FROM THE FOLKS AT DTH and HOPKINS CENTER for the ARTS:

​A landmark collaboration between Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Hopkins Center for the Arts kicks off in late June for the first of a three-summer residency. The groundbreaking ballet company joins the Hop following their 50th-anniversary season, which celebrated founders Arthur Mitchell, Karel Shook and decades of dance contributions by its choreographers and dancers. 

The long-term partnership will provide time and space for collaborative, creative projects between the two organizations aimed at expanding learning opportunities in dance, supporting the inter-related practices of choreography and academic scholarship, and exploring how the arts can be powerful instigators of social change. 

Since its inception, Dance Theatre of Harlem has been a model of inclusivity, and the company’s work at Dartmouth each summer will contribute to conversations on race, activism, and equity in the arts.

The company will use the 2020 summer for the artistic development of The Hazel Scott Project,  a newly commissioned work initiated by the Washington, DC-based presenter, Washington Performing Arts, by choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher. This ballet, set to premiere in 2022, will honor the legacy of Hazel Scott, the Black piano virtuoso and Hollywood trailblazer who risked her life and career through outspoken civil rights activism. The project has provided the inspiration for a summer theater course co-taught by Monica White Ndounou (Associate Professor of Theater) and John Heginbotham (Director of the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble) that examines the interplay between arts and advocacy and challenges students to create dance as a tool for expanding historical understanding and social change. 

Upon this announcement, Mary Lou Aleskie, Howard Gillman ’44 Director of the Hopkins Center for the Arts, said, “Last year, when we started exploring a collaboration between our institutions, the aim was a mutually supportive partnership that offered opportunities for interdisciplinary research and for our students to observe Dance Theatre of Harlem’s creative process. This does just that, while opening the door for us all to learn from each other’s histories. We are inspired to be a multi-year partner with DTH and to join in the artistic journey of the Hazel Scott Project. These long-term relationships that connect artistic disciplines with courses across the humanities and sciences make for deeper learning experiences and simultaneously shape our community.”

"From Arthur Mitchell's pioneering Creole Giselle to Dianne McIntyre's powerful and poignant ballet, Change, Dance Theatre of Harlem has utilized the art form of ballet not only as a tool for transformation, but also as a platform for social justice,” said Dance Theatre of Harlem Executive Director Anna Glass. "The Hazel Scott Project is a continuation of this important legacy. We are honored to have Dartmouth College not only as a partner in the development of new voices and new works in ballet, but also in the embracing of our vision for diversity, equity and inclusion. We look forward to integrating into the Dartmouth community and to exploring the depths of this exciting collaboration." 

This summer, the Hop and DTH plan to present free, public panel discussions on the topics of ballet, activism and the legacy of Hazel Scott. DTH company members will also teach a series of virtual masterclasses open to the public. Details on these joint events will be announced over the next weeks as part of “Hop@Home.”

BAM and New York Live Arts (Live Arts) unite their respective annual Pride programs for the first time in a special live streaming event--The House Party with Everybooty on Saturday, June 27, 2020 at 8pm EDT. The Pride 2020 event features a multitude of singular artists and collectives performing in drag, dance, song, storytelling, video collages, and more. The House Party with Everybooty will stream on livestream.com and will be accessible on BAM.org and NewYorkLiveArts.org.
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As a part of its regular grantmaking, separate from grants related to CARES Act funding, the National Endowment for the Arts announces over $84 million for 1,144 new awards to organizations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and each of the five U.S. territories. Grants will be awarded in 13 artistic disciplines, arts research, and partnership agreements with all U.S. state and regional arts agencies.

The New York City dance recipients include:
A Better Jamaica, Inc.
Arts Resources in Collaboration, Inc.
ballet Tech Foundation, Inc.
Brooklyn Ballet, Inc.
CABD Inc (Camille A. Brown Dance)
Dance Continuum, Inc. (Susan Marshall & Company)
Dance Theatre of Harlem, Inc.
Dancing in the Street, Inc.
Everybody Dance Now!
Gotham Dance, Inc. (aka Bebe Miller Company)

Read more here

FROM THE FOLKS AT "We DANCE:"

"Monday was our tech rehearsal for We DANCE for Artist Relief Tree. As we came together as a cast and crew, we acknowledged that we need to stand in solidarity with the black community."

On Tuesday, we made a decision to postpone our We DANCE for ART benefit dance concert until Friday, June 12th at 8pm EST.

#theshowmustbepaused

All those involved in creating this event feel that the priority is to hold space for important conversations and dialogue about social injustices.
Thank you to Dyane Harvey Salaam, one of our incredible artists performing at We DANCE, for this photo and for being a light during this dark time.

