Core-ography: "A Global Dance Storytelling Project" - Preview

Over the past few months, I've been writing a "Create Your Own Project" series as I have been developing my own project, Core-ography: "A Global Dance Storytelling Project." Well, I've definitely been creating over the past few months. And now I am finally in a place where I can start showing you the fruits of my efforts. After working hard to gain fiscal sponsorship, determining my budget, reaching out to friends and colleagues for private donations, and running a successful crowdfunding campaign, I finally made it into the studio to create my art. Enjoy this preview of my recent week interviewing, choreographing, and filming Pennsylvania Ballet Principal Dancer Lauren Fadeley speaking about how she fell out of love with ballet, quit New York City Ballet, and slowly found her way back to the beautiful art form of ballet. Enjoy!

 

LOFD Reaches Major Milestone - How My Life Has Changed Since I Began Freelancing

Screen shot from editing - Core-ography Core-Artist Lauren Fadeley

I know it has been awhile since I've posted, but a lot has been going on. Nearly two weeks ago, I successfully ended my first public fundraising campaign for Core-ography, where we surpassed our $6,000 goal by nearly $300. This allowed me to begin working with my first Core-Artist this past week. I spent nearly 10 hours interviewing, choreographing, and filming Pennsylvania Ballet Principal Lauren Fadeley. Beyond all of this, I was named a finalist in the prestigious McCallum Theatre's 18th annual Choreography Festival. This means that I will be heading to Palm Desert, CA with two dancers to perform my pas de deux from "Distinct Perceptions" and compete against the likes of 9 other established and emerging choreographers. What an honor!

Now, I know that all of the above may seem like major milestones (which they are), but today I am here to discuss a significant achievement that we just reached together. Almost 3 1/2 years after being thrust into this freelance lifestyle and beginning this blog to share my journey and knowledge as I learned the ropes, Life of a Freelance Dancer has officially reached 100,000 views. Back when I started writing the first of these 137 posts, I never imagined that I would have an audience reading from as close as the United States to as far as Australia. Dancers and freelancers alike from the United Kingdom, Phillippines, Russia, France, Japan, India, and beyond, check in regularly to see what is happening in my life, my art, and my mind. I am so appreciative of my audience and the support that I have received from you. A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all of my readers for helping me achieve this milestone!

With all of this said and done, I want to reward you with some great content. I've been thinking about what to write for this post for awhile, as I noticed we would hit this marker at the beginning of the month. After much thought, I determined it would be best to share with you how my life has changed since I began freelancing, and writing this blog

My last day at PNB onstage w/Maria Chapman

Let's go back to the beginning. When I moved to Philadelphia on June 17th, 2011, I had big dreams. I was taking a huge risk, leaving Pacific Northwest Ballet to join the fledgling, more contemporary Ballet X. By joining this organization, I cut my former salary down by nearly 2/3's, cut my guaranteed work weeks practically in half, and gave up all of the benefits that came with a big company contract. Why? Because like most artists do, I wanted to stretch myself as far as I possibly could. If you had told me that 4 years later I would be completely in charge of running my own career, traveling the country regularly, creating my own projects, directing organizations, and much more, I would have probably laughed in your face. Little did I know at the time that I would stretch myself in ways that I couldn't have imagined.

When I first moved to Philly, I was used to having a regular schedule. In Seattle, we had a Monday through Friday work week. We would begin class at 10:15 am and end our rehearsal days at 7 pm. I assumed things would be the same. But when I started freelancing, things changed drastically. All of a sudden I was in charge of my own technique, seeking work, negotiating contracts, self-promotion, marketing, staying in shape, and much more. I went from only having to show up in the studio to doing every aspect necessary to have a chance to show up in the studio and perform. I went from stretching in the morning, taking technique class, and rehearsing all day to never having a moment to breathe. After nearly 3 years of barely ever taking a day off, I had too much. This was one of my first major freelancing lessons. I started to burn out and displayed symptoms of severe anxiety. Today, while I still live the same lifestyle that I began four years ago, I have learned to nearly always take Sunday completely off for myself (today being an exception to write this exciting, timely blog). By giving myself Sunday, I take some pressure off myself and have a chance to relax and refresh for the upcoming week. Dancing for a company, a two-day weekend was a given unless we were performing. Today, a two-day weekend happens maybe once or twice a year.

