Dance/NYC Announces 37 Recipients of Fund to Advance Resilience in Dance
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Dance/NYC Announces 37 Recipients of Fund to Advance Resilience in Dance
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Dance/NYC Announces 37 Recipients of Fund to Advance Resilience in Dance
New York, NY (For Immediate Release) - The service organization Dance/NYC is pleased to announce the 37 recipients and 8 runner ups of the 2022–2023 Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the generous support of the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Ford Foundation. The purpose of the funding initiative is to address the inequitable distribution of resources in the dance field and advance its resilience and thriving by supporting dance making organizations and groups with budgets between $10,000 and $500,000.
For Dance/NYC, thriving dance makers have the resources to make dance with dignity, defined as the ability to pay dignified wages to all dance workers and collaborators who engage in the ideation, creation, execution, performance, and distribution of their artistic works; remain generative artists, defined as the creation of new works and/or the sustaining, archiving, performance, and preservation of repertory and/or legacy works; and work in accountability and healthy interdependent relationships with their collaborators, audiences, local communities, and the field.
This iteration of the Dance Advancement Fund, its components, and continued evolution is a reflection of ongoing learning and dialogue with current and past Dance Advancement Fund grantees, field partners, Dance/NYC’s task forces and committees, Dance/NYC’s ongoing research, former and current Dance/NYC grantees and applicants across Dance/NYC’s grantmaking programs; the direction, vision, conjuring, and advisement of Ebony Noelle Golden of Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC; and the current events impacting the field.
Recipients of the Dance Advancement Fund will each receive two-year general operating support awards of $3,000–$25,000 annually, from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023, in addition to a suite of professional development opportunities. Runner-up grantees will receive one time, flat grant awards of $1,500–$6,500.
Professional development offerings for grantees, a key component of this iteration of the Fund, are provided by program partners Gibney’s Digital Media Initiative, Pentacle, PURPOSE Productions, and TrustPlus. Each grantee will have access to personal one on one consultations with a focus on a variety of professional development topics, access to filming and video editing services, and individualized financial wellness coaching. Additionally, grantees will participate in cohort meetings led by program consultant Ebony Noelle Golden, and professional development workshops led by the consulting partners. In total, professional development offerings are valued at nearly $172,000 in total across the full grant period.
“When we developed the Dance Advancement Fund, our goal was to support and empower dancers and arts administrators,” said Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director, Dance/NYC. “While monetary resources are undeniably helpful, we believe deeper and more enduring support is found when unrestricted funds are paired with professional development that gives grantees the tools and guidance to foster their growth. This development is a critical component of the grant program, and it will help create a stronger foundation for grantees to build on. We’re excited to witness how grantees evolve over the next two years as a result of this support.”
In recognition of the labor and resources required to participate in the application process, Dance/NYC provided all eligible applicants with an honorarium. Dance/NYC is committed to valuing the labor of dance workers in the same way as it advocates to the dance community and across the arts sector.
In total, the Dance Advancement Fund represents an investment of nearly $1.1 million in the resilience and thriving of the New York City metropolitan area dance sector. There remains a significant need for general operating funds for dance makers with modest budgets, particularly in the current economic climate. Dance/NYC’s Coronavirus Dance Impact Study (http://bit.ly/
Grantees:
• Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre
• Ayazamana Dance Group
• Bombazo Dance Co, Inc.
• Company SBB // Stefanie Batten Bland
• Coopdanza, Inc/USA
• Dancers Unlimited Inc
• Davalois Fearon Dance
• David Thomson
• Divine Rhythm Productions
• Emily Johnson / Catalyst
• Ephrat Asherie Dance
• Flamenco Latino
• Full Circle Souljahs
• General Mischief Dance Theatre
• Hivewild
• J CHEN PROJECT, Inc
• Jaamil Olawale Kosoko
• Jeremy McQueen's Black Iris Project
• jill sigman/thinkdance
• Jiva Performing Arts, Inc.
