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For a small donation you’ll receive heartfelt thanks. For a bit more you’ll get homemade jam, a knitted purse or a postcard from the Shine Lady tour in Europe. If you’ve got a spare $1000, you’ll be wined and dined by the Spinning Sun dancers.

In between rehearsals at Leigh Hall, Choreographer Ann Dewey tells us about the dance company's first crowdfunding campaign.

What are you crowdfunding for?

We are crowdfunding for a tour to Europe, performing in Oxford, London and Budapest at the Sziget Festival. The crowdfunding money will ideally cover rehearsal costs.

How much research, strategic thinking and time went into the campaign?

I have been looking at crowdfunding sites in the US for a couple of years and spent about 2 months researching and planning how we would approach the PledgeMe site before we applied to it.

Why did you crowd fund instead of using other sources?

We have money from Creative New Zealand for airfares, but I am always interested in exploring other funding streams (something akin to not having all of your eggs in one basket). I also love the democracy of crowdfunding – the concept appeals to me. It is also a way to increase awareness of our activities.

Was it part of a wider marketing and business strategy?

Yes, we are trying to find ways to raise awareness of who we are and what we do and as mentioned before crowdfunding is another platform to do so.

Why did you use PledgeMe? What were the pros and cons?

We used PledgeMe because it is currently the only crowdfunding platform in the country. Pros - I found them to be very helpful and genuinely interested in what we are up to. I like the format/layout of the site, they made the whole process as painless as possible. I like the links to facebook and twitter, which have definitely helped our campaign.

Cons – some of our fans found the process of pledging unclear (but pledgeme sent through some useful tips). I still am unsure of the idea of if one does not reach your $ goal, that you do not receive any of the donated money. I can see why it is set up like this – but still am unsure about the concept.

What ‘rewards’ did you offer? Which were the most popular?

We offered tickets to our next show, posters, postcards from Europe with personal note, jam, fruit and veg from my garden, knitted purses and the grand reward dinner cooked and served by us. Popular seems to be the signed posters and jam.

How long did it take to set up and manage? Was it cost effective?

We are still four days away from finishing (May 31st), so it is a little early to give a complete answer. Setting up was not too time consuming – but I did spend a couple of months slowly putting it together.However I have spent a lot of time emailing, facebooking, contacting local media, putting fliers around the local area etc. So all in all it is not an easy way to raise funds.

However, I think that if I did it again I would be much better prepared/informed about the process and therefore it would be easier. I would have some more systems in place.

What channels, online and offline, did you use to engage with your fans during the campaign?

So we used facebook, NZ dance news email, our own audience databases, local print media, word of mouth, and personal emails.

What have you discovered are the pros and cons of crowdfunding?

Pros – raising awareness and funds simultaneously. Supporters overseas can contribute easily. The democracy of the concept.

Cons – lots of local fans do not have credit cards (you have to pledge via credit card). System can be confusing for some people. You could potentially not get any money even if you are $5 away from your target.

What feedback have you received?

Mostly positive, lots of people engaged with it with enthusiasm. Some negative feedback that it was difficult to make a pledge. I think most people see it as us taking some initiative so are positive.

Would you do it again? What would you change?

I would definitely do it again – but I would take more time thinking about and constructing our video. We have a youtube clip of the show, but I think us talking about the work would have been better. I think I would alert a few key people well before the site went live, so that people were better primed for the campaign.

Any tips for others wanting to try crowdfunding?

Research, research, research – then during the campaign be absolutely shameless about letting everyone know about it. Most importantly let it be your sole focus fr the time of the campaign.

Now pitch your project and why we should support it.

From Leigh To Hungary

Spinning Sun dance company are based in Leigh and are off to Hungary to perform at the prestigious Sziget Festival in August 2012. They were the only NZ company (out of all disciplines dance, theatre music) to be selected to perform a spotlight pitch at the Australian performing arts market in Adelaide in February 2012. As a result of this performance, we have been invited to Hungary to perform Shine Lady.

Other performers at the festival include Metallica, The Stones Roses, so we are absolutely honored to have been invited. Ann Dewey has choreographed the work and it has received universal acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Shine Lady is a great example of excellent world class dance and it deserves to be seen abroad. The dancers are some of the finest in the country and they deserve to be paid their worth. Our PledgeMe campaign is to secure funds for the rehearsal wages for the dancers.
We believe this project is worthy of support because it will showcase NZ dance to an international audience, which in the long run can only be a positive thing for NZ as a whole.

What’s your big idea for 2013?

Big idea for 2013 is to find ways to keep creating work, while having space in my life for lawn bowls and painting.

* * * The Big Idea 10th Birthday Questions * * *

What does The Big Idea mean to you?

Great source of information, inspiration, and another platform on which to see and be seen.

What changes have you noticed in Dance in the past 10 years?

In the past 10 years there has been a general move to improve the infrastructure for dance in NZ. There has been a big increase in the number of dance companies operating in the country. Dance has raised it’s profile. The lines between different genres has become blurred and there is a healthy cross fertilization occurring.

What are some of the opportunities and challenges for the next decade?

I think the great opportunity and challenge for the arts is to create in ways that are sustainable. This is the key to a vibrant future and I am certain that the Arts can lead the way for industry.