Northfield, IL | March 24, 2025 | Dance Data Project® (DDP) has released its first-ever report examining gender equity in performance programming and artistic leadership at international dance festivals. Previous reports examining festivals focused on U.S.-based festivals (2023) or a combination of U.S. and international festivals (2020). The current study marks a significant expansion into DDP’s global festival research by providing a more in-depth analysis and including more festivals than previously.
 
DDP’s 2024 Global Festivals Report analyzes 69 international dance festivals, capturing trends in choreographic representation, leadership demographics, and programming formats. The research revealed that while women choreographed 43% of the 1,096 recorded works, disparities persist in artistic leadership and programming distribution. 
 
Notably, female-led festivals led by women programmed a higher percentage of works by women (47%) compared to those directed by men (43%). “The data indicates that international festivals offer a more balanced platform for choreographers of all genders, whereas ballet company seasons continue to reflect a male-dominated status quo,” said DDP Senior Research Consultant Maya Canestaro. She continued, “The intersection of ballet and contemporary dance in festival programming could be one reason for this difference, as contemporary dance has historically been more open to female choreographers.” The report finds that of the 1,096 works recorded, 43% were choreographed by women, 45% by men, 11% by mixed-gender co-choreographers, and 1% by gender-expansive individuals. Among these works, 37% of mixed-bill works and 47% of full-length works were choreographed by women.
 
Women choreographed 55% of world premieres, including 55% of live world premieres and 47% of full-length world premieres. “For female choreographers, international festivals represent vital career milestones, offering exposure, critical engagement, and access to new audiences,” said DDP Research Lead Jenna Magrath. She continued, “With 55% of world premieres at these festivals choreographed by women, we see real momentum in recognizing female talent on the global stage. ”
 
The study also examines leadership demographics, revealing that 43% of festivals were led by female artistic directors or equivalent roles. Festival size also plays a role in gender representation, with larger festivals programming an average of 43% women-choreographed works, while smaller festivals programmed 46%. Works choreographed by women were performed an average of two times per festival, compared to 1.9 times for works choreographed by men. 
 
The report also covers dance film festivals and alternative presentation methods, including live, virtual, hybrid, and screen-based works. With 1,077 works performed live and 17 presented as films, data shows that 43% of live works and 47% of film works were choreographed by women.
 
DDP President and Founder Elizabeth ‘Liza’ Yntema commented, “DDP’s first-ever international festival study not only provides an expanding footprint of programming data, but also underscores the economic and artistic impact of equitable programming.” She continued, “ In the future, we will track which ballet or classically-based companies choose to tour works by women—or not—and how this reflects the leadership and decision-making processes within these organizations. Additionally, we are interested in understanding how festival curators make programming decisions, particularly in determining who is commissioned.”

This makes DDP’s 58th research report (43 full reports and 16 Data Bytes) which is a remarkable  pace given we just celebrated our 6th anniversary!
 
The 2024 Global Festivals Report is now available for download on the Dance Data Project® Research Page.