• Kinding Sindaw Heritage Foundation Inc
• Kyle Marshall Choreography
• Ladies of Hip-Hop
• Leonardo Sandoval & Gregory Richardson / Music From The Sole
• MBDance
• Navild Acosta
• Passion Fruit Dance Company
• Pony Box Dance Theatre, Inc
• Rohan Bhargava/Rovaco Dance Company
• Sidra Bell Dance New York
• Surati for Performing Arts
• Sydnie L. Mosley Dances
• The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY
• Shamel Pitts | TRIBE
• YIN MEI DANCE
• z tye performance
• ZCO/DanceProject
Runner Ups:
• Born Dancing
• MODArts Dance Collective
• Netta Yerushalmy
• New York Chinese Cultural Center
• Peridance Contemporary Dance Company
• TABULA RASA DANCE THEATER
• Thresh
• Valetango
The 37 grantees include representatives from seven (7) counties in the metropolitan New York City area: The Bronx (6), Hudson (3), Kings (11), Nassau (1), New York (11), Queens (4), and Westchester (1). Grantees are majority ALAANA-led (34 of 37), and include majority women-identifying and gender nonconforming/nonbinary/
These grantees were selected by a review panel of dance workers, including members of Dance/NYC’s task forces and committees, and were among a competitive pool of over 200 metropolitan New York City area dance groups who submitted applications in response to an open call. Key evaluation criteria included: clear artistic vision and excellence; a dedication to sustaining practice beyond the two-year grant period, with a well-articulated narrative for how the funds will help advance the organization, and a willingness to share learning with the field; commitments and measurable actions in alignment with stated values of diversity, justice, equity, and inclusion; a commitment to paying artist and arts workers a living wage; and a diversity of dance perspectives. Additional information on the review process can be found by visiting Dance.NYC. Consultancy support for the Fund was provided by Ebony Noelle Golden of Betty’s Daughter Arts Collaborative.
About Dance/NYC (Dance.NYC)
Dance/NYC’s mission is to promote the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan New York City area. It embeds values of justice, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of the organization.
About the Ford Foundation (FordFoundation.Org)
The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization with assets currently valued at $16 billion. For more than 85 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
About the Howard Gilman Foundation (HowardGilmanFoundation.Org)
Howard Gilman believed in the power of the arts to transform lives. In honoring his legacy, the Foundation provides funding and support to New York City-based performing arts organizations that are reflective of our City’s vibrant cultural community. Howard Gilman Foundation’s contribution to the Dance Advancement Fund is restricted to dance makers, who are not current Gilman grantees, based in New York City with budgets under $250,000.
About Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative, LLC (BettysDaughterArts.Com)
Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative (BDAC) is a cultural consultancy and performance studio based in the village of Harlem. Since 2009, the consultancy has fueled systems, strategies, and solutions for justice and organizational wellness for more than 80 organizations nationally. In 2020, BDAC launched Jupiter Performance Studio, which houses all of the company's creative and arts education endeavors. Jupiter Performance Studio is a hub for the development, exploration, and production of diasporic Black performance traditions. Led by artist, scholar, and organizer Ebony Noelle Golden, BDAC bridges many worlds. Our holistic, results-oriented perspective makes us effective strategists, educators, coaches, and community organizers. We see the organizations we work with as collaborators, not as clients. BDAC is affectionately named after Ebony's mother, Dr. Betty Ann Sims, who is a retired professor, social worker, and youth interventionist. Our work is all about the ensemble approach.
About Gibney's Digital Media Initiative (GibneyDance.Org)
Gibney's Digital Media Initiative seeks to empower artists to create high quality digital content and integrate technology into their practice. The DMI supports artists by providing trainings, consultations, access to hardware and software, and subsidized filming and editing services.
About Pentacle (Pentacle.Org)
Since 1976, Pentacle has been a model in the arts administration field, enabling performing artists to focus on what they do best—create art and engage with audiences. As a responsive and trusted partner, Pentacle collaborates with performing artists to design and provide unique and robust programs of support at critical stages in their careers.
Pentacle's programs include: Fiscal Services, comprised of fiscal administration and sponsorship; Booking, Administrative Support including mentorship, personnel, and performance/showcase opportunities; Education & Outreach programs giving youth the tools they need to grow into the next generation of performing artists, arts administrators, and audiences; and New Initiatives that include partnerships with non-traditional venues for dance and nextSteps our new, capacity-building online administrative support platform.
About PURPOSE Productions (PurposeProductions.Org)
PURPOSE Productions supports artists and organizers in the mothering of PURPOSE-full work that seeks to unify and develop our world community. Our collective of anti-capitalist freelancers collaborates with individuals and institutions to collaboratively bring visions to fruition through marketing, management, support for families, and more. Named after the Swahili translation of the name Nia, PURPOSE Productions grounds itself in the principles of Kwanzaa, an African American holiday celebrating the fruits of ancestral, communal, and individual labor. Our work is rooted in an Africanist aesthetic and value system, and our community represents diverse cultures, genres, and experiences.
About TrustPlus (MyTrustPlus.Org)
A national nonprofit, TrustPlus delivers financial coaching, tools, and products to workers through over 200 employers, benefits providers, fintech and CDFI customers across 40 states, helping clients to manage debt, strengthen credit, and build savings on the path to financial health.
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Media Contact:
Michelle Tabnick
michelle@michelletabnickpr.com
