National Dance Project Production Grant Webinar

NDP Production Grants are made to projects led by professional choreographers or companies to support the creation and U.S. touring and/or sharing of a new dance project

Learn more

Video content:

06:52 - NDP Staff Introduction

09:30 – About the New England Foundation for the Arts

10:40 – NEFA’s Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Statement

12:29 – About The National Dance Project

13:23 – Production Grant Pack of Support Details

15:44 – Evolving Definitions of Touring/Sharing

18:07 – Production Grant Eligibility

23:00 – Applicants Not Eligible for a Production Grant

27:54 – Production Grant Advisor Selection Process

30:01 – Production Grant Funding Criteria

32:01 – Organizational Partner Overview

34:23 – Technical instructions for starting and accessing an application

38:33 – Application important information, tips, and reminders

41:35 – Narrative Questions overview and helpful tips

51:56 – Work Sample Requirements

54:01 – Work Sample Submission Instructions and Reminders

55:29 – Production Grant Finalist Selection Process

58:01 – Application Process and Important Dates

59:49 – Resource list

Read the Video Transcript

[Kristin] Welcome and thank you for joining us for this 2022 National Dance Project Production Grant informational webinar.

[Indira] It is NEFA's practice to share a land acknowledgment for all convenings including the virtual space we are in today. We believe that a land acknowledgement is necessary, yet only a first part of a much more engaged process towards deeply rooted healing and reconciliation. We see the role of the arts as an opportunity to uplift and uphold truth and recognize our responsibility to not perpetuate the erasure of peoples.

Therefore, as a committed ally and as artists, NEFA wishes to acknowledge that the grounds on which our offices are located are the traditional, current, and future lands of the Massachusett, Naumkeag, Nipmuc, and Wampanoag peoples. We recognize that many Indigenous peoples have come to this place and the connection between displacement and removal. So, we honor their presence. We also acknowledge the many Indigenous people and lands where our distributed staff live and work, including the NDP Team who are leading today's webinar from the lands of the Mahican, Massachusett, Pawtucket, and Munsee Lenape peoples. We honor their ancestors past, present, and future, and recognize their continued existence and contributions to our society. Furthermore, we recognize the many Native lands in which all of you are joining us from across the country and respect the choices you make in honoring and recognizing the caretakers of those lands. It is also important to acknowledge those of you in attendance and your respective ancestors who did not come to this land by choice, and those who did.

We live in a nation founded on the genocide of Native people, stolen land, displacement, and enslavement of Africans whose resources and free labor established wealth and prosperity for their oppressors. We wish to honor all of these people whose hard work and lives were lost in struggles for liberation and decolonization. The process of colonization and relationship to power has helped foster continued centuries of racism, colorism, sexism, classism, ableism, and oppression of those viewed as 'other' that still exist today. The advancement of structural inequities actively promotes cultural genocide, and dare I say hatred, particularly within and against Indigenous, Black, and Brown communities.

Within our work, NEFA strives to counter these inequities including race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, age, language, culture, nation of origin and geography, and those living at the intersectionality of identity. Since our activities are being shared digitally to the internet, let us also take a moment to consider the legacy of colonization embedded within the technology, structures, and ways of thinking we use every day. So many tech companies in what some now call "Silicon Valley" are headquartered on the lands of the Ohlone and Tamyen people, who have resided there for more than 10,000 years. And while they are still there, the Ohlone and Tamyen people, as well as other people of color, continue to face displacement, labor exploitation, environmental racism and more as we rely on advancing technologies to stay connected during this pandemic and beyond.

We must recognize the impact of this industry, and while the resources being used stretches across all lands access to equipment and high-speed internet are not available in many Indigenous communities. Even the technologies that are central to much of the art we make, leaves significant carbon footprints, contributing to changing climates that disproportionately affect Indigenous people worldwide. We feel it is important to reflect on this as we continue to use these digital spaces to connect.