All my best,
Olivia Mode-Cater
Founder & CEO
olivia@danceedtips.com
www.danceedtips.com

FROM THE FOLKS AT DANCE/NYC:

“We are proud to have facilitated support for so many dance making organizations in the first round of the relief fund, which was created to help to alleviate immediate pressures due to COVID-19, prioritizing those most immediately impacted by white supremacy and systemic oppression,” said Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, executive director of Dance/NYC. “But there is still work to be done. We received an astounding number of applicants for the initial iteration, and a new round of funding will provide much needed support to our dance making community as we continue in our road towards recovery.”

The recipients of the first round of the Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund for Dance Making Organizations, which will each receive one-time awards of $2,500-$5,000, are:

Abby Z and the New Utility
Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company
Bombazo Dance Co, Inc.
Born Dancing
Buglisi Dance Theatre
Caleb Teicher & Company (fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas)
Carmen Caceres DanceAction (fiscally sponsored by New York Live Arts, Inc.)
Catherine Galasso Projects (fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas)
Christopher Caines Dance / Can't Sleep, Inc. 
Cora Dance
Dance Entropy, Inc.
Dances For A Variable Population
Dancing In the Streets
Danielle Russo Performance Project (fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas)
Danza Espana
Gametophyte Inc.
Divine Rhythm Productions (fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas)
Donna Uchizono Co
Ecuadorian American Cultural Center
Elisa Monte Dance
Emily Johnson / Catalyst (fiscally sponsored by AMERINDA)
Eryc Taylor Dance, Inc.
Exit12 Dance Company
Fist and Heel Performance Group
Flamenco Latino
Flamenco NYC Inc. (fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas)
Forces of Nature Dance Theatre
General Mischief Dance Theatre
H+ | Theatre of the Mind (fiscally sponsored by New York Live Arts, Inc.)
Hivewild
Hotel Savant
Hudson Ballet Theatre, Inc.
Ice Theatre of New York
Inta Inc.
Jamel Gaines Creative Outlet, Inc.
Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project (fiscally sponsored by New York Live Arts, Inc.)
jill sigman/thinkdance
Jiva Performing Arts
Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance
Kate Weare Company (fiscally sponsored by The Field)
Keigwin + Company
Kennedy Dancers, Inc.
Kinding Sindaw
Kinesis Project dance theatre
Kyle Marshall Choreography (fiscally sponsored by The Foundation for Independent Artists)
LEIMAY
Matthew Westerby Dance Company
Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Inc.
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Navatman, Inc.
nora chipaumire (fiscally sponsored by The Foundation for Independent Artists)
PALISSIMO Company
Parijata Dance Company (fiscally sponsored by Pioneers Go East Collective, Inc.)
Redhawk Native American Arts Council
Rod Rodgers Dance Company
Sidra Bell Dance New York (SBDNY, Inc.)
Siren - Protectors of the Rainforest, Inc.
Something Positive, Inc.
The Collectives for Music and Dance, Inc.
The Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York, Inc.
The New York Korean Performing Arts Center
Thresh Inc.
Tiffany Mills Company
TOPAZ ARTS, Inc.
Vangeline Theater/New York Butoh Institute
WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company
Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre
YYDC, Inc.
ZviDance/ZGD Inc.

The 69 grantees include representatives from eight (8) counties in the metropolitan New York City area: Bergen (1), The Bronx (5), Hudson (2), Kings (15), Nassau (1), New York (39), Queens (5), and Westchester (1). Grantees are majority African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA)-led (48 of 69 or 70%), and include fifty (50 or 72%) companies with women-identifying or gender nonconforming/non-binary/genderqueer leadership, three (3 or 4%) with disabled leadership, and thirty-two (32 or 46%) with immigrant leadership. There are thirteen (13 or 19%) fiscally sponsored dance projects among the grantees.

Read more here

The Dance/USA 2020 Annual Conference has been shifted to a virtual convening format and will be held on June 17 - 19, 2020 with the majority of the programming occurring between Noon - 6:00 p.m. EDT. Council and Affinity Group meetings will be held virtually throughout the month of June.

As with prior Annual Conferences, this reconceptualized virtual model will allow attendees to invest in themselves, their organizations, and the future of dance. Together, attendees of the Dance/USA Virtual Conference will uncover innovative approaches to mutual questions, share and access new resources and strengthen relationships among fellow dance professionals in order to create a more unified and sustainable field for the dancers of tomorrow.

Registration is now open and will close on June 10 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

For questions, please contact annualconference@danceusa.org.

Find out more HERE