Help Desk/L.A. supports infrastructure and works with participating dance and performance artists to build a professional community amongst their peers. At the heart of Help Desk/L.A. are two equally important relationships: the one between artist and mentor and the one between artist and his/her community. Help Desk/L.A. will:
- Provide participating artists and companies with strategic planning, guidance and infrastructure support to their professional entity during the course of a fiscal year.
- Provide administrative guidance with a particular project.
- Offer a forum for artists and participating non-performing partners to attend monthly working meetings that will foster a strong peer-based community.
Participating artists will be paired with a mentor based on an application process that includes submission of written materials and meetings with Pentacle staff. Each participant will work with a mentor to articulate the goals of the organization, determine strategies for attaining the goals and guidance in areas of infrastructure support. Regular meetings of all Help Desk/L.A. participants and mentors will focus on issues elucidated from the issues being worked on by participants, as well as larger issues that impact the greater community. Participants will work on a community project derived from work undertaken during the cycle.
Help Desk/L.A. is fluid and flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of its artist participants. The program focuses on helping to create viable and stable infrastructures for lightly institutionalized artists and empowering artists to find and create the support they need. Help Desk/L.A. participants seek to develop a lively and supportive professional community for Los Angeles area dance and performance artists and by so doing will also support the non-performing champions of dance. A substantial accomplishment considering the stresses faced by the dance world.
T E S T I M O N I A L S
“Running a dance company is a fairly solitary experience, particularly when trying to juggle the artistic and administrative aspects on a small budget. Usually so much energy and time is spent on the artistic part of the company that there is little left over to work on the administrative side. Working with Help Desk/L.A. has made me feel like I can take a deep, long breath.”
- Help Desk Artist
“Help Desk offers dancers, choreographers and smaller companies the far too rare opportunity to have year-long individualized guidance, a sounding board, and personalized assistance on specific needs and issues. More effective than the general offerings of most workshops, lectures, panels and trainings that are typically available, this program enables participants to successfully implement real change.”
- Help Desk Mentor
C O N T A C T
Help Desk/L.A. Pentacle
bLAckwelder Campus
3201-B S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
P: 310-815-9625
C: 917-834-6749
F: 310-815-9611
helpdeskla@pentacle.org
www.pentacle.org
