NDP ADVANCES CULTURAL DIVERSITY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) announced today that it has received a $275,000 award from MetLife Foundation. The funding will support the MetLife Community Connections Fund of NEFA's National Dance Project (NDP), which enables communities nationwide to experience the work of diverse artists. This is the fourth year that NEFA has received support from MetLife Foundation, which to date has provided $1,050,000 in funding to the program.
 
“MetLife’s continued commitment to community engagement means that an even greater number of people will have the opportunity to connect with dance artists this year,” said NEFA executive director Rebecca Blunk.  “We are grateful for their partnership.”

For the past 13 years, NDP has been a primary system of support for the contemporary dance field, supporting the production and national distribution of new dance works. In a field that has been historically under-funded, NDP is the only national program supporting individual dance artists and companies, whether established, emerging, culturally-specific, or experimental.

"We are proud to continue our partnership with NEFA to provide additional resources to support community programs nationwide,” said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. “We are committed to making arts more accessible and commend NEFA’s work to connect choreographers and dance companies to diverse communities across the country.”

During the 2010-2011 season, the MetLife Community Connections Fund will support more than 60 community engagement activities including workshops, master classes, performances, lecture/demonstrations, and collaborations with local schools, as part of six NDP tours. Featured artists and projects are listed below with details on each at the end.

• PHILADANCO, Philadelphia, Pa. Project: By Way of the Funk

• Doug Varone and Dancers, New York, N.Y. Project: Chapters from a Broken Novel

• River North Chicago Dance Company, Chicago, Ill. Project: New Works, New Presenters

• DANCING EARTH Creations, San Francisco, Calif./Santa Fe, N.M. Project: Of Bodies of Elements

• Emily Johnson/Catalyst, Minneapolis, Minn. Project: The Thank-you Bar

• Eiko & Koma, New York, N.Y. Project: Raven

To date, NDP has supported the creation of more than 200 new dance works, partnering directly with more than 300 U.S. presenters to connect with audiences in all 50 states.  Each year, up to 25 different dance projects are featured in engagements in at least 250 communities across the country. Additional funds for NDP are provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

About the MetLife Foundation
MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife to carry on its longstanding tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Grants are made to support health, educational, civic and cultural organizations and programs throughout the country. Recognizing the vital role the arts play in building communities and educating young people, MetLife Foundation contributes to the arts and culture by focusing on increasing opportunities for young people, reaching broader audiences through inclusive programming and making arts more accessible for all people. For more information about the Foundation, please visit its web site at www.metlife.org.

About New England Foundation for the Arts
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.

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.

ABOUT THE GRANT RECIPIENTS 

1.  Company: The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO), Philadelphia, PA
Founded in 1970, PHILADANCO has a legacy of breaking barriers and building bridges across cultural divides, consistently performing for audiences representing an amalgamation of people from diverse communities.  PHILADANCO is recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers and electrifying performances.  Inherent in their mission is a commitment to empowering youth with crucial leadership and development skills that facilitate achievement and success in the world of dance and everyday life.

Project Title: By Way of the Funk
Choreographed by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, this four-part work harnesses the energy and culture of funk, featuring music by the Parliament Funkadelic, and is a joyous celebration of the 40 years of PHILADANCO’s existence. 

16 engagements in 12 states
Redfern Arts Center On Brickyard Pond, Keene State College, Keene, NH
Montgomery County Community College, Blue Bell, PA
University of Hawaii - Hilo Performing Arts Center, Hilo, HI
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY
World Music, Cambridge, MA
University of Massachusetts, Fine Arts Center, Amherst, MA
National Black Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA
Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Kahului, HI
Kahilu Theater Foundation, Kamuela, HI
Scottsdale Cultural Council, Scottsdale, AZ
Black Hills Dance Theatre, Rapid City, SD
Virginia Arts Festival, Norfolk, VA
University of Maine-Orono - Collins Center for the Arts, Orono, ME
Husby Performing Arts Center, Sioux Falls, SD
Castleton State College, Fine Arts Center, Castleton, VT
State Theatre Regional Arts Center at New Brunswick, New Brunswick, NJ

2.  Company:  Doug Varone and Dancers, New York, NY
Since its founding in 1986, Doug Varone and Dancers has commanded attention for its expansive vision, versatility, and technical prowess. On the concert stage, in opera, theater, and on the screen, Varone’s kinetically thrilling dances make essential connections and mine the complexity of the human spirit. From the smallest gesture to full-throttle bursts of movement, Varone’s work can literally take your breath away. At home in New York City, Doug Varone and Dancers is the resident company at the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center. On tour, the company has performed in more than 100 cities in five states across the U.S. and in Europe, Asia, Canada, and South America.

Project Title: Chapters from a Broken Novel
A collection of the choreographer’s images, quotes, and snippets of conversations with a commissioned score by David Van Tieghem and scenic design by John Bauser.

