What's Happening
Stay Connected
Receive the latest news, grant offerings, and community events.
4th season of continued cross-cultural exchange
(Boston, MA – May 5, 2009) French-U.S. Exchange in Dance (FUSED), an international collaboration between NEFA‘s National Dance Project (NDP) and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in collaboration with FACE (French American Cultural Exchange) has awarded $88,000 in grants to 12 institutions presenting U.S. and French dance artists for the 2009-2010 season.
In 2004, these organizations created FUSED, providing financial support and other resources that allow cross-cultural exchanges of U.S. and French artists to the partner country. In addition to funding, FUSED provides this support by fostering dialogue, consolidating professional relationships, and spawning creative artistry and choreographic innovation through residencies and touring.
Nine venues in the U.S. and three in France were awarded funds to support residencies and presentation of work by eleven French and four U.S. artists in both countries during the 2009–2010 season. FUSED grants were awarded to:
French Presenters
| Date | French Presenters | Artist / Origin | Project Title |
| June 2-24, 2009 | June 16 & 21: Music Festival, Tonnerre; June 22 at Le Studio Regard du Cygne (Paris) | David Dorfman and Lisa Race and young U.S. performers (New London, CT) | creative residency and performances |
| Nov-Dec 09-Spring 2010 | Centre d'animation de Beaulieu, Poitiers, France | Lisa Nelson (Bennington, VT) | Residency and participation in “Entrez dans la danse” series |
| July-August 2010 | Centre Chorégraphique National- Fattoumi / Lamoureux (Caen) | Levy Dance and with U.S. (San Francisco, CA) | creation by Benjamin Levy and tour |
United States Presenters
| Date | U.S. Presenters | Artist / Origin | Project Title |
| Nov. 11-15, 2009 | REDCAT/ California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles, CA | Anne Collod (Paris) and Anna Halprin | Parades and Changes, Replays |
| Sept. 13-20, 2009 | Danspace Project, New York, NY | Compagnie Nacera Belaza (Algeria and Paris) | Le Cri |
| Sept. 7-13, 2009 | Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York, NY | Pierre Rigal (Toulouse) | Press |
| Nov. 15-21, 2009 | Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY | Anne Collod (Paris) and Anna Halprin | Parades and Changes, Replays |
| Nov. 2-8, 2009 | Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL | Anne Collod (Paris) and Anna Halprin | Parades and Changes, Replays |
| Sept. 3-6, 2010 | The Kitchen, New York, NY | Christian Rizzo (Paris) | b.c. Janvier 1545 Fontainbleau |
| June-Sept. 2009 | Marlboro College, Marlboro, VT | Martin Chaput and Martial Chazallon (Lyon) | Society of the Spectacle |
| Jan–May 2010 | Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston, MA | Xavier Le Roy (Paris/Montpellier) | Anthropomorphic and Selected Works |
| Sept 13–Oct. 4, 2009 | French Institute Alliance Francaise, New York, NY | Latifa Laabissi, Olivier Dubois, Odile Duboc, Germaine Acogny (France and Senegal) | Le Bal NYC |
In addition to providing support for French and American presenting venues, FUSED supports the exchange of French and American presenters to visit each other’s countries throughout the year to observe and research sites of arts development activities and meet with artists. These research trips are an essential component of the FUSED program in familiarizing the partners with each other’s artistic contexts, increasing knowledge in both countries about new artists and works, and laying the groundwork for a professional network. The FUSED program hopes to solidify a French-American dance network that will generate a self-sustaining, ongoing system for information exchange, enabling the continuous flow of a stream of opportunities for both countries’ dance communities.
Support for FUSED comes from New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and through the French American Cultural Exchange (FACE) with lead support from the Florence Gould Foundation.
The National Dance Project is a program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, www.nefa.org whose mission is to creatively support the movement of people, ideas, and resources in the arts within New England and beyond, making vital connections between artists and communities, and to build the strength, knowledge, and the leadership of the region’s creative sector.
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy (www.frenchculture.org) is dedicated to the promotion of cultural and educational exchange between France and the United States. Headquartered in New York, NY and Washington, DC, under the authority of the Cultural Counselor, the Cultural Services also maintains regional offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and San Francisco.
FACE (www.facecouncil.org), an American 501(c)(3) operating foundation, is based in New York and works in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S. Setting a new precedent in cultural relations, FACE pools private and public resources to support innovative dialogue and exchange in the fields of contemporary visual arts, performing arts, music, film and higher education between the French-speaking world and the United States. As a catalyst for creativity and the promotion of what is new and excellent on both sides of the Atlantic, FACE strives to develop mutual understanding and cooperation between French and American civil societies.