was brand new at making work, and offered gentle but encouraging critique. Their willingness to take the time to see and write about a -very- young maker was a very special thing, and their writing helped to open doors for me." -Anonymous

"Overall, I have felt supported and embraced by the Chicago dance community as a new dance writer. Although I am still developing my voice as a writer, I appreciate the opportunity I have been afforded to review the work of artists I have been inspired by for years." -My name is D'onminique Boyd and I am a dancer, dance writer, arts administrator, make-up artist and mom.

"Platforms/writers: writing and platforming that feels like a conversation, not an indictment, feels supportive. I feel supported when members of the dance community fill the role of doing the writing about the community." -Amanda Maraist, white, queer, 29 year old woman.

"In the case of writers. I've found I feel the most seen and understood when those who are writing about my work have a personal and deep understanding of what it means to be Black and queer in the country." -Jenn Freeman | Po'Chop, Performance Artist

"When articles *cover* broader genres/themes/narratives within the dance field, meaning: includes new & emerging artists, artists that have been in the marathon for years, artists that are in their peaks, artists that are questioning their stay or retirement within the field, artists that are defying forms of generating & viewing dance. All types of makers/performers that use dance as primary source or not, are covered." -Anonymous

Invisibilization / Misrepresentation:

“The things that make me feel supported by Chicago institutions, funders, platforms, and writers are: 1.When I am treated like a member of the Chicago Dance Community or as an artist. When people look at me and treat me “normally.” 2. Or, when people see my chair as an extension of who I am and not a bad thing, but the beauty of gifts it brings to me in the dance world. Even though they might not say it out loud, I know the difference between people who believe this without saying a word, versus other people who see me completely different. I tend to gravitate toward teachers and friends, where I know this is the case. 3. Another example is true accessibility, which to me means a lift, a ramp, whatever. People that ensure that all are welcome. Examples include MOMENTA dance company, the former Lou Conte dance studio, Links Hall, and Indian Boundary. Without going into detail, Links Hall saw a need to make their dressing room more accessible and they collaborated with their significant others and a parent of one of the MOMENTA people to make sure this happened. 4. When people are not afraid to give me corrections and treat me like just another student or member of the company It is things like this that make me feel like a true member of the Chicago dance scene.” - Jessica Jess Martin, non-binary performer, producer, dancer, choreographer, and creator of Exploration: An Evening of Dance, Discovery, Creativity, and Fun

Community:

"I feel most supported when a member of the community is willing to risk upsetting the status quo to make a change. I feel supported when people get called out. Seeing people risk their career to make dance a more welcoming space is such a powerful act of protest. I felt supported when I was asked to speak about the negative experiences of trans and lesbian dancers during a panel about boys in dance. I wasn't always heard by community in this instance, but I felt supported by my friends, my partner, and by See Chicago Dance." -Kait Dessoffy (they/them), white, working class, modern dancer

"Meaningful collaboration with the disability community in crafting the content, form and structure of a given project. The arts organizations leading the way on this effort in Chicago are Bodies of Work and 3Arts, neither of whom are solely “dance” organizations, but who each fund, program and support dance as part of their larger mission. Their Disability Culture Leadership Initiative, which, full disclosure, I worked on as a graduate worker with Bodies of Work, documents the efforts of these two organizations to directly address the systemic erasure and exclusion of disabled artists in the mainstream art world. This project is an excellent example not only of appropriate ways to fund, present and document the work of disabled artists, who face unique structural barriers to making art, but also includes disabled people in the administration of the program." -Maggie Bridger, white, cisgender, sick and disabled dance artist and PhD student

"Lots of opportunities to learn and take classes." -Anonymous

"When people working in positions of power with the Chicago dance field are aware of the impact they are able to have and use that position with care and integrity. I feel supported by the people in our field who are committed to constant learning, who view themselves as equals to the artists in the field and do not accept being treated different than the working artists through accolades or pay, who are committed to equity, who are excited about change and development, and are ready to look at practices that are brought into question that have been hurtful towards individuals and broader communities." -Julia Rae Antonick

“There is a midwestern sensibility in the dance community in Chicago. Unlike in other places, it doesn’t seem to be “every man for himself”. If you go to any class or show, you know you’re walking into a community rather than a group of individuals all at odds with each other’s agendas. Like anywhere, there is of course a sense of individual drive and ulterior motive, but people also want to be your friend and welcome you into their spaces. Classes are often community oriented with check-ins and introductions rather than just jumping into self-serving movement practices. New teachers will come up to me, ask me questions with genuine interest, and make an effort to not be strangers.” -Laura DeAngelis (She/Hers) (Age 24)

“There is a group that I love and feel all the support around and this community was brought to my attention by Erin Kilmurray. She has by far had some of my favorite classes in the city and has such a strong group of people following, assisting and creating with her and around her. I have been introduced to so many people that only show love and support and care. It is a group of people I want to be around and share and create with. These dancers may not be technicians, but they have some of the most creative things I have seen and passion to do what they love. I love to see that over technique any day.” -Sam Crouch, Black and Proud, He/Him, Gay, 27yo

