To the Washington, DC Area Dance Community,
You’ve probably noticed that Dance Metro DC has been operating at reduced capacity since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. While we have retained our weekly newsletter and some of our promotional benefits, we have not met the most urgent needs of the DC dance community as it grapples with existential, ongoing challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the reality of systemic racism in our country , and the ever-evolving landscape of our specialty as we envisioned it as the Board. We’re sorry. For this we ask for your mercy and forgiveness.
Accordingly, the Board of Directors of Dance Metro DC (BOD) has made the difficult but necessary decision to cease operations effective June 30, 2023. The newsletter service will be discontinued in March 2023.
The decision to cease operations of Dance Metro DC weighs heavily on the Board of Directors, who are all active members of the DC area dance community, and we understand it may be disappointing for you as well. However, due to increasing internal challenges, it is not possible to continue the organization in its current iteration. Below we share the context for this decision and next steps for the community. We are so grateful that you have all been a part of this community and we are honored to serve you.
Context for the decision to cease operations of Dance Metro DC
As of fall 2019, Dance Metro DC is without an Executive Director (ED). As of 2020, the BOD has been mandated to conduct in-depth discussions within the community to better meet their needs through a revised operational structure. These plans were halted by the Covid-19 pandemic; Like much of the dance landscape, Dance Metro DC’s operations have been suspended for the spring and summer of 2020.
Unfortunately, the amount of work required to revise the operational structure and restart DMDC is too much for the BOD alone. Due to the instability of the organization, the BOD believes it is irresponsible to continue the organization in its current state or to add additional volunteer board members to the organization.
Since that decision, the BOD has been working diligently to close operations in a manner that is administratively organized and compliant with nonprofit organization regulations.
The BOD recognizes the diligent work of our current and former members of the Board of Directors, whose dedication has sustained the organization during this time of transition under extremely challenging circumstances. We also thank the part-time employees who worked for DMDC during this time: Tiffani Kadani, Max Gorman, Bre Seales, and Julianna Raimondo.
Next Steps
If you have renewed your membership in the last six months, the Dance Metro DC Board of Directors will reach out to you with next steps.
The BOD will serve out our tenure on the Board until DMDC is officially dissolved. During this time, we will work to finalize our finances and keep the organization’s intellectual property safe.
While we have limited bandwidth, the BOD wants to create opportunities for community members to connect with questions about this important decision. If you would like to provide feedback, you can do so by emailing [email protected]. We will respond to all requests, but please note that it may take some time for us to do so.
Since 2005, Dance Metro DC has strived to be a center of knowledge, resources and support for the dance community in the DMV area. We are proud of the work this organization has fostered, including the Local Dance Commissioning Project, the Space Subsidy Program and the DC Dance Summit, as well as the many hard working individuals who have given their time, energy and love to not only DMDC, but also the amazing artists we’ve had the good fortune to work with. Although this current DMDC model has come to an end, we do not see this as the end; Rather, we are confident that the creativity and passion we have witnessed within the DMV dance community will create an opportunity for the development of a more sustainable model that better serves the evolving needs of the community.
We are so grateful to the DMV dance community for their support and passion for DMDC. This community is truly special and we are hopeful to see it develop. respectful,
Dance Metro DC Board of Directors:
Adriana Ray
Nanda Srikantaiah
Jordan Gehley
Anthony Hovington
Sarah Levitus
Shanice Mason
Val Oliphant
Tariq O’Meally
