Located on the 5th floor at 220 West 19th Street, the Dance Theater Association is working in a cramped environment, because this is only a temporary workplace - the Association's headquarters is located in the opposite lot, under construction. with investment capital of 12 million USD. According to documents provided by the FORD Foundation, the Theater Association is a non-governmental organization and one of the most preeminent performing arts organizations in the United States. The Association is responsible for identifying and nurturing talented artists emerging or working in various arts organizations, encouraging the wider public to access these artists and their works. The association organizes a place for community exchange for imagination and the need to apply that imagination to today's world.

According to the schedule, the Association arranged leaders to welcome us, including David R. Oai, Executive Director, Catherine Ét-Uot, Co-Artistic Director, and Cay Bake, Director of Artistic Services. technician, but when we arrived, the executive director was nowhere to be found. Before entering the living room, Ms. Cathory Ét-Uot led us to visit the offices. Having been into many offices in New York, I see that Americans pay little attention to tidiness and aesthetics, such as these rooms with items carelessly hung on shelves close to the ceiling, on which, Water pipes, gas pipes, electrical lines... run haphazardly and look confusing. Of course this is a temporary workplace, but even in stable workplaces, the aesthetics are not commendable. In return, Americans pay special attention to the convenience of items. Every living room has a drinking table on which there is an electric kettle with many compartments containing many types of water, mainly three things: coffee, tea, and boiling water, a little breakfast cake, under the table. is the trash can. For working purposes, the rooms are equipped with computers for each individual, and the common office has modern audio-visual equipment. Like when visiting other agencies, I was first introduced to the fundraising department and the drug trafficking department. I understand that these are extremely important parts, contributing mainly to the financial resources and operational efficiency of cultural and artistic units in the US. When going out to the hallway, Ms. Cath-ory Ét-Uot pointed to the 11-story house under construction, indicating that it was the Association's headquarters. Over there, construction workers are assembling concrete blocks into the house frame. Different from our construction method, this American is rich so he uses a lot of iron and steel for construction: he does not pour concrete into pillars or beams, but joins giant iron bars together to form a frame, then installs Precast lightweight concrete blocks for floors and walls, so the construction progress is very fast but the construction site is not littered with sand and gravel... This American woman is very proud of her Association's ongoing construction project. and mentioned the CEO with respect: "The other project is presided over by Mr. David R. Oai. You will be introduced to it in detail by him in a moment. You will see that Mr. David is a visionary person." farsighted". The organizational mechanism in the US is different, it is a board of directors consisting of many directors, in which the CEO is the overall responsible person, other directors are in charge of each area, not just There is a director and a number of deputy directors like me. Through the way this woman spoke, I could understand that Mr. David was a very prestigious and respected person.

Ms. Cathory Ét-Uot introduced to us the process of formation and operation of the Dance Theater Association: Established in 1965, the Dance Theater Association is a collection of enthusiastic choreographers. dedicated to sponsoring and supporting the work of colleagues and budding artists. Located in the Chelsi region, over the past 30 years the Society has expanded its original vision to become a multifaceted organization, dedicated to developing programs and resources that can help artists Independent artists develop professionally, while increasing public participation in the arts. As one of the most influential performing arts centers in America, the Dance Theater Association has supported three generations of America's most talented artists. Nearly 1,000 artists have found their artistic home at the Association's Beth-si So-trong-bo Theater. The Society's programs have developed into effectively established networks that enhance the lives of artists and the communities they serve. More than 200 concerts and exhibitions by approximately 70 dance, theater, music and video artists are sponsored each year by the Society, making it one of America's most dynamic productions. Artists receive funding for their new works from the Society's commissioning program called First Light. The investment level for ordering the creation of this new work is from 3,000 to 10,000 USD for an artist, which is usually 3,000 USD. Participating in activities organized by the Association, artists have the opportunity to express and hone their artistic talents in an environment that is both supportive and fun sharp criticism. The poem Ét-Uot lists dozens of names of famous artists along with hundreds of other talented artists who started their careers at the Association, making an important contribution to creating the cultural picture. America. She said proudly: "Every year we welcome many art troupes, not only dance but also theater, music, puppetry, organizing performances for a variety of artists from first-time artists. catwalk to famous artists. From our stage, many artists have become famous in the world. We are champions in promoting new artists."