“I am appreciative of the community and family feeling of the Chicago Dance scene like orgs See Chicago Dance & Chicago Dance Makers Forum. The team at See Chicago really helped provide a great deal of support over the pandemic.” -Anonymous

“My friendship with other dancers. Honestly, if a dancer is heading a project independently OR has been lucky enough to find support through institutions, I love working with THEM. It's NOT through the institutions that I have found support.” -Kaitlin Webster

“I feel supported by institutions that reflect my values. Openly inclusive and anti-racist spaces are the places I feel drawn to and want to support with my money and time. Places that draw from and honor the varied experience of personhood are the backbone of art that reflects the world we live in. I want to enhance and share space with people that respect each other's personhood, their time, ideas, needs and wants in a space. Being in community with people that are conscientious and active in making caring and supportive spaces should be a number one priority of arts institutions, funders, platforms, and writers.” - Charlie Vail, White Queer Jewish Woman

“Sources of support: - donation based/sliding scale tickets for shows - things like ccc industry list - sliding scale classes - efforts to share resources, like the various Chicago dance facebook groups, See Chicago Dance, and other landing pages where events, applications, discounts, etc are posted.” -Sarah Stern

“Sources of Support: Grant/funding info sessions, accessible performance and dance class spaces, a commitment towards inviting newer/early career artists and companies into spaces with artistic residencies, a diversity of dance class techniques offered in studio spaces, specific support given to BIPOC dancers and makers, critical reflection/awareness about the ways in which dance institutions uphold white supremacy, community workshops held in traditionally gatekept spaces.” -Chrissy Martin, white, queer interdisciplinary artist, 32 years old

“I appreciate the efforts to bring the community together as a whole, though it feels clunky because it doesn't always reflect that we are many communities.. “ -Kristina Fluty I am white, cis, het, "veteran" at 43, instructor, always-working, full-time employed. I am a modern dancer, specifically release and other somatic practices. I live in Rogers Park. I still do not own any property, but am solidly middle class.

“From the façade the Dance community and the many platforms, institution, funders, and writers, I've interacted with have been respectful and have displayed appreciative behaviors. To be very honest, I connect more with the movers and creators of the community rather than its platforms institutions, funders and writers. This part of the community keeps me present as well as a participant in this field of work, other wise I would have moved away from the community, do to its lack of support for some institution, funders and writers.” -my name is Damon Green I am a BLK, LGBTQA+ owner of TEXTUREDance STUDIO an urban styles and form, dance and wellness studio, on the northside of Chicago

“I feel most supported by the Chicago Dance Community when boards, staff, faculty, performers, dance makers, directors, and audience members diverse and are present, listened to, and valued. I enjoy when a dance/arts environment feels inviting, warm, and welcoming. When that happens, I feel the most excited, joyful, and proud to be a part of the Chicago Dance Community." -Elysia C. Banks, South Side Dance maker

"I want to start by saying that I am still an infant in this dance community, along with being White, non-disabled, and cisgender, and have a limited experience and perspective to share. But as a pandemic dance graduate, I’ve felt supported by the DanceWeSeeYou, an online meeting space for 2020 dance grads created by Danceworks, and really any programming where I’ve been able to hear honest thoughts of Chicago dance community members during this time: CDHP’s interview marathon, CDF zooms, workshops being offered. Self-reflection and one-on-one conversations are valuable, but I feel it’s a disservice to the community to have the same conversations over and over without investing time and organization into finding solutions together. I’m seeing what people are doing in the public sphere and what people are feeling stated only in the private sphere, which seems counter-productive for all of us artists encountering so many of the same and interconnected challenges. " -Lydia Jekot, white, cisgender, femme, queer, early-career artist

"the women!!!! patterns of teaching through empathy and genuine artistry education rather than teaching to mold artists into a specific form for a reason pertaining to themselves... i feel supported by the ones in the room and the ones who CARE. just about humanity. and thus caring about us dancers more than just being machines. there’s no competition. it’s just dance. communities found within open classes. i’m a mf MARXIST and the proletarian working class (us as dancers in the community) fend for ourselves and it’s supportive as hell! granted i feel like i have more of an outside view - not trying to dance profesh in a company.. sans that motive it feels just fresh ya know like everyone is there for each other but.. maybe that’s also just maturing and getting older." -Chloe Hamilton, 24, Latinx white passing, she/her

"I feel supported when there is a sustained commitment to cultivating trust and care through transparency, accountability, and vulnerability. Institutionally, this means being transparent about complicity within capitalism and white supremacy without allowing access to or scarcity of resources to dictate integrity around funding, producing and supporting. Between dancers looks like individuals who are invested in changing the culture from their insides out: committing to anti-oppressive spaces of making, doing, witnessing, and supporting movement, connecting from a place of care rather than competition, de-centering our authority (if white, cis male, etc) and listening, sharing privileges and resources with as many folx as possible." -Gina Hoch-Stall, 34, white, cis-woman, dance artist and advocate

