Next month, Mina Communications and Dance San Diego Magazine are launching San Diego's first citywide August Dance Awareness Month initiative (ADAM). The concept of ADAM was developed by freelance writer of Dancer Magazine/consultant for Mina Communications, Jasmine Rios. As a San Diego resident and advocate for the global dance community, Rios developed an interest in helping the San Diego dance community build a stronger presence in the local arts scene.

The first major step toward creating dance awareness in San Diego began in 1996, when Eveoke Dance
Theatre introduced the Celebrate Dance Festival (CDF). Today, the annual festival in Balboa Park is
considered the largest event of its kind in Southern California. The decision to hold the ADAM initiative in August was to create a variety of smaller dance events leading up to the major event, the CDF, August
22-24 in Balboa Park. Dance companies will have a full month to promote their current workshops and upcoming performance season, invite new students to attend free classes, and offer in-studio performances. The ADAM campaign will serve the dance community by promoting these local dance events throughout the month of August free of charge.

The official mission of this initiative is to help create more dialog within the San Diego dance community, educate the public about the various challenges in the local dance community, and stimulate year-round dance performance patronage. To accomplish these goals, Rios and publisher/editor in-chief of Dance San Diego Magazine, Melanie Dellas, are leading public relations and advertising campaign efforts to
communicate the needs of the dance community.

Since May 2007, Rios and Dellas have helped serve as a voice for the local dance community through
publishing articles on some of San Diego's most prominent dance companies including Eveoke Dance
Theatre, San Diego Ballet, Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater, Malashock Dance, Culture Shock Dance Troupe, and many others. Reaching out to the San Diego dance community to observe the talent and hear the stories behind each company's vision has enabled Rios and Dellas to delve into the heart of community issues and uncover the needs of many dance organizations.

Reaction to the awareness campaign from arts enthusiasts and the dance community has been
encouraging. Dellas shares, "I have had several emails from local dance companies that want to help in any way they can. I believe dancers here welcome this initiative with open arms and cannot wait to see the
changes."

Over the years, dance companies have observed substantial financial contributions made toward the art of music, theatre, opera, and visual arts. Six and seven figure contributions are not uncommon, whereas annual dance company budgets are less than $1 million on average, with sponsor and donor support included.
Companies produce approximately four to five productions per year, each of which is performed over one or two weekends. Dance enthusiasts often ask, why the companies perform so few productions each year.
The answer is, company budgets are consumed by production cost and short lived performance weekends
are what they can afford. Dance companies would like to find out what they can do to stimulate further
support from the corporate and philanthropic community.