On July 12, 2011, I had the honor of engaging in a conversation with two pillars of Hartford’s dance community, Judy Dworin and Kathy Borteck Gersten (Artistic/Executive Director and Associate Artistic Director of the Judy Dworin Performance Project respectively). On this occasion both women chatted with me about Dance Services Network (DSN), an organization founded in 1980 to support and advocate for dance in Greater Hartford. As a teenager, I was fortunate to have an incredibly generous high school teacher who brought me to seemingly every dance event in Hartford. In retrospect, I now know that many of these events were organized by DSN. It was in this context that I had my first exposure to choreographers/companies like Judy Dworin, Works and Sonia Plumb. It was also in this context that I came to appreciate Hartford as a culturally rich place. So, in this conversation with Judy and Kathy, I hoped to glean some lessons from the successes and struggles of that earlier organization that might help us better advocate for the present day dance community.
As several members of the dance community experimented with the Homegrown Dance initiative between 2010 and 2012, I took lots of notes from related meetings, informal chats and other kinds of research. Now as I look back at those notes, much of it reveals important parts of our history. This information about DSN is among those important historical references, though there are several gaps to fill in. So, rather than attempt to offer a cohesive essay chronicling the details shared by Judy and Kathy, it seemed more efficient to simply share some of my notes. In this way, the information is made available and there’s still plenty of room for others to help fill in the gaps. In keeping with this intention, the following notes reflect information added by Susan Murphy, an administrator of DSN in its final years.
If you have additional information, images or corrections that you believe would round out these notes, please be sure to let me know …
DANCE SERVICES NETWORK (DSN)
••• Beginnings (1980-81)
- Was catalyzed by a spirit of cooperation between dance entities in the Greater Hartford area including Judy Dworin, Kathy Gersten as well as Michael Utoff and Enid Lynn of The Hartford Ballet
- The initiative was very inclusive at the onset and functioned on a project to project basis
- Fostered a sense of shared responsibility as participants served on committees
- Trinity College served as the physical and financial home of the initiative when it began
- An initial conference was held which focused on the needs of the dance community
- Print media outlets were represented (i.e. Nancy Pappas of the Hartford Courant)
- Grassroots initiatives were the focus which included a regular showcase of local choreographers and were heavily reliant on volunteers
••• Blossoming
- Kathy Borteck Gersten served as the organizations first director
- DSN left Trinity after becoming incorporated as a nonprofit organization and moved into its own office space which was necessary in order to avoid funding conflicts with the college
- Yearly/bi-yearly showcases and convenings were organized
- The volume of work made it necessary to implement a selection process for the showcases
- Choreographers were required to submit video samples for review by a selection committee
- A sense of competition grew out of this shift which led choreographers to simply produce their own evenings of dance rather than be subject to the selection process
- The production of a newsletter became an important function of DSN
- First quarterly then monthly
- The newsletter’s local reach expanded to include the state
- It also aggregated information into a shared calendar in order to help avoid scheduling overlap
- Dance advocacy was another important function of the organization as it encouraged funding from Greater Hartford Arts Council and the CT Commission on Culture and Tourism
- DSN provided a safe way for various parties across the dance community to stay connected even when the sense of competition grew
- This period was marked by a vibrant sense of community which inspired the formation of companies like Works and the Sonia Plumb Dance Company
- Relationships were cultivated with area venues (i.e. Real Art Ways and Charter Oak Cultural Center)
- A comprehensive mailing list was shared among the dance community, thanks to DSN
- A marley dance floor was also made available to area dance companies for rent
••• DSN comes to an end (@1993)
- The newsletter was a primary function of the organization in its final years.
- Many of the organization’s original mission had been accomplished over the years
- Statewide connections
- Development of new companies and nurturing of choreographers
- Information sharing through the newsletter
- Statewide dance advocacy
- Additionally, DSN had been the recipient of a 3 year grant in its final years. When those funds were exhausted, the organization was unable to access a sustainable source of funds, and had exhausted its volunteer base as well.
- These concerns, along with the growth of the organization may have contributed to decreased involvement, and the organizations eventual demise
- DSN came to an end in the mid-90s. An exact year has not been confirmed although 1993 and 1995 have both been cited by Tracey Dorman and Susan Murphy.
••• DSN Leadership succession
- Judy Dworin
- Kathy Gersten
- Robin Watkin
- Tracey Dorman and Susan Murphy
