2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report
October 31st, 2024
November 15th: Dresher Ensemble Artist Residency, November 19th: Carmel Dance Festival Dance Fellowship, November 21st: Cultural Sustainability, December 2nd: Public Art for Spatial Justice, February 28th: National Dance Project Travel Fund, April 30th: South Arts Individual Artist Career Opportunity Grant, April 30th: South Arts: Professional Development & Artistic Planning Grants, April 30th: South Arts: Express Grants, September 16th: The Awesome Foundation Micro Grants, September 16th: New England States Touring (NEST 1 and 2), September 30th: New England Presenter Travel Fund, September 30th: Amplifi Napa Valley - Emerging Artists Grant
×October 31st, 2024
This is Dance Data Project®‘s (DDP) third Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report. This year’s report covers 125 companies, an increase from the 75 companies included in 2023, marking a substantial expansion in DDP’s annual analysis of contemporary and modern dance companies.
The report finds that in FY2022, the Largest 125 contemporary and modern companies operated with a total aggregate expenditure of $176,709,221. However, when compared to the Largest 125 ballet and classically based companies, which reported expenses 4.02 times higher than the Largest 125 contemporary and modern companies, a marked difference emerges in the operating scale between the two sectors. This gap underscores the continued need for more robust funding and operational resources within the contemporary and modern dance community to meet rising operational demand.
For the first time, DDP has extended the analysis to examine company revenue for FY2021, FY2022, and preliminarily FY2023, offering new insights into the revenue landscape for these companies. The Largest 125 companies generated a total revenue of $217,912,129 in FY22 compared to the FY22 total expenses of $176,709,221, indicating a surplus over their expenditures for the year. However, the revenue gap remains pronounced, with the Largest 125 ballet and classically based companies generating 3.78 times more revenue than the Largest 125 contemporary and modern dance companies in FY22.
This year DDP also examined company fiscal surpluses and deficits for the first time. In FY22, among the Largest 125, 91 companies (72.80%) finished with a surplus, reflecting both resilience and the financial tightrope many organizations walk. 34 companies (27.20%) finished in deficit, indicating that the majority of companies reported a surplus at the end of FY22.
As of October 14, 2024, DDP sourced 117 FY23 990 filings, preliminary aggregate expenditures of $168,916,335—lower than the FY22 Largest 125 aggregate expenditure of $176,709,221. As these are only preliminary findings, the inclusion of missing 990s will most likely increase the overall aggregate expenditure. In compiling the FY23 data, DDP encountered delays due to IRS backlog in uploading annual filings to their website for public access, as well as companies filing for extension.