Another part of my life that has changed drastically since crossing the country to try something new is my mobility as an artist and my perception of what encompasses a long period away from home and my partner. I have this really bad habit of getting what I ask for, but not exactly how I thought I would get it. When I left PNB, I was really interested in making travel a part of my art form. When dancing at PNB, we rarely went on tour. This was something that I had always imagined would be a part of my career. When I joined Ballet X, there was talk that the company would have a few opportunities to tour each season. I never made it long enough with the company to attend any tours outside of the performance at an APAP conference in New York where I sustained the injury for which they eventually fired me. But once I began to freelance, things changed drastically.

Performing @ the Guggenheim (Photo: Matthew Murphy)

My first few freelancing gigs had me excited to travel, but nervous about leaving my partner for very small amounts of time. When I performed at the Guggenheim's Works & Process series, I wasn't too worried about being away from home for 3 weeks because my partner was to join me in NYC for a week in the middle. Next, I danced for the first time with Alaska Dance Theatre for 5 weeks. Again, I was lucky that my man joined me right in the middle of the gig. So, the longest we had been apart at the time was less than 14 days. I remember being so upset when I was invited to dance with Festival Ballet Providence and found out that we would be away from each other for over 3 weeks. It was the longest that we had ever not seen each other since we moved in together in 2006. Today, I have been away from home for nearly 4 months and the longest we have gone without seeing each other has been 2 months. It is hard and not my favorite part of freelancing, but we make it work for us through regular phone and skype sessions, a relaxed approach to communicating, and the advice of a counselor.

On the traveling front, I always imagined myself touring to major cities with the company I danced for headlining in this organization's productions. But the past four years have instead featured me traveling to cities large and small, near and far, all on my own. Up until this past June, in fact, I hadn't been home for longer than 7 week in 3 1/2 years. In this time, I have danced, choreographed, and taught in New York City, Anchorage, Long Island, Providence, Philadelphia, Rochester, D.C., Myrtle Beach, Los Angeles, West Virginia, Ventura, Walnut Creek, San Francisco, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Oakland, Irvine, Little Rock, and a few more that I'm probably missing. I used to be afraid of traveling to smaller cities. I assumed that the people would be conservative in nature, the culture would be limited, and that I would run out of things to do. This is one place that freelancing has really changed my perception. Nearly each place that I have worked has shown me that, while in differing stages of development, there are amazing people and places almost everywhere in the country. I hope to expand my perception of this outside of our country in the near future!

My last day as Interim Artistic Director of Alaska Dance Theatre

Another area of my life that has changed greatly since I started freelancing has been my awareness of what I am capable of creating. As a dancer, you are expected to be submissive. Most dancers are always following the lead of somebody else, often dreaming of the day that they grab the wheel of their career. I guess I was lucky that I didn't have to wait for this to happen. When I was left without a company to call home, I had no choice but to take control of things, create my own opportunities, and expand my experience. Again, if you told me 4 years ago that I would direct Alaska Dance Theatre, choreograph for the National Choreographers Initiative, create my own summer intensive in Anchorage, teach at Peridance Capezio Center, write my very own popular blog, throw networking events for freelancers, or create a film project, I would have looked at you like you had 20 heads.

Many days, I just can't believe that I have experienced and made the things happen that I have. While my stress and anxiety levels have increased ten-fold since I began living the life of a freelance dancer, I wouldn't take back getting the chance to see where my mind and body can lead me. Even with all of the challenges that I have been through over these difficultly fruitful years, the opportunity to lead my own creativity and career have defined me in ways that would be impossible under the culture and structure of most dance companies. And while I miss that structure and safety net provided by working for an established organization, I will continue to value my freedom while I stay in this career-style. Thank you again for sharing this journey with me as I find my way through joy, struggle, and creativity. And CHEERS to the years of this to come!

Thanks for joining me on this journey to 100,000!!!!!

