We have some BIG news to share. This Tuesday, May 6, SeattleDances is participating in the Seattle Foundation’s Give BIG for the first time. Because Seattle Foundation will match a percentage of each donation given from midnight to midnight, this means your donation will be even more effective in keeping SeattleDances up and running. But this also means we need your help. If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve visited our site before. Maybe you’ve read a preview that inspired you to go see a show, or a review that made you reflect on a performance differently, or maybe you found out about an audition that gave you your next job. SeattleDances is the online resource for dance in Seattle, and we aim to keep it that way. We give back to the dance community 365 days a year, keeping our information current and our writing sharp, but to keep that up we need your support. With our commitment to the local dance scene in mind, we invite you to consider giving to SeattleDances this Tuesday.
But what does a donation to SeattleDances really mean? A donation to SeattleDances is truly a gift to the Seattle dance community as a whole. Our mission is to create opportunities to watch, learn, ponder, and discuss issues relevant to dance in the Seattle area. We are committed to supporting artists through the written word, providing a centralized resource for working dancers and dance enthusiasts, and building an intellectually engaged community of dance artists and observers.
Currently, our biggest need is financial support for our editorial and administrative staff. As a growing organization that publishes an increasing amount of content—38 reviews, 13 previews, 4 editorials, and 2 interviews so far in 2014!—we need support so that we can devote the time necessary for maintaining the website as a current and effective resource while staying in line with our high professional standards. Your gift also helps us work toward longer term goals of building SeattleDances’ presence in the community through events like works-in-progress showings and writing workshops. Each week, the SeattleDances Editors work many hours to keep the site updated with new articles, events, and Call Board listings. So far, we have donated our time, but this is becoming unsustainable as the site grows larger. Even a small gift can help us:
Edit and publish a review (the biggest portion of the job)
Read press releases and research shows to put on the Calendar
Update the Call Board with new auditions, workshops, and other opportunities
Connect writers with artists to interview for previews
Schedule writers for shows
Keep our social media followers in the know
Seek and apply for grants to help keep us going
Plan and host events that cultivate a community of invested dance-goers and practitioners
If you believe in a community that pays artists for their work, take that one step further and support the writers and editors who provide those artists with press, feedback, and a spot on the historical record. If you value a dance community that reflects on itself and seeks to strengthen its artistic integrity through discussion and critical engagement, help SeattleDances keep going. And finally, if you love the great Seattle dance community we all call home, please Give BIG to SeattleDances on Tuesday, May 6.
To view SeattleDances’ profile on the Seattle Foundation’s website and donate on May 6, see here. Find out more information about the Seattle Foundation’s Give BIG program at seattlefoundation.org.
