Developing larger audiences for dance can be particularly tough given the perception that many people need to feel really quite adventurous before they?ll give dance or ballet a go. How can venues and dance companies persuade people to be that adventurous? Heather Maitland offers some advice.
Last year Cindy Sughrue and Ros Lamont of the Scottish Arts Council commissioned Tim Baker and me to find out how venues and dance companies can increase audiences for the artform. We analysed data held on 43,848 ticket buyers for 528 dance events at eight venues in Scotland. These events included all types of dance presented between April 1999 and March 2001 at the eight venues ? probably around 70% of professional dance performances in Scotland during that period.
As a result of this analysis, we chose Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh to provide a cross-section of typical audience types and held two focus groups in each city. To check the validity of our results, we compared them with a dozen or so pieces of research into audiences for dance carried out since 1992. The following is a summary of the research, offering useful tips for both venues and dance companies.
The audience profile
The number of people who say they are dance enthusiasts is relatively small. They tend to be loyal to ?their? venue so the venues should work to build a relationship with them ? not least because they also tend to see lots of other types of event there. However, venues that present just the odd dance event will never maximise audiences. Programming more dance events means more people overall will be buying tickets because this provides an increased number of opportunities to attend for the large pool of general arts attenders who occasionally want to see ?something different?. Many more people are interested in attending dance events on an occasional basis. The way to increase audiences is to focus on the people who attend a wide range of events at the venue who will incidentally choose dance if it looks particularly interesting. This means that direct mail usually goes to the wrong people. Mail all those who bought tickets for two or more dance events in the past 12 months. Then mail everyone who did not buy tickets for dance in the past 12 months but did buy the year before that. Also mail the people who attend a range of events at the venue but haven?t yet got round to seeing dance.
Audiences see a huge difference between what they prefer to call ?modern ballet? with high production values and smaller scale work that doesn?t provide them with ?the whole thing?. Many people we would think of as contemporary dance attenders don?t understand that this sort of dance is about ideas, not visual spectacle. It?s easier to persuade attenders of adventurous theatre, music and the contemporary visual arts to cross over to smaller scale contemporary dance. But even they want to know what ideas the creative team is trying to communicate to them.
Even frequent attenders of ballet and contemporary dance can feel uncomfortable and ignorant talking about dance. This makes them very careful about what they choose to see and anxious about bringing someone with them. Provide reassurance by giving them the information they need in a clear and straightforward way. Even frequent attenders of cutting edge dance take carefully calculated risks based on the available background information about the company, choreographer, dancers and music. Most dance bookers tend to stick to one dance style whether it?s ballet, or traditional dance or tap. The only common denominator we found was ballet on ice!
Companies should also build relationships with dance enthusiasts to reinforce their brand and ensure audiences don?t feel as though they have seen everything that company has to offer. Only a tiny proportion of ticket buyers travel to see dance. So concentrate on the people who live within a 30-minute drive of the venue (45 minutes if it?s in a rural area).
Communicating about dance
The most important method of communicating with existing and potential dance audiences is the venue?s season brochure. The image and copy are therefore crucial. Pictures that are distinctive and convey character, emotion and vitality sell tickets. Copy should focus on telling a non-expert audience what the show is about and what it is like to watch. Tell people about what audiences refer to as ?the whole thing? ? the combination of music, visually attractive sets and costumes, the emotional impact of the piece and the skill and physicality of the dancers. If one of these elements appears to be missing, they feel that they are likely to be disappointed by the experience on offer. Audiences simply don?t understand copy about dance. Phrases that we take for granted like ?new work? leave them perplexed. Don?t just name-drop but explain why it?s worth seeing a particular choreographer?s work. Audiences are particularly scathing about the way we hype dance events. They tell us firmly that they don?t believe words like stupefying, electric, dramatic, and never to be forgotten. They want us to tell them exactly why the piece will astonish them.
The price issue
Ticket price only plays a role in the decision to attend for very frequent arts attenders who have to make a choice between a number of events they want to see. Even then, they don?t choose the lowest price but the event that will give them most for their money. Many feel that dance offers poor value because the shows can be so short. A low ticket price often signals that the event is high risk. Bring a Friend for Free offers and money back guarantees are much more effective than discounts as they reduce the risk of attendance without sending the wrong signals.
Heather Maitland is an independent arts consultant. t: 01949 843161; e: hmaitland1@aol.com
The research findings detailed here are available on the Scottish Arts Council?s website at http://www.scottisharts.org.uk/ publications/publications.htm#research