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Since the second half of the twentieth century, the performing arts community has
struggled with a lack of resources, due to dwindling governmental funding. Recently,
the 2008 financial recession proved the worse economic downturn for the arts. What
is not well known is that the dance community suffered the most from the bust, for
it is the youngest and thus most sensitive to any budget constraints, compared to
theaters, symphonies or the opera.1 Moreover, because dance is not easily censored,
unlike other forms of media, such as TV or the radio, dance serves as a non-verbal
form of communication to express potentially powerful political thoughts. While scholars
explored the idea of change in the quality of art expression due to budget constraints
in terms of music, operas or theaters, they have yet to explore the topic of aligning
funding cuts with the role of dance as a mechanism for conveying political messages.
This thesis analyzes the impact that funding constraints due to the 2008 economic
recession have had on dance’s role as a tool for expressing political messages for
professional dance companies. Combining my observations from interviews and a case
study with statistical financial analyses, I explore whether the potential for the
political power of dance remains or if these budget cuts compromise dancers’ abilities
to express themselves. Findings indicate that even though the capacity of dance as
a political tool never ceases, limited funding resources jeopardize the quality of
political dance expression. Nonetheless, companies remain dedicated to preserving
the role of dance as a catalyst of potentially powerful political thought, by seeking
alternative financial or artistic means.
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