The creative path to understanding: Organizations building community through performing arts

This thesis examines organizations dedicated to the social performing arts: how they should be organized to influence social change and what are the flaws, obstacles and strengths that should be taken into account to achieve that purpose. Through an extensive review of the literature in related fields, together with several interviews, site visits and review of multi-media materials, this thesis demonstrates how traditional models of management do not usually work for organizations focused on social performing arts, and proposes a variety of strategies to help these organizations achieving their objective of bringing power out of the people, encouraging people to take action and imagining alternatives ways of dealing with their conflictive contexts. The success of these organizations' work deeply depends on the conditions under which they develop their creative projects. This research aspires to shed some clarity in this regard, offering suggestions to make those conditions favorable to the organizations.