Help Core-ography Reach It's Goal - Final 3 Days of Fundraising Campaign

Hey LOFD fans! I want to leave a little note here that we are in the final 3 days of our fundraising campaign for our Core-ography project. We are only 1/3 of the way towards meeting our $6,000 goal and need your help! Would you be willing to make a donation of any size (they start at $10 and go up from there). If each of my readers donate at our minimal donation-level, we can easily meet our goal. We have great perks for donation levels from getting your name mentioned in the credits as a donor to skype sessions and personalized choreography made just for you by me! LOFD receives over 100 views daily from the United States to India, and all across Europe to South America!

You can follow this link (CLICK HERE) for more information about the project or to make a "tax-deductible" donation. Below, you can see all of our high caliber artists. Each of your donations help support telling these incredible artists life-defining stories.

Please consider helping us finish off this campaign with a bang!

Bridgett Zehr - Freelance Artist (former Principal w/English National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, & Houston Ballet)
Brooklyn Mack - Principal w/Washington Ballet (former Principal w/Orlando Ballet & dancer w/Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company. Princess Grace Fellowship Winner. Medalist - Varna, Jackson, Helsinki, Boston, & Korean International Ballet Competitions)
Lauren Fadeley - Principal w/Pennsylvania Ballet & Capezio Brand Athlete (former New York City Ballet, Indiana University, Academy Award-winning film Black Swan)
Andrew Brader - Complexions Contemporary Ballet (former Houston Ballet, Los Angeles Ballet, Ballet Met, Die Theater Chemnitz)
Maria Chapman - Principal w/Pacific Northwest Ballet & MPG Sportswear Messenger
John Lam - Principal w/Boston Ballet (Princess Grace Fellowship Winner)
Kiara Felder - Atlanta Ballet
Cervilio Amador - Principal w/Cincinnati Ballet (former National Ballet of Cuba)
Shira Lanyi - Freelance Artist (former Principal w/Ballet Israel & Richmond Ballet)
Allen Joseph - Freelance Artist (Glee - TV series, Festival Ballet Theatre, Cupcake Canne)
Kara Zimmerman - Joffrey Ballet (former Senior Soloist w/Cincinnati Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet)
Jessica Daley - Freelance Artist (former Koresh Dance Company, University of the Arts)

A Positive Look at My Recent Failure

As I sit here at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport patiently waiting for my delayed first flight home to Philadelphia, I can't help but think about my failure in winning the Visions Choreographic Competition at Ballet Arkansas. Five talented choreographers from Boston, Chicago, Oklahoma City, and San Francisco (oh yeah...and me from Philly) convened for a week in the southern state of Arkansas to create a teaser work to present onstage in 11 achingly short hours. We all took this risk in hopes of receiving positive critiques from the judges (amongst them Glenn Edgerton) and to potentially receive a commission with Ballet Arkansas. After a week of planning, creativity, and great effort, my dancers threw themselves into my work and gave a glimmer of what could potentially be a much larger scale piece. Alas, another deserving choreographer won that commission, and I sit here at my gate sipping my Starbucks coffee and writing about my failure. But this failure isn't a bad thing.

The dance world is and has always been obsessed with success. "Wow! She is only 15 years old and she just got hired by New York City Ballet!""He choreographed his first ballet and all of a sudden companies everywhere are seeking him out for new commissions!" "They filled in for a dancer who got injured with only a few hours notice and were almost immediately promoted!" These are not irregular conversation pieces I have come across throughout my dance career. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, these statements have never been said about me. And the reason for this is because those meteoric success stories are so rare that they are unlikely to happen to about 99 percent of us.

So many of us in the dance world dream of rising to the top with an ease of effort and the least amount of failure. But that just doesn't happen as often as we think. Give or take a few, five artists per dance-generation can proclaim these momentous stories all the way to the front page of Dance Magazine or Pointe. So, where does that leave the rest of us? If one wants to move forward, it forces the rest of us to suffer both small and great failures as we pass from success to success.

