NEFA's National Dance Project Announces New Advisors

Sara smiles in front of a plain backdorp in a tan sweater
Former Program Director, Dance
NEFA

Each year, NEFA’s National Dance Project (NDP) enlists the services of individuals working in the dance field to serve as Advisors and make grant recommendations during annual review meetings. NDP Advisors are leaders in the dance field, including dance presenters and dance artists. In addition to serving as the grant review panel, Advisors work with Production Grant finalists as they prepare their proposals, serve as a policy council, and are ambassadors for the program in their communities. Advisors serve on a rotating basis for one–three year terms and include new and established leaders in the field. 

The 2017 NDP Advisors include six individuals who are serving in this capacity for the first time as well as a greater number of artists. We learned from the Moving Dance Forward report that NEFA commissioned on the occasion of 20 years of grantmaking through NDP that serving as an NDP Advisor is a powerful professional development opportunity. In–person panel meetings, the opportunity to connect with peer stakeholders from around the country, and the relationships that Advisors build with grantees and one another establish a leadership cohort for dance that pays dividends both locally and nationally.

With this in mind, NDP has made equitable access to this opportunity a priority and is committed to bringing voices new to the NDP process to the Advisor cohort. The 2017 NDP Advisors represent independent artists, universities, performing arts centers, and dance companies, and are based in rural and urban communities around the country including California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Washington.

In 2017, NDP is delighted to welcome seven new Advisors to the table:

  • Ann Brusky – John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI
  • Shane Fernando – Cape Fear Community College / Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Wilmington, NC
  • Dayna Hanson – Dayna Hanson Company / Base, Seattle, WA
  • Bebe Miller – Bebe Miller Company, Columbus, OH
  • Pranita Nayar – Mandala South Asian Performing Arts, Chicago, IL
  • Renae Williams Niles – University of Southern California, Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Los Angeles, CA
  • Michael Sakamoto – Department of Dance, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA

NDP would like to thank our five returning Advisors for their continued service in 2017:

  • Rob Bailis – Cal Performances, University of California, Berkeley, CA
  • Madison Cario – Office of the Arts, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
  • Amy Cassello – Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Brooklyn, NY
  • Robert Moses – Robert Moses KIN, San Francisco, CA
  • David R. White – The Yard, West Tisbury, MA

We would like to extend a special thank you to our outgoing Advisors, whose service and insight during NDP’s 20th anniversary year was essential:

  • Neil Barclay – Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
  • Sara Coffey – Vermont Performance Lab, Guilford, VT
  • Rachel Cooper – Asia Society, New York, NY
  • Joan Gray – Muntu Dance Theatre, Chicago, IL
  • Liz Lerman –  Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
  • Tonya Lockyer – Velocity Dance Center, Seattle, WA
  • Jodee Nimerichter – American Dance Festival, Durham, NC 
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