National Dance Project Regional Dance Development Initiative

The Regional Dance Development Initiative (RDDI) provides professional development for dance artists in regions across the U.S. through programs designed to clarify language, identify strategies, and build networks.

RDDI Chicago. Photo by Peter Taub

About RDDI 

NDP created RDDI in 2004 to provide professional development for dance artists in regions across the U.S. RDDI’s core activity is an intensive ten-day dance lab. Labs are structured as learning communities designed to catalyze existing regional resources and redefine the relationship between artists and organizational partners. RDDI labs involve two tracks: the artist track brings twelve artists from the identified region together to work with six faculty for the full duration of the lab; the presenter exchange is a three-day intensive track for curators and presenters designed to prepare up to 25 participants for a full exchange with the artist through showings, meetings, opportunities for dialogue at the end of the lab. Additional activities before and after the lab complement the focused learning of the intensive and extend the benefits of RDDI to the surrounding community.

NDP produces RDDI programs approximately every three to five years in partnership with local dance funders,a local organizational partner, and a local advisory committee. To date, NDP has produced RDDI labs in Seattle, WA (2004), San Francisco, CA (2006), Portland, OR (2006), New England (2007), Minnesota (2011), and Chicago (2016), directly serving 68 artists and companies, raising artists’ visibility, and building networks locally, regionally, and nationally. Specific impacts for lab artists have included national funding, commissioning of new and collaborative projects, festival residencies, and extended engagements and partnerships with dance organizations.  NDP endeavors to remain engaged with past RDDI participants when possible to provide additional support to RDDI artists as they continue to develop their artistic practice.

New England Now (2021-2022)

RDDI: New England Now activities/experiences will be informed by past RDDI experiences and the 2017 New England Choreographers' and New England Dance Cultural Organizers’ Convenings. In addition, RDDI: New England Now activities/experiences will be responsive to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on the regional arts & culture landscape. The initiative will align with or complement local and regional funding opportunities including NEFA’s New England Dance Fund and New England States Touring (NEST) program, as well as The Boston Foundations’ Live Arts Boston and Next Steps for Boston Dance grant programs. 

RDDI: New England Now is informed by NEFA’s Mission, Vision, and Values.

Learn More

Chicago (2016)

The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) and the Chicago Dancemakers Forum are partnering in 2015-17 to produce the Regional Dance Development Initiative (RDDI) Chicago with funding from The Reva and David Logan Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, Chicago Park District, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. RDDI Chicago is designed to support professional development for Chicago-based dance makers, build connections that will nourish dance artists, and develop the overall capacity and infrastructure of the Chicago dance community. ​

Working with an advisory group of local partners, CDF and NEFA designed RDDI Chicago activities (listed below) specifically to suit the needs and assets of local artists.    

Elevate Chicago Dance in October 2017 is a citywide festival with public performances and invited studio showings at ten creative spaces around the city, featuring forty Chicago choreographers and dance companies. Elevate also convenes a group of about forty local, regional and national colleagues in the dance field – professionals who support dance through presenting, residencies, and related work. The focused three-day program provides them with a special opportunity to experience a wide range of Chicago-based dance, have direct exchanges with the artists, and discuss ways to leverage their individual and collective resources to contribute to a healthy dance field. ​

NEFA and the Chicago Dancemakers Forum produced the Chicago Dance Lab, an immersive 12-day program that took place from July 27-August 8, 2016 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A national panel selected 12 artists who represented multiple neighborhoods across the greater Chicago area and a broad range of career stages and dance disciplines including: African, butoh, burlesque, contemporary, dance on film, improvisation, interdisciplinary, and tap. During the Dance Lab, participants worked with faculty from around the U.S. to clarify goals, and strategies, align communications about their work with their artistic practice and strengthen partnerships. 

In addition to Elevate Chicago Dance and the Chicago Dance Lab, Chicago Dancemakers Forum produced a series of public programs that took place throughout the Chicago area 2015-2017. Activities were designed to address the specific needs of Chicago’s many dance communities brought to light during the in-depth planning phase for RDDI. Programming included choreographic workshops with guest artists Bebe Miller, Tere O’Connor, and Fana Tshabalala; a full-day Artist-Presenter Symposium; a panel on dance marketing, multiple dance community meetings, a panel and workshop on the influence of Yvonne Rainer, and a two-day intensive on artist sustainability led by Andrew Simonet.

Elevate Chicago Dance
Producer: Peter Taub
Coordinator: Cameron Heinze

Dance Lab Artists

Chicago Dance Lab Project Director and Advisor 

Michèle Steinwald

Dance Lab Faculty

  • Rob Bailis – Associate Director, Cal Performances, University of California, Berkeley, CA
  • Peter DiMuro – Artistic/Creative Director, Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion and Executive Director, The Dance Complex, Boston, MA
  • Dayna Hanson – Choreographer, Seattle, WA
  • David Sheingold – Independent Consultant, Brooklyn, NY
  • Marýa Wethers – Independent Manager, Producer & Curator, Brooklyn, NY
  • Eva Yaa Asantewaa – arts critic, blogger, podcaster, New York, NY

More information can be found on the Chicago Dancemakers Forum website.

Minnesota (2011)

The Minnesota Dance Lab took place in June 2011 at the College of St. Benedict, with support from the Minnesota State Arts Board, NEFA’s National Dance Project, and the McKnight Foundation. Twelve dance artists from the region and six faculty participated in a ten-day residency, which included a multi-day Artist/Presenter Exchange, where lab artists, faculty, and presenters from around the country shared work samples and feedback. Connections made at the lab have sparked conversations about future residency and performing opportunities. Thanks to the Cowles Center in Minneapolis for administration, especially Mary Phelps and Chris Tschida, and to Michele Steinwald of the Walker Art Center who served as curriculum and faculty coordinator, as well as the local advisory committee for their work on the lab.  Minnesota RDDI activities were supported by the Minnesota State Arts Board, the McKnight Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. View photos of the lab on Facebook.

