French-U.S. Partnership Supports Cultural Exchange

(Boston, MA) The French-U.S. Exchange in Dance (FUSED) has awarded $120,000 in grants supporting international residencies and performances of work by 11 French and U.S. artists for the 2011–2012 season. 

Established in 2004, FUSED is a partnership of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in collaboration with FACE (French American Cultural Exchange). The program provides financial support alongside network building to promote reciprocal exchange of French and U.S. dance artists and presenters.

Support for FUSED comes from New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and through FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), with support from the Florence Gould Foundation.

The National Dance Project is a program of the New England Foundation for the Arts (www.nefa.org).  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 region’s creative sector.  NEFA is a nonprofit that operates with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England state arts agencies, and from corporations, foundations and individuals. 

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 maintains nine regional offices across the U.S.

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 secondary 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.

FUSED grants for 2011-2012 were awarded to:

U.S. Presenters & French Artists

Chez Bushwick, New York, NY, to present Myriam Gourfink, Paris
Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY, to present Rachid Ouramdane, Paris
Alliance Française, San Juan, Puerto Rico, to present  Toméo Verges, Paris
Miami Light Project, FL, to present  Radhouane El Meddeb, Pantin
Ohio State University Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH, to present Rachid Ouramdane, Paris
French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF), NY, to present Xavier Leroy, Montpellier
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Portland, OR, to present Rachid Ouramdane, Paris
Performa, NY, to present Boris Charmatz/Musée de la Danse, Rennes

French Presenters & U.S. Artists

C.C.N. de Franche-Comté, Belfort, to present Morgan Thorson, MN
Les Nouvelles Subsistances, Lyon, to present Nora Chipaumire, NY
Association PI:ES, Paris, to present David Thompson, Will Rawls, NY
Théatre de Vanves, Vanves, to present Liz Santoro, NY
Centre National de Danse Contemporaine (CNDC), Angers, to present DD Dorvilliers, NY

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