This study aims to examine the current status of independent producers working in the field of contemporary dance in Korea, focusing on their scope of work, roles within the production process, and types of roles formed in the field, while exploring s...
This study aims to examine the current status of independent producers working in the field of contemporary dance in Korea, focusing on their scope of work, roles within the production process, and types of roles formed in the field, while exploring strategies and pathways for sustainable professional activity and growth. The researcher has worked as an independent producer in the dance field for approximately five years and has continuously reflected on the extensive scope of this role and the conditions required for growth as a professional practitioner. Accordingly, this study originates from an attempt to systematically document and analyze the activities and experiences of independent producers, which have largely been transmitted orally and informally. The research methodology combines a literature review with the researcher’s own practice-based experience and in-depth interviews conducted with independent producers actively working in the contemporary dance field. Through this approach, the study analyzes producers’ tasks and roles, processes of professional development, career trajectories, and the forms of tacit knowledge operating in the field. The findings indicate that independent producers perform practice-oriented roles centered on coordination and mediation across artistic creation, administration, planning, and communication. Their roles are flexibly differentiated according to situational contexts and individual judgment, and in many cases extend into adjacent professional domains. At the same time, the study confirms that independent producers are situated within structurally unstable labor conditions shaped by project-based support systems. Furthermore, professional expertise is shown to be developed primarily through accumulated experience and informal networks rather than formal educational systems, with an understanding of tacit knowledge and individual strategic decision-making playing a critical role in career sustainability.
Based on these findings, this study proposes three levels of recommendations to enhance the sustainability of independent producers’ professional practice: institutional and environmental reforms to clarify professional roles and establish mid- to long-term training systems; the cultivation of producer communities that facilitate the sharing and accumulation of tacit knowledge; and individual-level strategies that emphasize the articulation of professional identity and the proactive design of long-term growth trajectories. Ultimately, this study argues that the role of the independent producer possesses the potential to expand into a cultural-entrepreneurial profession capable of integrating artistic insight with strategic planning and long-term vision. It is expected that this research may serve as foundational material for fostering a more professionalized workforce and a healthier ecosystem within the contemporary dance field.