This section distills the viewpoints of some of the leading artists and supporters of dance and choreography in the country regarding if and how choreography can be taught; the best ways to support choreographers; and the factors that enhance the quality of choreography. Here the report focuses on the professional field, including the programs and opportunities for artists to learn and develop their craft, as well as the opinions of artists on how they choose to make work. These 25 U.S.-based interviewees include artists, presenters, professors, funders, and arts administrators from service organizations, colleges, national and local arts associations, and funding organizations.

The collective impressions gleaned from interviewees convey their extensive knowledge of and range of opinions about teaching choreography in college settings. A few artists credited choreography classes as providing a way for them to start making work, lauding this early exposure and individual instructors. Most interviewees, however, expressed reservations about the effectiveness of choreographic training in the academy and the outcomes for students of taking such courses.

Interviewees spoke of the degree to which choreographers are self-taught. They stressed that key parts of how choreographers develop artistically are to maintain a regular practice, to collaborate with other artists of quality, and to be pushed (or push themselves) beyond their comfort zones into new artistic terrain. Interviewees generally felt positively about the range of formal training programs within the professional field. Presenters and other leaders in the field who provide sustained relationships to artists as they develop work are also greatly valued. Interviewees discussed at some length their opinions about how the dance field does, or should, talk about choreography and its quality. Strategies such as the assignment of mentors and dramaturgs received mixed reviews; such relationships are more likely to succeed if the artist selects the mentor than if the match or requirement is externally imposed. Although critique is rarely given to artists, interviewees strongly endorsed its need. Some interviewees stressed that artists should continually see the work of other choreographers.

Opinions about funding were particularly nuanced and passionate. The predominant shift to project-based support has imposed upon artists a level of uncertainty that hinders their creative process. The most repeated theme in the discussion about funding centered on fellowships. Interviewees saw a strong connection between providing unstructured funding as the best way, in the end, to support and encourage quality. In these discussions the field’s needs seem to boil down to a few things: financial support in a form that truly supports choreographers, mechanisms to provide feedback, and strengthening the sense of community around space. Across all types of interviewees there was a consistent and resounding cry to build a national program of fellowships for choreographers.