Membership

In response to the economic uncertainties facing our DSA community in the present and foreseeable future, the DSA Board has voted to restructure membership categories to enable members to self-select a rate based on annual income - effective September 1st, 2020. There is no requirement for proof of income; members simply choose a rate that best represents their ability to pay for the present year. These rates are also more redistributive, with the lowest rates lower than under the old structure and the highest rates higher. The DSA leadership is focusing on ways to restructure and redistribute our organizational labor and our community benefits. This is step 1 towards a more accessible and equitable Dance Studies Association membership and community.

Annual dues are competitive with similar organizations and are reduced for students. Additional contributions at any level beyond the basic membership are always welcome. Individual membership fees are tax-deductible to the extent provided by law as contributions to a not-for-profit organization. A single membership costs DSA approximately $75, so all memberships below this rate are values-led action towards reciprocal community building. This works because memberships at higher fee levels subsidize and support memberships at the lower levels. 

DSA dues may be paid by credit card or by check, bank draft, or money order in US dollars. DSA does not accept bank transfers for dues.

Your membership is active for 1 year from the date of purchase. DSA annual memberships are non-refundable once purchased. Refunds may be issued in case of extenuating circumstances by contacting [email protected]

All members and non-members in attendance at DSA events (virtual and in-person) must adhere to DSA's ANTI-HARRASSMENT AND ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY.

FEE STRUCTURE

• Income above $125,000(Print): $300
• Income above $125,000 (Digital): $280
• Income $100,000-$125,000 (Print): $275
• Income $100,000-$125,000 (Digital): $255
• Income $75,000-$100,000 (Print): $225
• Income $75,000-$100,000 (Digital): $205
• Income $50,000-$75,000 (Print): $175
• Income $50,000-$75,000 (Digital): $155
• Income $25,000-$50,000 (Print): $70
• Income $25,000-$50,000 (Digital): $55
• Income under $25,0000 (Digital): $30
• Institutional Members - Tiered: Annual Budget >$200K = $1000; Annual Budget $50K - $200K = $750; Annual Budget <$50K = $500

JOIN HERE

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

• Voting privileges
• Discounted conference registration for DSA and affiliated organizations, including DCA (Dance Critics Association), and SCDS/SECD (The Society for Canadian Dance Studies/La Société des etudes canadiennes en danse)
• Conference presentation eligbility
• Free and discounted access to virtual events
• Access to members-only areas of the DSA website, including JSTOR access
• Eligibility for the Conference Fellowship
• Student members: eligible for Selma Jeanne Cohen Award for outstanding dance scholarship of a conference paper, and the Graduate Student Travel Grants for subsidizing student travel to conferences

PRINT MEMBERSHIP

• Three printed copies of Dance Research Journal annually
• One copy of the annual Studies in Dance History book
• Electronic access to Dance Research Journal and Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies

DIGITAL MEMBERSHIP

• One e-book copy of the annual Studies in Dance History book
• Electronic access to Dance Research Journal and Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies

INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS - TIERED (updated April 2022)

A new Tiered Institutional Membership was introduced in April 2022, with a fee structure based on annual organizational/departmental budgets (self-reported).  With this change, and the additional benefits listed below, DSA continues to work to undo financial barriers to access.  We hope that this new tiered institutional membership structure will encourage departments and organizations to join DSA as a way to support large contingent faculties and/or graduate student populations.  

• NEW! Up to 10 digital memberships – 7 of which must be for contingent/non-tenured faculty and/or graduate students (must be currently affiliated with the member institution) - includes member registration rates, conference presentation eligibility, JSTOR access, and voting rights
• NEW! 20% discount on conference advertising, exhibiting, sponsorships
• One print copy and one e-book copy from annual book series, Studies in Dance, published by the University of Michigan Press
• One print subscription to Dance Research Journal, published by Cambridge University Press (3 issues per year)
• NEW! Electronic access to Dance Research Journal for all 10 affiliated memberships

• NEW! Up to 5 gratis digital memberships for graduating students. These 5 membership must be a continuation from the affiliated members in the previous year, thus requires a full year of Institutional Membership first.  This allows DSA to support recent graduates, new to the job market, in the moment that DSA networking and resources can be crucially important.

All existing Institutional Memberships under the single cost ($475) will be honored for the full year with the existing member benefits.  At their time of renewal, organizations will be asked to join under the new tiered membership structure.

Pay-What-You-Can (PWYC) Memberships as low as $5 were instituted in September 2020 in response to the extreme financial precarity of the pandemic.  PWYC rates were available for seven months, and all PWYC memberships purchased within that 7-month window will be honored for the full year from date of purchase.  DSA continues to work to reduce financial barriers to membership, but can no longer sustain member fees below $25.