NEFA Boosts Contemporary Dance Touring

 

NEFA BOOSTS CONTEMPORARY DANCE TOURING National Dance Project Adds Grants for Production Residencies (January 3, 2012 - Boston, MA) The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) has awarded $150,000 through the National Dance Project (NDP) to support production residencies for eight contemporary dance artists and companies.   In a 2009 study supported by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, NEFA found that U.S. dance work is often premiered before it has been fully produced and tours before it is ready, making the work less competitive internationally and placing both artists and audiences at a disadvantage. Late-stage production residencies—where artists have full access to technical and production facilities and staff, as well as time to gain significant artistic, directorial, and/or dramaturgical input—surfaced as the least developed and under-resourced type of residency opportunity available. In partnership with The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, NEFA launched Production Residencies for Dance as part of its National Dance Project in 2010. These grants provide additional funding for selected grant recipients; an interactive evaluation process involves both artist and residency partner and informs continuous refinement of the program.   “The evaluation process clearly demonstrates the benefits of a strong relationship between the artist and residency partner,” notes NDP program manager Sara Nash.  “Mellon’s support of NDP enables these artists to fully realize their work in a way that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.” 2012 Production Residencies for Dance Recipients & Residency Partners

• Brian Brooks Moving Company (NY) – DANCEworks (CA)
• Camille A. Brown & Dancers (NY) - Harlem Stage (NY)
• Nora Chipaumire (NY) - MASS MoCA (MA)
• Emily Johnson (MN) - MASS MoCA (MA)
• Kyle Abraham / Abraham.in.Motion (NY) – Maggie Allesee National Center for   Choreography (FL)
• Lucky Plush (IL) - Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (MD)
• Palissimo (NY) - Wexner Center for the Arts (OH)
• Zero Performance (CA) - Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (OR)

About NDPNEFA launched the National Dance Project in 1996 to encourage the creation of new work in dance and the sharing of that work with audiences in communities throughout the United States. Since then, the program has distributed more than $21.2 million in grants and remains one of the few sources for dance funding in the country. NDP is supported by lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Visit www.nefa.org or call 617.951.0010 x521 for more information. About NEFANEFA creatively supports the movement of people, ideas, and resources in the arts within New England and beyond, makes vital connections between artists and communities, and builds the strength, knowledge, and leadership of the region’s creative sector.  NEFA is a 501 (c) 3 that operates with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England state arts agencies, and from corporations, foundations, and individuals. NEFA currently administers grantmaking programs of regional, national, and international scope that support the performing arts, public art, and Native American artists. NEFA also leads projects and initiatives that range from the analysis of the impact of the creative economy to the creation of online tools which link and advance the cultural community. For more information on NEFA’s grant programs and services, please visit www.nefa.org or call 617.951.0010. ###