Among its countless useful activities, the Dance Theater Association considers serving the performing artist community as a central activity. Along with sponsorship programs, the Association annually provides nearly 40 technical, management and marketing services to more than 500 artists and small art groups through the Artist Services program. This program welcomes all interested independent artists, troupes and art units, freeing artists from the management burden that always arises while organizing performances, giving artists artists' ability to find funding and establish support among artists in a decentralized and segregated social context.

Other important activities of the Society include the annual New York Dance and Performance Awards, the Public Imagination program - which includes a resident artist project and a number of community cultural programs. ongoing work, is designed to increase public access to the arts and make the Society's local community a more inclusive partner in its overall work. The Public Imagination program brings artists closer to the public, each year funding six artists to bring them into their communities.

The suitcase fund is a project sponsored by the Rockefeller agency run by the Association, helping artists and projects cross cultures, thereby eliminating economic and geographical barriers that hinder artists can gain access to other cultures. A series of cultural exchange activities with the participation of Vietnamese dance artists have been launched in recent years within the scope of the project.

Ms. Cathory Ét-Uot affirmed: "In a context where the Government and foundations rarely sponsor artists, the above activities of the Dance Theater Association are very important for the development of the art. art and shaping the cultural face of America"

It was not until 10:30 a.m. that Mr. David R. Oai, Executive Director of the Dance Theater Association, hurried over. Wearing a baseball cap, dark glasses, sturdy body, carrying a cold food package, he looks more like a sportsman. Apologizing for being late due to the subway problem, he made a comment: "Now even the subway is in bad shape. Traffic here may be worse than in the Southeast." ASIAN". Immediately, he opened the bag of food, took out a bottle of water, took a sip from the stick, and then began talking about the Association's activities. He said: "We are interested in two things: one is building an art community, two is sponsoring artists so they can stand firmly in the art community. To date, we have 900 artists members. We also look for ways to get established artists to come back and help young artists."

It is not known what documents were based on, but the director said with certainty the following: "I know that Vietnam is wanting to innovate cultural activities by socialization. We call it privatization. This way Building an artistic community and cultural community in Vietnam and the US are basically the same. Because, when building an artistic (cultural) community, three elements are needed: Artists - the public, Organizations. intermediary, Support mechanism. All three factors above need to be nurtured."

Mr. David's way of thinking about socialization of cultural activities above is not consistent with our way of thinking, because in Vietnam, socialization is not synonymous with privatization.

Very enthusiastic and decisive, Mr. David affirmed: "When supporting the development of the art community, we do not distinguish between traditional art and contemporary (experimental) art, only different types of literature. familiar culture with unfamiliar cultural forms. Currently, the public, not only the elderly but also the young, have very little information about support for the arts. Regardless of the approach, it can be seen that The future of cultural identity depends a lot on young artists that we don't know about yet. We focus on supporting artists regardless of whether they belong to an arts organization, supporting artists who Independent artists, regardless of whether artists are trained or not. If you want to strengthen culture, you don't just have to invest in cultural units. America's culture is strengthened not by art units. art, but by the artists - the units only play an intermediary role, organize activities, not play a role in creating art. Recently we have changed our investment perspective, that is, not only financial Concentration aid project, which finances the artist's entire labor process. The most important thing in the development process is personal encouragement. We don't want art institutions to create standard models for culture, but artists to create them. We have sent many artists to Southeast Asia, where some artists have evolved from the traditional world and become artists of the modern world. "

