Kacico Dance History/Accomplishments Kacico Dance Background Statement

Kacico Dance was created in Oct. 2004 to meet a need for quality contemporary dance in the Kansas City area and to be an organization that provides adequate and dependable compensation for artists. Kacico Dance endeavors to be an organization that provides top quality contemporary dance for regional audiences while ensuring organizational and financial stability. To achieve this, a 3-year plan was created with adequate and achievable yearly budgets that allowed the company to focus on developing the highest quality production of contemporary dance possible from day one. Significant rehearsal time, dance training, adequate pay for dancers, a sound business plan and a complete marketing plan were planned from the start. Kansas City audiences have benefited from all these efforts by experiencing outstanding performers and choreography. Ticket sales, audience feedback forms and board feedback are used to determine the overall effectiveness of the company artistically and administratively. Improvements are made as is necessary. Kacico Dance has completed 7 seasons; the first 5 were under the direction of Michelle Diane Brown. Beginning in 2010 three veteran dancers took over the administrative and choreographic duties of the company. Kacico Dance is currently under the direction of 3 Co-Artistic Directors Allison McKinzie, Holly Noel Harmison and Maggie Osgood Nicholls. Each season Kacico Dance performs Dance Happens events at KC venues: Unity Village, Prairie Village Art Fair, Independence Art Walk, First Fridays, City Market, Starlight, the Writer's Place and more. These free events expose a large, diverse audience to contemporary dance and encourage audience participation. Since 2004 Kacico Dance has presented 12 full evening concerts. These have been presented to audiences all over the metro area; at the Folly Theater, The Performing Arts Center in Liberty, MO, The Performing Arts Center at Longview Community College, The Carlsen Center at JCCC and at the Gem Theater. Kacico Dance tours each season; we have traveled to Los Angeles June, 2006, and Ft. Worth, Nov. 2007, Springfield, MO Sept. 2008, Atlanta, GA, Nov. 2009, St. Louis, MO March 2010, Conway, AK Jan 2011 and will travel to California, MO Feb 2012 and Marshall, MO Sep. 2012. In the short time since Kacico Dance was founded, the board of directors, artistic director/s and company of dancers have made significant progress in establishing Kacico Dance as a pillar of arts in Kansas City.

Kacico Dance has recently had to attend to some financial challenges, but has already begun to find solutions that are working.  Kacico has moved out of their former downtown space, Kacico Studios West.  Kacico opened this new space in Kansas City in July 2008.  The company projected it was ready for  this step due to their previous success, the need for a larger rehearsal space, and the desire to open a full time school of dance. The plan was that the revenues from the school of dance and from studio rental would cover the overhead.  Immediately following this expansion, the worldwide financial crisis hit.  Kacico projected 60 regular dance students within the first year but only had 30.  The company projected 8-10 renters but only had 3.  The monthly physical space overhead was $1675, however generated monthly revenue was only $1000, and the company had over $10,000 in renovation costs.  Corporate donations diminished (a large corporate donor suspended donations indefinitely) and grant amounts from four of our major funders lessened. This combined to create a deficit as of 1/1/2010.  A private donation to Kacico Dance has eliminated the deficit entirely.   A local studio is generously donating rehearsal space indefinitely.  The Kacico School of Contemporary Dance has been merged with Community School of the Arts, KC Young Audiences, which no longer generates revenue, but will incur no expenses.  Equipment no longer needed such as the flooring from Kacico Studios West and chairs have been sold.  All paid positions have been eliminated.  The company has reduced its total hours of rehearsal time per week.  Dancers are donating rehearsal time and the three new co-artistic directors are donating administrative time until proper funding can be secured.  Dancers will be paid on a per-performance basis.  Less expensive marketing strategies are being used such as free email blasts, Facebook, free online arts calendars, and limited printing and marketing materials.  An emphasis has also been placed on and the company is successfully finding a greater number of paid bookings to increase earned income.  Though Kacico has greatly reduced its annual operating budget, the amount of planned programming has only reduced by about 25%.  The decreased budget will not reflect a decrease in the quality of the company’s work.  

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  Created and presented 7 performances of "The 2011 Song and Dance Project". This highlighted 4 Kansas City area singer/songwriters along with Kacico Dancers. 4 performances in June 2011 were free to the public Borders Bookstore in Lee’s Summit, Crossroads Coffee House in KCMO, Leopold Gallery in Brookside, and at the Writers Place of Kansas City in KCMO.
  

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  3 performances of "The Song and Dance Project" were presented at the KC Fringe Festival in July 2011 at the Gem Theater.
  

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  Kacico Dance fundraiser "Beatles, Burgers and Beer" at the Westport Flea Market August 20th 2011. $20 got guests dinner, drinks and live music. The fundraiser was a success; Kacico plans to make this an annual event.
  

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  Performed at Open House for both the Todd Bolender Center and Kauffman Center
  

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  Held a Performance Workshop for young Kansas City area dancers. 2 day workshop, participants learned a modern piece that was performed before the Kacico Dance fall repertory concert "6 Impressions".
  

