From artist to impresario.

BRUCE SANSOM INTERIM HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT, RAMBERT DANCE COMPANY "When I decided it was time to [stop dancing for] The Royal Ballet, I had a chance conversation with Helgi Tomasson [artistic director, San Francisco Ballet]. I mentioned to him my decision to stop dancing but also expressed a desire not to leave ballet. Helgi responded by inviting me to come and shadow him for a year. It turned out to be immensely valuable for me because by this time I had decided that my principal goal was to become artistic director of a ballet company."

It was a different world when Lincoln Kirstein founded the New York City Ballet with George Balanchine at the helm. Kirstein had a vision of what America needed in a ballet company; he raised the seed money and forged the political alliances. Today there is no Kirstein at NYCB, nor is there a Diaghilev figure at any other American dance company with whom the artistic director or chief ballet master can engage in dialogue. It is more likely that an artistic director is now called upon to possess the combined abilities of Kirstein, Diaghilev, and Balanchine. Today's dance company director must be not only an artist but an impresario as well.

Manhattan-based artist manager Mark Kappel lists what he considers essential for the job: "Problem solving, security in decision making, taste, and the ability to see a work through from embryonic idea to curtain going up." Kappel, who has represented both companies seeking a leader and suitors for the job, says candidates are often outstanding in one aspect of the enterprise--dancing, choreographing, coaching, scheduling, getting bookings, or attracting donations. So just how does an aspiring dance company director acquire the additional skills necessary to succeed at the top job in dance?

Dana Tai Soon Burgess is a modern dancer of growing name recognition who choreographs, teaches, performs, and directs a small company based in Washington, D.C. He trained at the University of New Mexico and danced with Tim Wengard's company in Albuquerque. To get the business and management skills required to launch a company of his own, he enrolled in graduate study at D.C.'s George Washington University.

"I systematically began to figure out what it would take to run a small, independent dance company--not just finances but time, staff, space, potential audience," Burgess says. His faculty advisor, veteran modern dancer Maida Withers, gave him some valuable advice. "She told me to clarify my mission statement, focus my vision statement, and then get to know support networks but call only on those that would serve my needs." For instance, it may be tempting to apply for one of the many grants available for lecture-demonstrations in public schools. But if the company dancers hold other daytime jobs, they'll not be available during school hours. A better option might be to find funding for appearances at retirement homes on weekends.

In the 1992-93 season, Burgess made his dream come true, and ten years later Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company is very much alive because--this is Burgess's conviction--"I continue to test the waters by doing feasibility studies before embarking on new projects. Opportunities for the company have multiplied, but jumping at them without thorough strategic planning can be dangerous. What at first glance looks terrific artistically and as a cash cow could bankrupt you if your company isn't at the right place in its growth curve."

Bruce Sansom had his first taste of the business of dance in 1999 as part of the Artists' Development Initiative of the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, while he was still dancing with Britain's Royal Ballet. Instigated by fellow principal dancer Deborah Bull during Michael Kaiser's tenure as Royal Opera House director, the intent of the initiative is, broadly, to develop performers along lines not usually open to them as regular members of the several constituent companies. Included are chances to perform, create, collaborate in, fund-raise for, and manage diverse projects outside the scheduled repertoires and operations of the Royal troupes. When Bull spoke to Sansom about joining, he says, "I had been thinking about my future and was particularly interested in taking a crash course on marketing and strategic planning for small dance companies."

Sansom was part of the initiative for nine months. "Then, when I decided it was time to retire from The Royal Ballet, I had a chance conversation with Helgi Tomasson," artistic director of San Francisco Ballet, which was on tour in London. "I mentioned to him my decision to stop dancing but also expressed a desire not to leave ballet. Helgi responded by inviting me to come and shadow him for a year," says Sansom. "It turned out to be immensely valuable for me because by this time I had decided that my principal goal was to become artistic director of a ballet company."

Tomasson says of his own transition from dancer to director, "There was just one week in between--it felt like trial by fire. I could have used some training, a little guidance." He points out that SFB has no established program for providing the sort of experience Sansom had. Funding for Sansom's student stipend came out of SFB's regular budget and was possible because he not only looked over Tomasson's shoulder and observed the operations of all the ballet's departments but also earned his keep by giving class and coaching.

The following season, in 2001-02, Sansom became part of the first class of fellows at the Kennedy Center's new Vilar Institute for Arts Management; he was the only dance person among twelve classmates. (Again, Michael Kaiser, now president of the Kennedy Center, was a key figure.) This experience enlarged and intensified things he had learned at the Opera House in London, because the Kennedy Center functions as a presenter as well as a producer of, among other entities, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet and Burgess's The Nightingale.