So, let's take a look at my very recent failure. I really began choreographing back in 2008 at Pacific Northwest Ballet's Choreographers Showcase. Since that first work, I have choreographed for the National Choreographers Initiative, Seattle's Men in Dance festival, the Philly Fringe Festival, Alaska Dance Theatre, multiple other PNB showcases, and won an award from Youth America Grand Prix. Nearly 6 months ago, I decided to apply for Ballet Arkansas' Visions Choreographic Competition. I was drawn to this experience for multiple reasons. First off, any chance to create on professionals is a success. Beyond this, my work would have the opportunity to be seen by a new community, a renowned figure in the international dance community, and some of my national colleagues. In fact, to be chosen out of 31 candidates to be a finalist for this venture was a great success. Do you see where I'm going with this?

When all 5 of the finalist's short works were presented yesterday evening, each of us had already achieved success by making it to the performance stage of this competition. As of 7 PM last night, none of us had failed in our risk of entering to choreograph. But by the end of the night, one choreographer would become more successful at this event than the rest of us. If none of us had actually had the aplomb to put ours work on the line, we wouldn't have had the chance to be successes or failures. At the end of the night, I was a failure. But it was neither a bad thing to fail, nor a negative part of my growth as a dance maker. It was an opportunity to work. It was an opportunity to be seen. It was an opportunity to fail. It was an opportunity to succeed. And without all of these opportunities, I wouldn't learn, improve, refine, and cultivate my art.

With success comes failure and with failure comes success. We, especially in the U.S., suffer from the negative connotation that arrives with the word failure. But interestingly enough, most of those of us who experience the most failure also experience the most success. The two go hand in hand and are quite reciprocal. My success in the Visions Choreographic Competition also allowed for my failure. And in the end, I created a new work, added more experience to my queue, expanded my creative network, and much more. I guess I could say that I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to fail. And with this new experience, perhaps, the next time I will succeed more greatly!

Cultivating Your Outgoing Personality in New Work Environments

Jessika Anspach & me (as Puck) getting ready for A Midsummer Night's Dream at PNB

Dancer's personalities come in all shapes and forms. While most dancers have some degree of an outgoing personality onstage, it doesn't always equate to the same thing offstage. As a freelancer, you are constantly thrust into new situations where you may have to step out of your comfort zone, especially when interacting with people. Many times this means that you are entering a new environment every few weeks. With new work situations come new relationships, which also means you will need to reveal your true self more quickly than you would with a full-time position. This is necessary to make a personal connection and more memorable impact. If you don't have a naturally outgoing disposition or struggle with opening up quickly, how does one make this lifestyle of eternal transition and never-ending relationship cultivation comfortable?

I've always been pretty lucky that I was practically born with a knack for interacting with people. As I have gotten older, I have honed this in to a slight degree. But for the most part, I am genuinely interested in getting to know new acquaintances and have developed skills to make a memorable impression quickly. As I've gotten older, though, I find that I tend to shy up the first few days of a new gig as I assess the circumstances that I am entering.

Performing in my work "Gated Lies" (Photo: Bill Hebert)

When I first started tightening up, it caught me off guard. Somebody would talk to me and all of a sudden I would be stumbling over my words. Or everybody would be cracking jokes in the studio and I'd be quietly sitting in the group laughing like a lady in an old-school etiquette class. When I have noticed that I am shying up, I've found that there are a few techniques I can use to let my true outgoing personality come out.

When I'm feeling particularly shy, the first thing that locks up is my voice. Either my relentless stream of words stop flowing out of my mouth (I am infamous for my ability to fill dead air) or I can't seem to raise the volume of my voice. I'm not positive of the reasoning behind this, but my assumptions fall in the range of being afraid to overstep the unique social boundaries of my new workplace through to being consumed by my assessment of the multitude of new people and situations surrounding me. What ends up happening is that I can't seem to tie one string of thoughts together from the five floating around in my head.

Essentially, what it comes down to is that I am likely experiencing sensory overload. I think this happens with many people who have issues with an unwanted stifling of their personality in new environments. In these situations, I will try to eliminate some of the noise in my head and focus on one thing at a time. Or I try to remind myself that every workplace has a particular social order. In entering that new environment, I can't walk on eggshells in fear that I may overstep my boundaries. I rarely do break workplace culture. And when I have actually done so, people are very understanding and forgiving as long as I learned quickly and was genuine in my error.