Lastly, NEFA understands this process requires a constant state of learning and growth and we are committed to doing the work that ensures our acknowledgment is directly linked to accountability and action. It is a journey we are on both collectively and individually across the organization. We expect our shared education and efforts will be reflected in multiple revisions of our written land acknowledgment over time, as well as other direct actions that continue to uplift the Indigenous people on whose land we have the privilege of working. I invite you to join us in acknowledging all of this, as well as our collective responsibility to make good of this time and consider our roles in decolonization and ally-ship. We will now pause for a moment of silence to honor and reflect on the deep history of these lands and its people.

Hello again, and thank you for joining us for today's webinar. While our cameras will be off throughout this informational webinar to highlight slides, we are sharing an image of who we are and will acknowledge how we identify at this time. My name is Indira Goodwine and I am the Program Director for Dance at NEFA. My pronouns are she, her, and hers. I am a brown-skin Black woman who in this image has long black braids and is wearing a coral dress with a necklace that has white triangles on it.

[Cheri] My name is Cheri Opperman, I am the Grants Manager for Dance at NEFA. My pronouns are she/her and I am a white woman who in this image has short dark brown hair, and wearing dark eyeglasses and wearing a red collared shirt and red glass earrings.

[Kristin] My name is Kristin Gregory. I am the Program Manager for Dance at NEFA. My pronouns are She\her. I am a light skinned white woman who in this image has shoulder length straight dyed blonde hair, a maroon v-neck t-shirt and a pendant necklace.

[Indira] This is Indira speaking. For today's webinar, we will provide important information related to the NDP Production Grant Application process, inclusive of: Information about NEFA & NDP, NDP's Package of Support, Evolution definitions or evolving definitions of touring and sharing, Grant Eligibility & Funding Criteria, Accessing the Application, Application Narrative Questions, and Work Sample Submissions. As a reminder, everything that is shared today can also be found on NEFA's website at www.N-E-F-A.org.

New England Foundation for the Arts, also known as NEFA, was founded in 1976 as one of six regional arts organizations established with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts to strengthen regional arts opportunities. Today, NEFA's programs are regional, national, and international in scope, and support artists and communities through grants and other opportunities in dance, music, theater, and public art. Our vision states that NEFA contributes to a nation where artists flourish and communities celebrate art as essential to a thriving, equitable society. And we strive to reach this vision via our mission to invest in artists and communities and foster equitable access to the arts, enriching the cultural landscape in New England and the nation.

Each program and project that is brought to life at NEFA is created with the underlying goal of building a stronger and more dynamic infrastructure for the arts. We achieve these goals by leaning on our core values and continuously deepening our commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Our current EDIA statement reads: NEFA values an equitable, diverse, and inclusive world, which we interpret as all people having fair access to the tools and resources they need to realize creative and community endeavors. We acknowledge structural inequities that have excluded individuals and communities from opportunity based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, language, culture, age, genre, and geography, and strive to counter those inequities in our work. NEFA does not do anything alone and we are grateful for the continued support of the field and our lead funders for this program: The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. With their steadfast commitment, we are able to support artists, presenting organizations, and the communities they engage with in exciting and impactful ways.

[Cheri] This is Cheri speaking. NDP is now 26 years old! It was launched in 1996 to support the creation and touring of new dance works through grantmaking and other activity including residencies and regional dance development initiatives.

Today, we'll be talking about our major grant program, the production grant, which awards 20 dance projects annually through a competitive two-stage application process. These comprehensive grants are made to projects led by professional choreographers or companies to support the creation and US touring of a new dance project.

The package of support for creation. This comprehensive package of support includes: $45,000 to artists/companies towards all costs associated with making the project. $11,500 for production residency and/or community engagement plans: Including the costs of activities that support the full realization of the new dance project during a residency experience, and/or expenses related to deepening relationships with existing communities or engaging new communities via activities directly related to this new project. $10,000 to artists/companies for general operating support, with deep thanks to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for this funding is totally unrestricted. For instance, it can be used for: Salaries, rent, insurance, retirement, computers, cameras or other equipment, tour coordinator or administrative support, you can put it towards the project, anything! The production/creation funds, general operating support, and production residency/community engagement funds are paid directly to the artist/company if they are a non-profit, or to their fiscal sponsor. Works may not premiere before October 1, 2022.