Other:

“I recently shared with a Chicago dancer my opinion that “if Dance keeps you shackled to crumbling institutions that don’t see you, don’t support you, and aren’t going where you are trying to go, you don’t need to keep calling yourself a dancer.” I made this choice long ago. I love dancing, making performances, being an artist. But if I let my field(s) exist in my imaginary only in its/their professionalized forms, structured by institutions steeped in the old way of racialized capitalism, then I will eventually grow to unrecognize and hate myself. Dance—whatever you just thought of when you read that—does not love me. I am very queer, I love Black people too much, and I have no professional training. In fact, I don’t even believe in professions. I don’t believe white people exist (only investments in whiteness), and I am certain no one is actually straight (I’m sorry). Chicago institutions like 3Arts, CDF, and Links Hall have been important to me because they have historically imagined dance so broadly that it doesn’t even need to be called Dance. That’s the kind of dancer I am.” -Anna Martine Whitehead. I am a performance-maker and artist in Chicago. I am a queer Black low femme from Virginia, an Assistant Professor at SAIC, an insurrectionist with the Prison+Neighborhood Arts/Education Project, and a Chicagoan since 2014

“There are many things I could write, both about feeling supported and about feeling undermined. I'm going to speak only to one point. I am endlessly grateful to those people, communities, and institutions that believe implicitly in the value of art, therefore of art making, therefore of those who practice that art making. This is not to say that we as art makers should not be subject to critique. Just as I trust we can all continually do better in our anti-bigotry work as individuals, I trust that we can all continually work to make better art. By committing to art making, I believe we commit to the endeavor of betterment. Critique serves this endeavor. It is not that anyone should like or value my art in particular. The world needs many different kinds of art and I'm very glad that people are out there making things quite different than I am. When I am at a residency where the very air exudes faith in art's value, or applying for a grant I won't get but which delights me by engaging in a serious conversation about art, or have received a grant the award of which celebrates my capacity to engage my medium as I know best, in whatever process the work unfolds to me: this is when I feel truly supported.” -Jonathan Meyer

“In my life I had been doing a lot as a professional artist before my decision to openly live my life with true feelings. Ever since I had transitioned to Laksha, the society started seeing me as an artist of gender, or lust. In US, in 2017 when I was pushed to the edge of nowhere, I got the LGBT hands of support from this same land. I determined my path, strengthened my core energy of hope and started my new venture in this land. I knocked the doors, started exploring, shared my TRUTH, never allowed my past experiences to haunt me, many individuals and organizations heard my voice, understood the needs of a person like me, both took timely action, showed the path, given opportunities to exhibit my skills. If you have known me as an artist in Chicago today, THAT'S WHAT MAKES ME FEEL THAT I AM SUPPORTED. Being a traditional Indian classical dancer and a survivor of violence, I never lived my age. Now, at the age of 46, as a new immigrant, I am working as fast as I can and harder in order to cope up with mainstream artists and projects. While being hopeful and approaching with a sole aim to retrieve the lost dreams that I had been longing to produce many dance dramas in my early age, the delays in responses reduce the intensity of the energy I had been carrying while visualizing a production. As a new LGBT immigrant who faces many challenges with loneliness and relatively less access to everything, while waiting for no reason, triggers the bitter experiences I had in my past. I wish that shouldn't happen to any artists. I wish all the artists should be able to receive the same energy in return to their energetic action.” -Laksha DANcing TRANs

"Moving to Chicago meant shifting my practice as an artist. Coming from a location where I felt fully engaged with and entangled in artistic communities, collaborations, spaces, resources, institutions, funders, and more, arriving here meant figuring out where, who, and what to turn to as an artist amidst so much "new." So, what makes me feel supported as an artist isn't specific to Chicago, but a dream and a desire for a multiplicity of places. What makes me feel supported is community. This means having conversations with other artists, having eyes and thoughts on my work, having access to DIY economies often spurred by communal sensibilities, and having a plurality of aesthetics sit next to each other. What makes me feel supported specifically in Chicago is seeing those dance/performance/movement artists that are using what they have in scrappy ways, and addressing needs without the requirement of expensive or formal answers. Of course, all of my appreciation for this comes from the all too common experience of having a lack of funding. So, what also makes me feel supported is support with resources. This can mean money, space, labor, and much more. Support doesn't just mean money, but it does mean acknowledging and appreciating the labor and cultural contributions of artists. Support also feels like not prioritizing certain aesthetics over others, especially when those aesthetics veer towards certain racialized, classed, gendered, and more histories. What makes me feel supported is an acknowledgment of the sociopolitical and cultural importance of the art that we make, and the refusal to limit that (especially in the dance world) to specific bodies, dance forms, aesthetics, or requirements of professionalism." -Anonymous