Another time when I have felt myself pulling back has been when there is another dancer in the room with a larger-than-life personality. This is the type of dancer that cracks all of the really funny jokes or who always needs to be the center of attention. When this happens, I'd rather let that person take control than duke it out for the social spotlight. In reality, I'm only successful at being funny about 10% of the time (depending on your humor) and I feel people appreciate me for many of my other qualities. So, when I find my outgoing self being stifled by one of these personalities, I tend to step into the shadows and enjoy the show or move on to a quieter place to focus on the many tasks that I probably have in my new environment. Essentially, if you find yourself in a similar situation, you need to choose whether to be a part of the act, a part of the audience, or to pass your ticket to someone else and skip out on the show.

Me stress? Never! (w/Elizel Long - Photo: Gutierrez Photography)

One of the most stressful parts of revealing your personality at a new gig can often be that you need to be on at all times. Unless you are in a hotel room by yourself, you have to be on in the studio, in the dressing room, in your host family's house, or with your roommate. It doesn't matter how outgoing you are, if you don't have some quiet time to yourself, you will likely find your personality shutting down when you least expect it. To combat this, I will take some quiet time to myself. In order to avoid situations where I am resting and somebody unintentionally interrupts my moment , I tend to find myself eating lunch, dinner, or sitting at a coffee shop all by my lonesome. When I take some me time, while I'm not in the comfort of my own home or at a regular workplace, I get a better sense of self returning back to me.

I don't always find that I lose certain aspects of being outgoing from gig to gig. But it can be stressful to watch your true self be stifled and take a back seat when there are tons of artistic personalities oozing out of each person in the room. While this isn't always true, I do find that directors tend to have a magnetic attraction to dancers who can hold the attention of an entire studio with a smile, wink, or laugh. It can be stressful entering new work environments regularly. And nobody needs the additional worry of fading into the background or appearing uninteresting or disingenuous. Making a memorable impression is important because you want to stay on employers radars for future work and opportunities. If you find yourself feeling or acting shy, stop thinking so much, show people you are generally interested in their particular environment, and take some time for yourself to rest and recharge your social battery.

8 Things You May Not Know About Me

Look! I got equipment for my project. Thanks Career Transitions for Dancers!

I've been posting a lot about my project, how to make your own, and my fundraising efforts over the past handful of blogs. I'm thinking that it may be time to take a little break from all of this explaining and self-promotion and share a mindless list post. It's been awhile since I've written any random lists for my readers. So in honor of today's change to the month of August, I'd like to share 8 (get it? The 8th month) things that you may not know about me. Enjoy!

1. When I was a kid, I was really torn about my future career. I really wanted to be a dancer. But I was actually equally passionate about becoming a meteorologist. My family used to joke that I would become a dancing weatherman. In between all of my time in school and dance classes, I wouldn't watch Nickelodeon or kids programming. Instead, I would sit glued to The Weather Channel.

I <3 NYC (from my Instagram feed)

2. Even though I was raised only 2 hours away from New York City, I never ventured into its cavernous, skyscraper-ed streets until I was 14. A great friend and her family (we went all the way back to pre-school together and are still friends today) kindly treated me to a day-long bus tour to see the city and a Broadway show (Titanic...It was definitely sinkable). While we saw the show and had a classy dinner, the only thing I vividly remember was taking a rest and sitting next to my friend and her mother at a fountain near Radio City Music Hall, where we people watched for a half hour. When I saw a businesswoman in a classy dress and sneakers running to hail a cab, I knew that New York needed to be a major part of my life. I'm still grateful for that trip today. Changed my life.

3. I lived in Seattle for 7 years and only began drinking coffee during the last 6 months of my stay there. This is one of my biggest regrets in life!

Please meet Psycho

4. When I was 15, my mom was considering getting a new cat. Being a quirky teenage boy, I told her she should name the new cat Psycho. She vetoed that idea. My response? "You wait til I get my first cat. Its name will absolutely be Psycho!" And you know what? Seven years later, at the age of 22, I got two cats and named one of them Psycho.

