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For Immediate Release: September 25, 2003
Contact: Aria Goldenbaum
(617) 951-0010
agoldenbaum@nefa.org
National Dance Project Awards Over $590,000 in Grants to Support Creation of Contemporary Dance Projects
Boston, MA — National Dance Project (NDP), a program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, announces the allocation of $596,000 in Production Grants to support the development of new dance projects during the 2003–2004 season.
Twenty contemporary dance companies from across the United States will receive NDP Production Grants this year. The grants allocated this round range in amount from $18,000–$32,000, funding projects selected from a highly competitive applicant pool. Projects chosen are intended for widely ranging and diverse audiences, demonstrate multi-disciplinary collaborations, and pursue creative and innovative partnerships between artists and performing arts presenters. Once developed, the works will be available for national tours during the 2004–2005 or 2005–2006 performance seasons.
New Worlds for Dance
Images of 1940s and 50s Hollywood and Mexican musicals, maze-like fairytale landscapes, even modern-day hotel pools are just a few of the unconventional elements found throughout these newly created contemporary dance works. By incorporating these imaginative worlds into their projects, artists are exploring a new range of styles and ideas in contemporary dance. Examples from the list of 2003-2004 NDP Production Grant recipients are:
- 33 Fainting Spells (Seattle, WA) — "Our Little Sunbeam"
A groundbreaking collaborative piece that pits the everyday despair of Anton Chekhov's Ivanov against the ecstasy of American astronauts as they regard Earth from space for the first time in history.
- Headlong Dance Theater (Philadelphia, PA) — "Hotel Pool"
Performed in the swimming pool of a hotel, Hotel Pool explores the risk of intimacy in this standardized space, examining this public/private area as a setting for dreams, longing, and disasters.
- Yin Mei Dance (Port Washington, NY) — "Nomad: The River"
A multi-cultural, multi-media dance theater work revolving around the symbol of the river — the holy river, the river of life, the river as both the source and endpoint of human longing and desire — and the overarching theme of spiritual wandering.
A complete list of projects and dance companies funded by 2003–2004 NDP Production Grants is available online.
With help from an advisory committee and feedback from the dance field, NDP recently made permanent revisions to its timeline as
a strategic response to the current economic climate. Presenters interested in booking these NDP-funded projects will now have until January 23, 2004 to submit letters of intent for 2004–2005 NDP Touring Grant consideration. In addition, the receipt deadline for finalized tour plans with firm presenter commitments has been extended 30 days, from March to April 2, 2004. For more information, please visit the NEFA website.
Since its inception in 1996, National Dance Project has awarded over $3 million in Production Grants and over $9 million of
funding in total. Companies receiving NDP Production Grants are added to a roster of selected projects available to performing arts presenters, who can then apply for NDP Touring Grants to help defray the cost of presenting these works. For more information about NDP, please visit the NEFA website or call (617) 951-0010.
National Dance Project is administered by New England Foundation for the Arts. NDP Production Grants are made possible by the Doris Duke Fund for Dance, with major funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Funds for production and touring are provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Altria Group, Inc.
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