Team: Alan Brown, Kyle Marinshaw
The Music Center of Los Angeles County, one of the nation’s leading dance presenters, engaged WolfBrown to assess its dance programming in light of changing demographics and consumer trends. To address the Music Center’s research questions, WolfBrown designed a multi-method study with three tracks of investigation: 1) a strategic assessment of dance programming opportunities, including desk research on trends in the supply and availability of dance companies and choreographers worldwide, and an exploratory quantitative survey of aesthetic descriptors associated with dance presentations; 2) a qualitative investigation of Hispanic/Latino participation in dance, relying primarily on a panel methodology; and 3) an effort to building the Music Center’s internal capacity to collect audience feedback through surveys of its Active Arts, World City, and mainstage dance series audiences.
Results yielded from the yearlong study provided The Music Center with new insights into how the dance landscape is changing, what programming it should consider to attract a more diverse audience, as well as other recommendations and next steps.