5. Yes, I'm 31 years old. And, Yes, I watch Spongebob for hours and hours on the weekends!

6. I talk about my personal life a lot on here, but I rarely talk about my family. I'm kind of odd, in a sense, that I don't have a great sense of family. Not that I don't love my family. My parents divorced when I was 1 and my father and his side of the family were never a big part of my life. My grandmother was a lovely lady who had a tendency to hold grudges. So, we never really saw that side of the family either. Aside from my mom, step dad, older sister, much younger brother (11 years), grandmother, and uncle, I had no contact with the rest of my family. To make up for it, I had my dance family. Some of my extended family has reached out to me as I have become an adult, but I found it challenging to accept their immediate love and support when I don't really know them or feel/understand that connection.

My concept of family? Most of them are in there/I couldn't find a clear shot of all of us

7. My partner and I are obsessed with graffiti art and collect vinyl toys. One of our favorite things when visiting other cities is to find street art and stores that sell these quirky toys (like Kid Robot). We have an accrued collection of well over 100 of these fun pieces of art.

Anniversary gift - Art by Lora Zombie

8. I was afraid of small cities and towns until I started freelancing. My entire life has been centered around larger cities. I was raised outside of Philadelphia and have lived in D.C., New York, Houston, Seattle, and back to Philly. When I found out that I was heading to places like Anchorage, Fort Wayne, Myrtle Beach, and Rochester, NY, I was genuinely frightened. I don't know exactly why, but I think I was convinced that people who don't live in big cities were conservative and judgmental of my lifestyle. I'm really glad that I've had the experience of freelancing because it has shown me that these are amazing places with even better people living there!

"Create Your Own Project" series - Make a Crowdfunding Campaign

I know that my readers have eagerly awaited the next post in my Create Your Own Project series. Well, you are in luck! Today, I am here to write about a very popular fundraising tool that can be both wildly successful and embarrassingly abused. If you look up the definition of crowdsourcing, you will find something along the lines of, "obtain by enlisting the services of a number of people, either paid or unpaid, typically via the Internet." This simple idea eventually grew into crowdfunding, a way to reach out to many people for financial support via service websites. If you haven't heard the term crowdsourcing or crowdfunding, I am sure that you have heard of Kickstarter, Indiegogo, GoFundMe, and RocketHub. These are four very popular sites that any accidental (or quite intentional) entrepreneur can use to raise funds for everything from products to projects or to pay substantial medical bills or salvage financial emergencies. How does one go about running an effective campaign to raise financial resources for a project?

(Please take a moment to look at my own example on RocketHub and consider donating to my global dance storytelling project, "Core-ography," by clicking here)

Should I go the crowdfunding route?
One of the biggest downfalls of crowdfunding is that it quickly became an exhaustively saturated platform to raise money. Thousands of people have innovative thoughts and concepts every single day. Some of these people dream of making these innovations a reality. When the urge to create strikes, one needs to be realistic with themselves. Is this passing inspiration or is it something which you are really prepared to fully commit your energy?

Too often I see people with great (or less than great) ideas who create a Kickstarter campaign on a whim. They've put some amount of thought into their wishes and dreams, but very little preparation or hard work into the process that is necessary to be successful (like a business plan, budget, mission, target market research, audience, donors, etc.). I've seen campaigns seeking complete and total funding to start one's own business from the ground up. I have seen campaigns asking in upwards of $70,000 to fully fund one's new startup. When I see people asking the public to hand them a no-interest, no-effort gift, I feel hints of embarrassment that they assume people like them so much or think their idea brilliant enough that people will just throw money at them. In these cases, I'd suggest going to a bank and asking for a loan.

My best suggestion here is to tell you to take a moment before you go the easy road to success and consider whether you are being rational in jumping into your campaign. Chances are that your integrity and intentions will be put on display in your first foray into crowdfunding. And if you look greedy and lazy in your first campaign, it will be difficult to regain public trust for any future campaigns. Take the time to do your research on your project/product. Are you truly being innovative? Are there better ways to secure financing? Are there multiple avenues to approach funding your project? Have you done any budget research to assure it is realistic? Check all of these items off your list and, only then, see where a crowdfunding site may fit. Perhaps, like me, crowdfunding isn't your initial destination to seek support.

To finish up this section, I feel it is really important to be acutely aware that most people can see right through a crowdfunding campaign. Whether one chooses to be transparent or not, most potential donors can easily determine whether your ask is a well-conceived idea or a lazy approach at getting free money from people. You need to show that you are willing to put out an effort equivalent or greater than the gracious donations of your supporters.