Additionally, $35,000 is reserved for each project's U.S. tour and is allocated by the artist/company to US-based organizations to subsidize a presentation of the NDP-funded project and must be used during the work's NDP touring period. Tour funds are allocated by the artist's designated tour coordinator and distributed directly to the presenter through the NDP Presentation Grant process. Tour Coordinators may be an agent, a manager, or the artist themselves.

[Indira] This is Indira speaking. NEFA recognizes that the combination of multiple pandemics including COVID, racial injustice, and economic downturn, continues to impact the ways that artists create and intend to share their work. We value your creative ingenuity during this time and the artistic experiences you still desire to share with communities and audiences, whether in-person, virtually, or some imaginative combination of both. NEFA understands that there are more opportunities and interest in artists/companies to share their work virtually, reaching a global audience. While we support the many ways artists or companies have been able to expand their reach, it is important to note that NDP tour subsidy can only be allocated to U.S. based organizations. This does not prevent an artist or company from securing opportunities outside of the U.S. We want to see that as well. However we must be clear about how tour subsidies can be allocated and distributed at this time.

Production Grant recipients have a window during which they must use the creation funds and touring subsidy. If you or your company are selected as an NDP Production Grantee this summer, the window of time you will have to create, tour and/or share your project is January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2026. Projects that are not completed and have not allocated their touring subsidy in this time period should be in conversation with NEFA staff. Please Note: Touring subsidy can be used for the premiere of the NDP supported work.

[Kristin] This is Kristin speaking. To be eligible to apply for a National Dance Project Production Grant, applicants must be able to meet the following criteria at the time of application, which is March 1, 2022. These eligibility requirements are always available online at nefa.org, or N-E-F-A.O-R-G. Applicants must be professional choreographers or companies. Preference is given to US-based artists, based dance, artists and companies, but artists and companies based outside of the US may apply. We do accept applications from international artists and companies. However preference is given to US-based dance artists and companies, because we recognize that many countries have different and/or more robust funding opportunities for artists.

Applicants must propose a new dance project to be developed, and toured or shared. Projects maybe interdisciplinary and can include creators and other artistic forms. At the time of application, projects may be in an early, mid, or late stage of development. So as long as the project does not premiere before October 1st, 2022. Artists and companies proposing projects that will premiere after fall of 2024 may consider applying in March of 2023. Projects may be interdisciplinary and can include creators in other artistic forms or explore hybrid art forms. We recognize continued and evolving ideas of dance, and movement-based forms of expression, however the grant will be evaluated by a dance panel and there is an expectation that the focus of the project will be movement based. Works may be in an early stage of development at the time of application as well as in mid or later stages of development. New works cannot premiere before October 2022 to be eligible. If the intended premiere is expected to be beyond March of 2024, we recommend potentially waiting to apply until the project is in a later stage of development and could therefore be more clearly articulated through the application process.

Continued eligibility. Applicants must submit or appear in only one application per choreographer or company, including applicants for a project that will be created by a guest choreographer on another company. Applications including a project that will be created by a guest choreographer on another company are considered to be part of the one application per choreographer or company. If you are company interested in submitting an application with a guest choreographer, please be in touch with that choreographer to ensure that they themselves will not be applying or that they have not given permission to another company to apply as well.

Applicants must work with a US-based organizational partner, committed to supporting the development and/or presentation of the proposed new project. We will go into further detail about what an organizational partner looks like and can provide to a project later in this presentation.

