#tycediorio

I know I have been posting like crazy about Tyce Diorio and my dance company's educational program, "The Movement Series" but I don't think many people realize what goes on behind the scenes... so here'sa semi-concise story.

As a side note:

Well first thing is first, people ask me how I manage to book these celebrities or major speakers for events-- I was fortunate enough to have a mentor who taught me a lot about non-profit and what it means to be a good business person, so the first thing I do is attempt to make contact with the artist I want to book (usually through social media) and some of them do reply, for example, Tyce did, then he directed me to his agent. You have to remember it is important to network, build connections, and most importantly KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT and HOW TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE WHEN DISCUSSING BUSINESS. You can be a fan of these major speakers, artists, local up and coming folks BUT when addressing them and/or their agents, you aren't a fan, you are someone trying to conduct business with them-- so keep that in mind when you attempt to reach out to said artist/agent.

My dance company is in residency at William Paterson University and as a Student Government Association's recognized organization, we are given free studio space for rehearsals and can request funding for various events, programs, and productions. The trick is? Well all funding needs approval from my university's SGA financial committee, a group of my peers who decide if the monies will go toward a good event that will meet the needs and wants of the students-- rightfully so since it is their student activities fees being used. 

In addition to the finance committee, there's all of these policies and regulations that need to be followed before one can even go before the committee and [dare I say] beg for money (laughs). There's financial forms, contacting the artist's agent, negotiating a price that is reasonable for the artist and WPU, etc etc.  Having booked Stacey Tookey in 2012, I had already established a connection with Tyce's agent Brooklyn Lavin (who I have to admit is probably one of the BEST agents I have ever worked with in my time of event planning, running my dance company) The process of booking Tyce (who by the way follows me on Twitter @markingthepath and saw my tweet asking if he'd be interested in doing a masterclass like The Movement Series for my dance company that includes disabled and non disabled dancers. You would be surprise that some choreographers, who I won't name, didn't bother to work with me to make scheduling it possible for their schedule and ours, not everyone in the dance community is as welcoming or open to integrated dance) began on March 14th, figuring out what dates would work for him and us, coordinating room reservations, making sure I followed all of the guidelines set forth by the SGA and WPU, and then needed to wait to be heard at the finance committee meeting, which happened today on August 14th. (a total of 5 months of working on it from the initial contact to the approval of the funding)

I am living in California as many of you already know for the summer and the meeting was scheduled at 11 a.m. (E.S.T) which meant that I needed to be up and ready to speak by 8 a.m. (P.S.T)-- although I am a fairly confident person and have had a lot of success with programming on my campus, you never know how the committee will vote. I was so nervous that I woke up at 6 a.m. and I didn't go to bed till almost 2 a.m. so safe to say I am tired.

However all of the work is worth it because I know my dance company is providing a service for disabled individuals, for people who can't afford to take one of Tyce's classes at The Pulse, for people who love dance but have been told that they don't belong in traditional dance spaces- The Movement Series aims to create a space for all people, regardless of their dance ability, technique, disabilities, body shape, socio-economic status, etc.  Now the other part of the work begins: promotion, securing media coverage, coordinating with Tyce on travel, securing a photographer, etc.  SAVE THE DATE: Oct 2nd 7-8 p.m. Broadway masterclass (open to only WPU students)  8:30-10:30 p.m. Contemporary masterclass (open to the general public)

BOTH CLASSES ARE FREE!