How do I choose which crowdfunding site to use?
So, you've put a lot of thought into whether crowdfunding is the appropriate route and you've decided that all systems are a go. There are a handful of different sites to choose from and, for the most part, there are only minor differences between each individual service.

My "making-a-decision" face?

The most popular site to raise crowd-sourced money is Kickstarter, likely because it was first to break into the mainstream. Here is a great article produced by the Foundation Center (the best place to search for grants of all kinds - thanks Chris Rudd) that shares different criteria to consider when considering the best platform for your project. Each of these sites has a different look and a unique format, so it really comes down to preference when looking at their templates.

What is most important when considering a crowdfunding platform is the fees. There are generally two fee scenarios for a majority of these sites. These companies are providing a service for any entrepreneurial soul to seek funding, so they deserve payment for providing their services and for funneling donations back to you. The two most common fee types that you will find are either an all-or-nothing approach or flexible-funding that allows more leeway if you don't meet your goal.

The all-or nothing setup means that you either reach your goal and receive funding for your ask or fall short and get nothing. Essentially, this system is put in place to encourage fund seekers to project realistic fundraising goals. As I stated earlier in this post, I've seen crowdfunding projects with unrealistic goals fail so badly that I actually felt a hint of embarrassment watching the entrepreneur reach 3%-10% of their goal in the entire month of their campaigns. They had asked for such an exorbitant amount of money that it was clear to everybody except themselves that they weren't being realistic. Beyond that, they had shown no effort on their side other than putting together a project page. The plus-side of using an all-or-nothing approach to your fundraising campaign is that, if you are successful, you get a smaller percentage taken out of the money you raised when it is funneled back to you. For these websites, I have seen fees charged in a general range of 4%-7%. In other words, if you raise $100, the service will take $4 to $7 of what you raised.

The second type of fee charged for these services is typically called flexible-funding. This works with two possible outcomes of your campaign. Either you reach your goal or you don't. If you reach your goal, then you are charged a lower percentage similar to the all-or-nothing approach. If you miss the mark, then a larger chunk of the pie is taken out of what you raised. I have seen these charges range anywhere from 8%-12%. These higher fees are used as a deterrent to those setting unrealistic goals. In this situation, you need to determine if it is more important that you receive a larger chunk of the money you raised (and you are absolutely confident you will reach your goal) or if you are comfortable taking the risk of not meeting your goal but still receiving a (smaller) portion of the monetary reward of your efforts. Some platforms force you to make this decision at the launch of your fundraising, while others will wait until the end of your campaign to see whether you met goal or not.

Another item that you must consider when determining your fundraising platform will be your time frame. Some sites only allow you to hold a campaign for one month, while others will allow you to fundraise for anywhere from 30-90 days. If you feel a longer campaign may benefit you, this may be a determining factor. But keep in mind that the longer your campaign runs and the more often you post about your fundraising, the more desensitized and annoyed your audience may be with your ongoing sales pitch.

Lastly, if you want to offer tax-deductible donations as a part of your crowdfunding campaign, you need to check in with your fiscal sponsor to see if they have a required platform, different fee schedule, or approval period. In preparing my fundraising campaign for my upcoming Core-ography project, I was required to use RocketHub's platform. I also had to seek approval from New York Live Arts before RocketHub would allow my project page to go live.

How should I go about creating my project page?

In developing my fundraising campaign, there were many things to consider. I really appreciated the template that RocketHub provided for me to set up the details of my project, my background information, rewards for donating, and further items.

I started putting my project page together by placing and editing the description of Core-ography I had already developed when applying for fiscal sponsorship, grants, and scholarships. From here, I wanted to create a few topics for the body of the project page that felt relevant to share with potential donors. This will be different for each and every person. One thing I have learned is that you need to provide enough details to give a clear picture of your end goal, but be brief enough that those potential donors with limited time don't give up on reading about your project. It's a finely tuned process.