As a follow-up to the Minnesota RDDI dance lab, NDP supported the Minnesota Contemporary Dance Platform (MCDP) in September 2012, with additional support from the McKnight Foundation. MCDP was produced by Ben Johnson with Northrop Concerts and Lectures and featured both dialogue and performances with a curated selection of choreographers, companies, dance artists, programmers, and local creative spaces that included all 12 of the Minnesota RDDI lab artists as well as additional choreographers and dance artists from Minneapolis and St. Paul.  

Dance Lab Artists

  • Olive Bieringa and Otto Ramstad (Body Cartography Project)
  • Penelope Freeh
  • Jennifer Ilse
  • Mathew Janczewski
  • Emily Johnson
  • Chris Schlichting
  • Karen Sherman
  • Marciano Silva dos Santos
  • Morgan Thorson
  • Pramila Vasudevan
  • Vanessa Voskuil

Dance Lab Faculty

  • Rob Bailis
  • Rosanna Gamson
  • Claudia La Rocco
  • Jessica Robinson Love
  • Ivan Sygoda
  • Reggie Wilson

New England (2007)

New England’s RDDI (also called the New England Dance Lab) took place at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, from July 27 to August 4, 2007. Twelve artists selected from throughout New England and seven mentors worked over the course of the ten-day lab on the articulation of their work and how to build relationships with presenters. Thirty-two presenters attended the final two days for an artist/presenter exchange. A series of regional artist/presenter exchanges followed in each state in New England in 2008. New England RDDI activities were supported by the Aliad Fund at The Boston Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

In May 2013, NEFA convened a reunion for the New England RDDI Lab in southern Vermont, in order to reconnect the cohort with one another, share updates, and discuss ideas for future collaborations. For more on this convening, please see NEFA’s recent blog post, RDDI – Strengthening Dance Communities Across the U.S.

View artist bios and contact info.

View a Summary for Participants of NDP's New England RDDI.

Dance Lab Artists

  • Nell Breyer
  • Alissa Cardone and Ingrid Schatz (Kinodance Company)
  • Lorraine Chapman
  • Selene Colburn
  • Talya Epstein
  • Bronwen MacArthur
  • Polly Motley
  • Adele Myers
  • Dahlia Nayar
  • Drika Overton
  • Aparna Sindhoor
  • Candice Salyers

Dance Lab Faculty

  • Barbara Ally
  • Barbara Bryan
  • Donald Byrd
  • Terry Creach
  • Peter DiMuro
  • Cathy Edwards
  • Joan Gray

Portland – Pacific Northwest (2006)

The Portland pilot project was launched in September 2005 with a meeting of alumni from the Seattle Lab as an introduction to Portland area artists, presenters and managers. Under the coordination of Erin Boberg Doughton with advisor Eloise Damrosch from Regional Arts Advisory Council (RAAC) an advisory panel was formed of regional artists, presenters and managers. The Portland lab was held in June 2006 and involved 10 selected artists from Seattle, Portland, Ashland, Idaho, and Montana. Pacific Northwest RDDI activities were supported by the Paul G. Allen Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Dance Lab Artists

  • Paige Barnes
  • Tracy Broyles
  • Guillmer Duran
  • Agnieszka Laska
  • Tere Mathern
  • Sallyann Mulcahy
  • Zoe Scofield
  • Robin Steihm
  • Emily Stone
  • Kristen Tsiatsios

Dance Lab Faculty

  • Rosanna Gamson
  • Ed Noonan
  • Jon Raymond
  • Jill Sigman
  • Janet Stapleton
  • Reggie Wilson

San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA) (2006)

The SFBA pilot project 10-day dance lab focused on culturally specific dance artists in the SFBA. The project was led by coordinator San San Wong and advisor Rob Bailis of ODC Theatre with an advisory committee of regional presenters, artists and managers. The SFBA lab was held in February 2006 and involved 11 selected artists.  SFBA RDDI activities were supported by the San Francisco Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF), and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Dance Lab Artists

  • Charya Burt
  • Hearan Chung
  • Colette Eloi
  • Sabrina Hou
  • Kyoungil Ong
  • Sharlyn Sawyer
  • Alseny Soumah
  • Melody Takata
  • Vishnu Tattva Das
  • Bonifacio Valera, Jr.
  • Luis Valverde

Dance Lab Faculty

  • Donald Byrd
  • Joan Gray
  • Lily Kharrazi
  • Nola Mariano
  • Ranee Ramaswamy
  • Tony Shay
  • Judy Hussie Taylor

Seattle – Pacific Northwest (2004)

The Pacific Northwest pilot project was the first 10-day dance lab for regional artists. Directed by San San Wong with additional coordination by Michele Steinwald, the planning involved an advisory committee of regional presenters, artists and managers. The Seattle lab was held in December 2004 and involved 11 selected artists from the region. Pacific Northwest RDDI activities were supported by the Paul G. Allen Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

Dance Lab Artists

  • Linda Austin
  • Corrie Befort
  • Laura Curry
  • Tahni Holt
  • Cyrus Khambatta
  • Amy O’Neal
  • Mary Sheldon Scott
  • Minh Tran
  • Cheronne Wong
  • Freya Wormus and Alex Martin (BetterBiscuitDance)

Dance Lab Faculty

  • Barbara Bryan
  • Judy Hussie Taylor
  • Donna Uchizono
  • Laurie Uprichard
  • Reggie Wilson

  • Rob Bailis (ODC Theater Director)

  • Donald Byrd (Spectrum Dance)

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