Kickstart Smarter

August 5, 2015

Did you know that dance is the most successful category on Kickstarter? Throughout the site, about 43 percent of projects get funded—but if you zoom in on the dance section, that number jumps to a whopping 70 percent! Sure, that’s partly to do with dance campaigns asking for less money—but it’s also a testament to the support the dance community drums up online.

Kickstarter knows how passionate dancers and other performing artists are about their projects, so they’ve decided to make August “Performance Month.” Check out these dance-related events they’re hosting to celebrate:

 

August 13 @ 7 pm


Workshop on Using Kickstarter for Dance and Theater

Kickstarter-funded graphic novelist Jamie Tanner and Kickstarter’s dance and theater outreach lead Jes Nelson will offer tips on how to promote your project on the site, including insights into the best ways to plan your lineup of rewards for backers. The event takes place at Kickstarter’s Brooklyn offices.

 

August 13 @ 8:30 pm


Open Dance Class & Cocktails

Tedholm used Kickstarter to fund his entry for the A.C.E. Awards

After the workshop (see above), contemporary dancer/choreographer Teddy Tedholm offers a 90-minute open class for all levels. Cocktails are also involved—let’s hope they come afterwards—so attendees must be 21 or older. A regular Kickstarter user, Tedholm’s latest Kickstarter campaign successfully raised $1,260 to send his dancers to compete at the Capezio A.C.E. Awards.

 

 

 

August 18 @ 6:45 pm


Graham Performance

Graham’s Embattled Garden

In case you thought the website was only for young up-and-comers, Martha Graham Dance Company also gets in on the Performance Month action, offering a peek at Embattled Garden, Graham’s adaptation of the Adam and Eve story. See it at the company’s headquarters in New York City’s West Village. Artistic director Janet Eilber will help explain the piece with a short intro, and you’ll get to meet and hear from the dancers after they perform. What’s Graham’s connection to Kickstarter? In 2013, the company raised $25,796 on the site to bring in Nacho Duato to create Depak Ine.

 

All events are free—just be sure to register in advance on Eventbrite.