Perhaps seeing that her director was too enthusiastic and had already mentioned the content that she had just presented earlier, Ms. Catherine Ét-Uot reminded: "Sir, Vietnamese friends are very interested in The new Guild headquarters we're building!" As if scratching an itch, Mr. David became even more enthusiastic: "To have that headquarters, we bought land 5 years ago." Pausing, winking and smiling humorously, Mr. David continued: "That landowner is not good, selling land to artists without any incentives. But it's okay, just 5 more years, the American market The city's technology will move to this area, at which time the land price will increase many times. Previously, we only had to pay for the land, and the space was free. Now, we cannot use it all. We sold the space for further investment and earned 3.3 million USD." Mr. David explained: "Do you know, we had to open a campaign to raise money to build the headquarters. To date, we have raised 11 and a half million USD, mostly contributed by individuals. We spent 10% of the money raised on this campaign. Plus 3 million 3 USD selling space, that's more than enough money for construction. People built 7 more floors on top of our 4 floors to make apartments for rent. We will also enjoy a portion of the profits from renting that apartment."

The way the New York government implements the Dance Theater Association is a very open mechanism, creating opportunities for cultural units to have more revenue and operate independently.

After wishing everyone a fruitful working trip to the US, director David hurriedly grabbed a bag of cold food because "there was an urgent matter".

Ms. Cay Bako, Director of Art Services, introduced to us the types of services serving artists in 4 main work groups: Advertising, Economics - finance, Stage - theater for presentation. performance, and Information. Currently, there are 900 artists participating in paying membership fees to enjoy this service. Artists who pay membership dues of 30 USD per year will receive incentives on health insurance and theater rental costs. Artists who pay membership dues at 85 USD per year (half of the membership) will enjoy incentives on all 4 service groups above. Ms. Cay Bako said more specifically: "Artistic activities and performance organization have many burdens on the artists' shoulders, which need someone to share. We reduce that burden by helping artists advertise, rent theaters at the lowest cost, interact with audiences who like them, send propaganda materials about that artist along with their works and shows to press agencies." She explained to us about the principles of insurance in America and said: "If individuals buy health insurance, it will be very expensive. We gather artists to buy insurance under the Association, it will be cheaper." very much. When renting a theater to perform, artists who are members also enjoy significant financial benefits. Recently, due to the development of the market, the rent for theaters in Malhatan has increased very high, making the But thanks to the Association's help, artists are able to rent theaters at a reduced price: normally it is 50 USD an hour, but through the Association it is only 10 USD an hour Last year, the Association has sponsor each artist from 300 to 750 dollars to offset theater rental fees." Ms. Cay Bak also said that the Association often organizes workshops for artists (2-3 times per year), and organizes for artists to meet producers who are able to organize for artists to perform. Ms. Cay Bak affirmed: "Our association fights for the rights of artists, advises artists, and acts as a bridge between artists and sponsors. Donating through the Association's organizations will help. more complicated for artists and sponsors."

Ms. Catherine Estow added: "For 25 years now, we have had an international program called the suitcase fund. The purpose is also to raise money for artists to participate in international exchange activities. valy has amassed $4 million In 2000 we spent $200,000 on artists and organizations to get them to work on their projects Co-funded artists' projects in about 50 countries In the last few years, we have focused on Asia, Eastern Europe. Currently, we have collaborated with more than 20 art units in Eastern Europe, discussing with them how to use the money raised from the US. In promoting international relations in art, we do many things such as: sponsoring the association of an American artist with a foreign artist, organizing network meetings (artists). in the region), invite art managers to train in management skills (exchange experiences with each other), invite artists from other countries to perform and give presentations in seminars.

Every year, we organize performances for 70 artists, and there are from 7 to 10 people who are artists from other countries. For artists' exchanges, we only sponsor from 1,500 to 3,000 USD for 1 artist, not much. And if we help them go abroad, we only issue air tickets to and from; The host country must take care of them. In 2000, the Valy Fund sponsored 19 artists to travel to Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. In August 2001, the Association met these artists to hear their opinions, see how they evaluated, do you want to continue working on the project? Thus, we have made a study of the art of Southeast Asian countries under the eyes of artists, not researchers. These artists are very excited, looking forward to continuing the project. Next year we will go to Vietnam to consider rebuilding the project in Vietnam."