by Dulce Gomez, Marketing Intern at The Joyce

Internships enhance the classroom experience by bringing to life theories and issues discussed. It is also an opportunity to observe an organization as it lives and functions day by day. As students we seek out those internships that will provide us an opportunity to test theory on practice. That is why I chose The Joyce as my internship site. As a second-year graduate student studying Performing Arts Administration at NYU, I have already interned for a dance company and now I wanted to see what the perspective was for a presenter. What challenges do they face that are both similar and unique to this environment?

I am now in my fourth week and what is it that I have observed so far? Well for one, the great thing about The Joyce is that they have something that most arts organizations would kill to have- their audience. It is incredibly diverse. One could say that most presenting organizations have diverse audiences due to the variety of programming they provide but I believe that it goes beyond that for The Joyce. There are few organizations that pump as much diversity into their programming. Just looking at the performances scheduled from February to the end of March you will find Indian dance, a Mexican ballet company, Flamenco, Classical Ballet, a group from Uganda, and an Israeli dance company. Talk about an international passport! “What do the arts do to enhance our lives and what service do they provide to the community?” That is a question that is often posed when the need for arts is questioned. In relation to The Joyce, one answer is that they are promoting cultural awareness through dance. This is an incredibly important resource as the world around us shrinks and we are forced to interact with more and more people that are different than we are. Rather than fear the unknown, organizations like The Joyce are fostering cultural understanding through a medium that everyone has in common- DANCE!

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