Want to know more? See my story in the Jewish Chronicle.

I have a profile of the Danish cultural scene in the latest issue of Gig/International Arts Manager.

One of the most interesting topics that emerged from my conversations with people in the Danish arts world was the tension between those who are celebrating the unprecedented building spree that has taken place in Denmark during the past decade and those who fear the weakening of state support for culture in general, and for artists in particular.

The scale of infrastructure growth in Denmark during the past ten years has been astonishing. Copenhagen has a new opera house, a new playhouse and a new concert hall. Denmark’s largest cities, Odense and Aalborg all either have, or soon will have, new concert halls. Even Sønderborg, with a population of less than 30,000, has a new symphony hall that seats almost 1,000 people. Meanwhile, many orchestras and dance companies are struggling as Denmark continues to move, albeit slowly, towards more of a reliance on the private sector to prop up the country’s cultural life.

Not that Denmark is anything like as tough an environment as America. As Palle Granhøj, artistic director of the dance company Granhøj Dans, told me: “We performed in the United States in March. It was quite a shock for our dancers to find out that almost nobody there is able to make a living out of dancing.”

You can read more here. (If the window is too small, there’s a “View Fullscreen” button in the top right corner and a “Zoom” button nearby.) Article reprinted with permission of Gig/International Arts Manager.