The content that I included in the body of my project page includes a description of my project, a statement explaining "why you should donate to Core-ography," a list of items that donations will be used towards (budget), the Core-Artists who will take part, and my qualifications to make this project a reality. Each of these items offer something unique. Aside from the project description, I am hoping to build trust and purpose in order to build a bond with my audience and make my work relevant to them. Core-ography does matter to more than just me, but I need to cultivate interest and relevancy. I also included some details about my budget. This way donors know where their money is going and trust that I have already planned where funds will go? Lastly, I felt it was important for donors to know the artists that they will be supporting and their qualifications? All of these seemed like questions I would ask somebody before giving them some of my hard-earned money. So, I went ahead and answered these questions ahead of time.

Perhaps, the most taxing part of creating my page was determining the scaling of donation levels and the rewards that would be offered for giving to our campaign. The challenge was in finding perks that were realistic and affordable, yet meaningful and worth their value. I suggest opening options for people of all walks of life to donate. I find simple delineations at $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, $2000, etc., are the best way to go. For my campaign, I decided to add one more category at $175 to allow a smoother jump from $100 to $250. Having this many options allows for those that want to give but have little expendable income, as well as those that are more secure in their finances. Unless you are capable of providing rewards where you can pay for shipping, travel, or products, it is best to keep your offerings reasonable. For instance, I am offering recognition in credits of our videos and a personalized thank-you for lower level contributions and Skype sessions or signed shoes from our Core-Artists for higher level giving, among many other options.

Now, if you have ever taken a look at any crowdfunding project, you know that the one necessity for any campaign is a quality video speaking about what you are creating and your intent for the funds you are seeking. It is important to put a face to your campaign. I found that putting together my ask video was the most fun, yet tedious aspect of producing the project page. If you don't have high-quality film equipment, do your best or ask a friend for help. I filmed my speech using Photobooth on my Macbook Pro and spoke right into my computer screen. I found that it was easier for me to speak each paragraph and then edit them together, instead of trying to nail the whole speech in one fell swoop. Plus, giving this speech in my city apartment presented many challenges with noise being recorded from the streets outside my window. Also, an audience doesn't want to stare at a talking head for a few minutes. So, be sure to add images and footage into your videos. This will also help with the edits you will need to make inbetween your transitions of your speech. If you do choose to go ahead and use some music in the background make sure it is either extremely relevant or quiet and lacking any acoustic distractions.

Who should I ask to donate to my campaign?
The best thing about crowdfunding campaigns is that you can ask anybody you know to donate, from personal contacts to acquaintances on your social networks. Previously, I mentioned a range of monetary amounts to ask for and the appeal to donors of all walks of life. So, at this point, you can send out your campaign to whomever you feel comfortable. Send out personalized emails to those that you think can make a larger donation. Post on your social media pages. Ask your friends and colleagues to share your campaign.

Do whatever you feel is necessary to meet your final fundraising goal. Don't be shy, but be conscious of your campaign. Keep in mind that there is a fine line between getting people's attention and reminding them versus trolling your contacts and ignoring any social protocol whatsoever. Scrutinize the response that you get to your campaign and fine-tune your approach on a daily basis (don't be afraid to lay off selling your campaign for a few days). Personally, if you ask me to donate to your crowdfunding campaign once, I will consider it. If you check in with me a week later, I may welcome the reminder. But if you check in with updates every other day, I will probably ask you to take me off your list. Be socially conscious in this greatly over-saturated market.

Jackie McConnel in "Basic Disaster" - National Choreographers Initiative 2014 (Photo: Dave Friedman)

Now that you have the tools to start your own crowdfunding campaign, go ahead and start building a foundation to produce something that you love. That is exactly what I am doing right now. I have never done this before, and I don't plan on doing it again at any point in the near future, but I am going to ask my audience at Life of a Freelance Dancer to consider making a donation to my Core-ography project. For the past three years, I have written over 130 posts and received nearly 100,000 views from over 50 countries across the globe. I love writing and am so happy to offer my insights and share my passion for dance, choreography, and writing with all of you on the regular. If you appreciate my writing and believe in my project, please take a moment to consider making a donation of any amount to my global dance storytelling project (or, if that isn't feasible, a share of my project page). You can view my RocketHub campaign by clicking here. Every little bit helps!

Thank you for reading and for the support I feel from you all with every post that I write and share! Cheers!