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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Melinda Wang, Research and Advocacy Manager at Dance NYC
5:36:10
ยท
155 sec
Melinda Wang from Dance NYC testified about the importance of dance and arts in New York City, highlighting their economic and social impact while emphasizing the financial challenges faced by dance workers and organizations. She called for a $75 million baseline increase for DCLA to support the cultural sector.
- Dance contributes an estimated $300 million annually to NYC's economy, but 40% of dance organizations classify their financial health as weak or very weak.
- Dancers and choreographers earn an average of just $23,000 from dance, which is 82% less than the average rent for an NYC apartment.
- Wang emphasized the need for increased stable funding to support cultural workers, especially those from marginalized communities facing additional threats from federal attacks.
Melinda Wang
5:36:10
Good afternoon and thank you to Chair Rivera and the committee for the opportunity to testify today.
5:36:15
My name is Melinda Wong and I am the research and advocacy manager at Dance NYC.
5:36:20
Our organization serves and represents the estimated 6,000 dance workers and 1,700 dance entities of our city.
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We are also a member of the Cultural Equity Coalition.
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Dance and the arts are an inextricable part of thriving community life.
5:36:35
65% of dance organizations program in public space, making our neighborhoods more vibrant and allowing the working families of our city to participate in shaping our culture as part of their everyday lives.
5:36:47
Our organizations enrich our students with over 700 arts organizations partnering with New York City public schools in the last school year.
5:36:55
This interconnectedness shows cultural assets are associated with improved outcomes in health, schooling, and safety.
5:37:02
They create the conditions for healthy economies with the dance industry alone contributing an estimated $300,000,000 annually to the city's economy.
5:37:11
Despite this, dance workers are facing enormous threats.
5:37:15
40% of dance organizations classify their financial health as weak or very weak and over half don't hold a reserve, meaning even modest fluctuations in funding threatened to shut down organizations.
5:37:27
I want to add that organizations are still recovering from cuts.
5:37:30
In the fiscal year 2024, DANS NYC and ART New York conducted a survey of about 149 CDF grantees, 69% of those organizations experienced cuts.
5:37:42
Dancers and choreographers earn an average of just $23,000 from dance, which means their total income from dance is 82% less of just the average rent for an apartment in New York City.
5:37:54
Despite this, 64% of dance workers fund their work from their already worn down pockets, reflecting the scarcity of external income sources.
5:38:04
Amidst this backdrop of precarity, our industry faces further threats with federal attacks that are gonna come down hardest on the BIPOC, immigrant, queer, and disabled dance workers who are already worse off.
5:38:15
That's why Dance NYC is joining our colleagues and calling for a $75,000,000 base baseline increase for DCLA.
5:38:22
We have the power to meet this moment with an important message.
5:38:25
In the face of regressive political forces, New York City supports the varied culture of all New Yorkers and supports the cultural workers that reflect that diversity.
5:38:34
Increased stable funding is key to making sure our workers can eat and pay rent and get back to the work they love, making New York City more prosperous, livable, and connected for all who call it home.
5:38:45
Thank you.