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  Performed 4 “Dance Happens” events: 1810 Gallery KCMO, City Market KCMO, Writers Place of Kansas City, and Leedy Voulkos Arts Center KCMO.
  

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  Fall repertory concert "6 Impressions" choreographed by Kacico Dance Co-Artistic Directors at the Carlsen Center at JCCC
  

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  Complete scheduled tour to Finke Theatre in California, MO Feb 25 2012.
  

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  Complete scheduled tour to Marshall, MO Sept. 13^th-14^th. Kacico Dance is being brought in to teach a master class and perform selected works at Missouri Valley College.
  

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  6 Performances of "Freedom of Speech" are scheduled for Feb and March 2012 to be performed in the Kansas City Missouri public Schools through Kansas City Young Audiences.
  

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  Reset "Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangld Prairie Tale" which is scheduled to be performed at Longview Community College June 2012. This is a family friendly show based off of a book by local children's author Lisa Campbell Ernst and is set to live music, created specifically for this show, by local singer/songwriter Dave Patmore. This will be the second production; the first was performed at Longview Community College June 2010.
  

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  Create a Fall Repertory concert choreographed by Kacico Dance Co-Artistic Directors to be performed Nov 2012. Hire a guest Artist to set work on the company.
  

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  Continue to pursue touring with the goal of acquiring an additional out of town booking in 2013.
  

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  Hold annual fundraiser
  

10/05 Inaugural Rep Concert, Folly Theater

5/06 Choosing Chelsea, Folly Theater

10/06 Annual Rep Concert, Folly Theater

1/07 3rd season

4/07 Song and Dance Project created/performed

5/07 Choosing Chelsea, Folly Theater

10/07 Artistic exchange with Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth - Annual Rep Concert Folly Theater, then tour to

Fort Worth

2/08 4th season

5/08 Choosing Chelsea, Folly Theater

7/08 Move into Kacico Studios West in Crossroads District KCMO, Formed Kacico School of Contemporary Dance

7-9/08 Created Light, Movement, Shadow, Sound for Fringe Fest, toured it to Springfield, MO

10/08 Annual Rep Concert, Kacico Studios West

2/09 5th season

2-3/09 KCYA performances, Freedom of Speech

5/09 Concert of Solos, Kacico Studios West

4-7/09 Song and Dance Project 2009

10/09 Innerlying Landscapes, Folly Theater

11/09 Tour to GA for performances and master classes in Atlanta and Athens

1/10 Moved out of Kacico Studios West/ merged Kacico School of Contemporary Dance in with CSA/KCYA

1/10 Michelle Diane Brown retires, Co-Artistic Directors Allison McKinzie, Holly Noel Harmison, and Maggie Osgood Nicholls take over administrative and artistic responsibilities of Kacico Dance

2/10 KCYA performances, Freedom of Speech

3/10 Tour to St. Louis College of Pharmacy

3/10 Dance Happens at Leedy Voulkos Arts Center KCMO

6/10 Little Red Riding Hood; A Newfangled Prairie Tale, MCC-Longview's Cultural Arts Center

7/10 The Inspired Project, KC Fringe Fest

9/10 Dance Happens, Writers Place of Kansas City

10/10 Dance Happens, Archival Designs KCMO

11/10 TRANSITION-Fall Rep Concert @ The Gem Theater

1/11 Tour to Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas

2/11 KCYA Freedom of Speech

5/11 Dance Happens, 1810 Gallery KCMO

6/11 Song and Dance Project 2011

7/11 Song and Dance at KC Fringe Fest

8/11 Invited to Perform at KC Ballet's Todd Bolender Center

8/11 Dance Happens, City Market KCMO

8/11 Annual Fundraiser – Beatles, Burgers and Beer, Westport Flea Market KCMO

9/11 Invited to Perform at the Open House for the Kauffman Center

9/11 Celebrating Voices, Writers Place of Kansas City

10/11 Dance Happens, Leedy Voulkos Arts Center KCMO

11/11 6 Impressions, Carlsen Center at JCCC

2/12 Kacico performs works choreographed by Allison McKinzie and Maggie Osgood Nicholls at “Modern Night at the Folly”

2/12 Tour to Finke Theatre in California, MO

2/12 KCYA Freedom of Speech

5/12 Dance Happens, Leedy Voulkos Arts Center KCMO

6/12 Little Red Riding Hood: A Newfangled Prairie Tale, MCC – Longview Cultural Arts Center

11/12 Fall Rep. Concert at City Stage Theater, Union Station KCMO

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  $25,000 per season to re-establish salaries for seven dancers (an average of $400/mo per dancer for 9 months).  This will allow Kacico to continue hiring dancers of the highest quality and to increase the amount of rehearsal time possible per week.
  
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  Establish a grant writing/development committee to help the Co-Artistic Directors secure funds for the company. 
  
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  Board Development
  
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  Secure funds or an in-kind donation for a space in the heart of KCMO. Downtown KC or Crossroads District.
  
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  $12,000 to hire a part-time execute director to relieve the artistic director and dancers of many administrative duties and to focus strongly on fund raising and private donors to assure the financial success of the company.
  
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  Increased ticket sales/audience attendance and outside bookings