10 engagements in 7 states
North Carolina State University - Center Stage, Raleigh, NC
University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC
Pack Place Performing Arts, Diana Wortham Theatre, Asheville, NC
Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival, Akron, OH
East Carolina University, College of Fine Arts & Communication, Greenville, NC
San Francisco Performances, San Francisco, CA
Miami Dade County, Department of Cultural Affairs, Miami, FL
Cumberland County Playhouse, Crossville, TN
Ferst Center for the Arts, Atlanta, GA
Coker College, Hartsville, SC

3.  Company: River North Chicago Dance Company, Chicago, IL
River North Chicago Dance Company is dedicated to the creative advancement, presentation, and preservation of jazz-based contemporary dance regionally, nationally, and internationally. Its mission is to produce, promote, and present dance; make vital connections between dancers and audience; create partnerships and collaborations; assist in the professional development of dancers, choreographers and dance professionals; participate in cultural programming; and advocate for dance and dance education.

Project Title: New Works, New Presenters
A premiere by choreographer Robert Battle, his solo Ella, and new works by Lauri Stallings, Frank Chaves, and Sherry Zunker.

13 engagements in 7 states
Overture Center for the Arts, Madison Cultural Arts District, Madison, WI
Buckman Performance & Fine Arts Center, Memphis, TN
Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union Institute for Arts and Creativity, East Lansing, MI
Wharton Center for the Arts, East Lansing, MI
Sandusky State Theatre, Sandusky, OH
University of Missouri, Rolla, MO
University of Wisconsin, Whitewater Irvin L. Young Auditorium, Whitewater, WI
Flint Cultural Center, Flint, MI
Strand Capitol Performing Arts Center, York, PA
City Opera House Heritage Association, Traverse City, MI
University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, Johnstown, PA
Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH.

4.  Company: DANCING EARTH Creations, San Francisco, CA/Santa Fe, NM
DANCING EARTH is an ensemble of performance artists under the direction of choreographer Rulan Tangen, representing First Nations including Blackfoot, Tarasco, Pueblo, Pima/Maricopa, Seneca/Cayuga, Yaqui, Apache, Pawnee, Seminole, Papanga, Juaneno, Amazon Cambiva, Coushatta, Hawai'I, and Shoshone. They gather as individual artists to create experimental yet elemental dances that reflect their rich cultural heritage and to explore identity as contemporary Native peoples.
 
Project title: Of Bodies of Elements
This Native American ensemble’s work explores humanity in the embodiment of primal ancestral forces from the natural world, revitalizing ancient rhythms with stunningly powerful physicality

8 engagements in 6 states
San Francisco International Art Festival, San Francisco, CA
Arizona State University Public Events, Tempe, AZ
University of California-Riverside, Riverside, CA
Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO
Washington University in St. Louis, Edison Theatre, Saint Louis, MO
Myrna Loy Center, Helena, MT
Native Wellness Institute, Gresham, OR
Whitefish Theatre Company, Whitefish, MT

5.  Company: Emily Johnson/Catalyst, Minneapolis, MN
Emily Johnson is an Alaska Native of Yup’ik descent and a director, choreographer, and curator. Her company, Catalyst, has performed since 1998.  Johnson works to make deliberate meaning, random association, and powerful movement the essential aspects of dance pieces that are thought-provoking and entertaining.  For the past eleven years, Emily has created work from socially conscious and emotionally driven perspectives.

Project Title: The Thank-you Bar
An evening-length performance/installation of dance, live music, storytelling, and visual image connecting ideas of displacement, longing, and language to history, pre-conceived notions, architecture, and igloo-myth created by Alaska Native choreographer Emily Johnson with composers/musicians James Everest and Joel Pickard.

7 engagements in 7 states
DiverseWorks Artspace, Houston, TX
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
ODC (Oberlin Dance Collective of California), San Francisco, CA
Dance Theater Workshop, New York, NY
PICA (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art), Portland, OR
Columbia College Chicago, Chicago, IL
Vermont Performance Lab, Guilford, VT

6.  Company: Inta, Inc. (Eiko & Koma), New York, NY
Eiko and Koma’s choreography and stagecraft are characterized by bold, highly theatrical strokes.  In their desire to present an organic, conceptual environment on stage, they have often chosen to design and execute their own costumes, sets and sound scores.  The result is stark, infused with a relentless stillness that subverts and transcends our everyday notions of time and space.  Eiko & Koma want the vulnerability of their own dancing bodies to invite the audience’s empathy. Each viewer brings his or her own emotions and associations to the experience.  Eiko & Koma have been permanent residents of the United States since 1976.  They currently live in New York City, where they perform regularly and offer occasional Delicious Movement Workshops.

Project Title: Raven
Raven will encapsulate the essential Eiko & Koma for old and new audiences.  Set to a score designed by Native American composer Robert Mirabal for drummer Reynaldo Lujan, Raven will explore the rawness of life and myth and our ambivalent relationship to the land.

7 engagements in 7 states
Alverno Presents, Alverno College, Milwaukee, WI
American Dance Festival, Durham, NC
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Tigertail Productions, Miami, FL
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), Chicago, IL
Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater - REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA

Contact:
Ann Wicks, awicks@nefa.org, 617.951.0010 x534
Sarah Faria, sfaria@metlife.com, 401.827.3906

###