With opportunities such as those pursued by Burgess and Sansom, gone soon should be the trial-by-fire method--situations in which an inexperienced leader is appointed and then allowed to learn on the job. While that can work, often there's a price to pay.

Remember when, in 1968, millionaire Rebekah Harkness named Lawrence Rhodes as her artistic director for the Harkness Ballet? Rhodes was a principal of the company, a public and critics' favorite, and admired personally and professionally by his fellow dancers.

"They asked me to speak to Mrs. Harkness about problems encountered on a long European tour, problems that were lowering company morale," says Rhodes. Harkness listened, and Rhodes left the meeting "with an additional job, because I planned to continue dancing, too. Then, the position of ballet master became vacant, and I found myself playing a third role"--and a fourth, when he realized he didn't like what the lighting designer was doing. "Things became worse than I ever imagined they could," he recalls. "I was overwhelmed."

Relief came when he brought in Benjamin Harkarvy as co-director. Rhodes went on to chair New York University's dance department, then to direct Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal. Currently he heads The Juilliard School's dance division, but talking about his initial directorship of Harkness still raises the emotional pitch of his voice.

Does he think prior training might have helped? "In today's dance world, perhaps. Harkness, however, was of a different era," says Rhodes. "One item I didn't have to worry about was raising money."

Of course, raising money is part of what Sansom now does as head of development for Rambert Dance Company (a one-year position). With three years of top training that included practical experience coupled with the personal magnetism he had onstage, Sansom is well positioned for the next challenge of his career. He's full of praise for the Vilar program and says, "Rotating through the diverse aspects of Kennedy Center activities made it possible for me to have insight into my own abilities beyond dance."

SURVIVAL TACTICS PART 1

Personal attributes developed by dancers and choreographers often translate well to careers in arts management: discipline, focus, drive, creativity, problem solving, reliability. But those are not enough to achieve success in leadership roles. Specific and targeted knowledge and experience are necessary. Where can you learn about fiscal management, fund-raising, board development, marketing, and public relations? What does it take to get bookings for your dance company? Whether you're a performer interested in arts management or a choreographer with the desire to build a touring company, we offer this special focus on business as a map and compass for your next move.

--KAREN HILDEBRAND, SPECIAL SECTION EDITOR

A CALL TO LEADERSHIP

"In recent years, the role of artistic director in American dance companies has become less univocal and more dependent upon collaboration with the organization's administrative staff and the board of directors," wrote Jeffrey Edwards in his application for a fellowship to the Vilar Institute for Arts Management. "Increasingly, artistic directors must demonstrate business acumen and understand the managerial intricacies of their organizations in order to gain support for any artistic agenda."

Edwards danced with New York City Ballet, Zurich Ballet, and Lyon Opera Ballet during his fifteen-year performance career. When he retired from the stage in 1998, he enrolled at Brown University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude with a degree in modern culture and media. He was selected as one of twelve Vilar fellows (six from the U.S. and six from other countries) from a pool of more than 200 candidates, and in September 2002 began working and studying under the direction of Michael Kaiser at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

"As a young dancer I was constantly aware of the inevitability of making a transition," says Edwards. "This was both a heavy burden and a constructive reminder that there was a tremendous amount to learn from people around me--observations that would hopefully serve me well in post-performance life. While a dance career can seem insular, it provides an opportunity for a curious artist to amass an amazing body of knowledge that can be creatively applied to future careers."

The 2002-03 arts management class includes three dance people: Edwards, who is now director of education at Twyla Tharp Dance, Robert Mesko, founder of the Bratislava Dance Theater in Slovakia, and Howard Sid Lucas, development associate at Philadanco.

During the ten-month program that ends this month, Edwards and his classmates attended daily management seminars in strategic planning, development, marketing, and finance conducted by Michael Kaiser and the center's vice presidents, and fulfilled hands-on assignments in three to five different departments of the Kennedy Center. During his rotation through the programming department, Edwards designed a project to present young musical artists from American conservatories in their Kennedy Center debut. He also helped to identify and cultivate donors for a proposed ballet fund-raising initiative.

"I think it is hugely important to bring awareness--even among young dancers--to the tremendous need for artistic and administrative leadership in dance at this moment in history," says Edwards. "The more challenging the economic and artistic climate, the more urgent the call for artists to assume leadership roles in performing arts organizations."--Karen Hildebrand

George Jackson is a dance writer based in Washington, D.C. He began writing for DANCE MAGAZINE in the early 1960s.