National Dance Project awarded $2 million

(Boston, MA) The New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) has been awarded $2 million from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of the National Dance Project.

NEFA’s National Dance Project (NDP) has provided a system of support for the living, evolving discipline of contemporary dance since 1996, funding the production and touring of dance in the U.S. and beyond. To date, NDP has supported the creation of over 225 new dance works, partnering directly with more than 300 U.S. presenters to connect with audiences in all 50 states.  Each year, 25 to 30 different dance projects are featured in engagements in an average of 250 communities across the country. “The renewed commitment of The Mellon Foundation ensures the strength of NDP’s core activity, and will allow us to fund production residencies for a subset of projects in development,” explained NEFA executive director Rebecca Blunk.

NEFA's National Dance Project Production and Touring awards are generously 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 Boeing Company Charitable Trust.

About The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Foundation’s Performing Arts Program provides multi-year grants on an invitation-only basis to a small number of leading orchestras, theater companies, opera companies, modern dance companies, and presenters based in the United States.  Although the Foundation does not confine its support to large organizations with national visibility, it does seek to support institutions that contribute to the development and preservation of their art form, provide creative leadership in solving problems or addressing issues unique to the field, and which present the highest level of institutional performance.  Grants are awarded on the basis of artistic merit and leadership in the field, and concentrate on achieving long-term results.  Special consideration is also given to programs supporting generative artists—U.S. composers, playwrights, choreographers, and artist-led theatrical ensembles.  In conjunction with regular program grants, the Foundation also makes a limited number of grants to research and service organizations that are doing work closely related to program goals, particularly in the area of professional development. For more information about the foundation, please visit www.mellon.org.

About NEFA
NEFA 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 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 work of the cultural community.  www.nefa.org.

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