Applicants must have nonprofit status or a non-profit fiscal sponsor who will act on their behalf. If you do not have nonprofit status, you may work with a fiscal sponsor. You do not have to have a fiscal sponsor or nonprofit status confirmed in order to apply, but you will need one to receive payments should you openly receive a National Dance Project Production Grant. We are not able at this time to make grant payments to individual artists or LLC entities.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements and reports for grant recipients if awarded. Any outstanding grant reports can always be accessed through our portal at any time. Please double check your account if you are not sure if you may have outstanding reports due to NEFA.

Applicants who are not eligible. At this time, we are not able to accept applications that fall within the following categories: Artists/companies currently in a creation period from an NDP Production Grant or who are currently touring with NDP support through the end of the current calendar year. If you are a current National Theater Project or National Dance Project Production Grantee and have not completed all aspects of the project supported by NTP or NDP funding, including touring, you are not eligible at this time to apply. If you have recently received NDP support and are not sure about your eligibility status, please be in touch with us, as this varies by project. We will only discuss the eligibility of a project with the artist or artists who are associated.

Artists/companies who have received Production Grants for two consecutive cycles. These artists must take two years off after their NDP Grant period ends before applying again. Again, if you are not sure of your eligibility status based on a previous production grant, please be in touch with us as it will vary by project.

School, youth, or student companies and groups are not eligible. We are not able to support projects that are working primarily with youth, under 18, or students, especially if those youth are the main performers, which does include college students. The primary artists involved in the creation and performing of the work should be professional, generally equating to paid, though there is some nuance within that definition.

Eligibility continued. Applicants who are not eligible: Artists/companies who are planning to self-produce their NDP tour. NDP tour subsidies support up to 50% of the artist fee per engagement and are paid to presenters on a reimbursement basis. Subsidy cannot be paid to the artist/company receiving the NDP Production Grant. NEFA define a self-produced tour as engagements which are being mainly supported financially by the touring artist or company. The touring subsidy cannot be paid to the grantee receiving the production grant, and therefore engagements supported by touring subsidy must have some kind of artist fee associated with the engagement, which is to be paid to the artist or company by a separate entity. The kinds of organizations this encompasses are varied and does notstrictly mean performing arts centers and dance presenters. Many kinds of organizations can receive touring subsidy as part of an NDP supported tour.

Artists/companies with an overdue grantee report to NEFA. To regain eligibility, outstanding grantee reports must be submitted online to NEFA before the deadline of March 1, 2022. If you have an outstanding grantee report, we will not be able to accept a new application. So please be in touch with us to restore your eligibility. Grantee reports that are outstanding must be submitted before the application deadline of March 1st, 2022. We can not make exceptions at this time. Any outstanding grant reports can always be viewed in your account through our online portal.

Artists/companies creating dance projects that are specifically made for camera or dance film. The intention of the production grants is to support a live engagement of some kind, film may be associated with the engagement, but there should be an intention of live performance happening in association with any film. Given the current landscape, we understand this may be happening virtually. We are looking for the intention of live performance, whether that can realistically happen continues to change, we understand the complications of this.

Funding criteria. All grant applications are evaluated based on the following criteria, across both application rounds. Myself, (Kristin) Cheri, and Indira have no role in determining the 20 artists/companies that will receive NDP support. The selection process is guided by a rotating group of advisors who are leaders in the dance field, including dance artists, presenters, administrators, independent arts consultants, curators, educators, and social justice practitioners. Collectively, they are responsible for selecting the projects that will receive the NDP Production and serve as a policy and accountability council for NDP's overall process. There are currently 12 individuals serving this role for 2022, and that information will be made public on our website in the near future. Though we acknowledge that 12 individuals cannot amply account for the richness of diversity within our field and country, we remain committed to uplifting new voices and perspectives each year as part of our process. The process of selecting and guiding these individuals is done with deep consideration and commitment to our values. We seek individuals who represent various communities and life experiences that will support the assessment, evaluation, and discussion of applications during the grant panel meetings. As decision makers, NDP Advisors understand the impacts of equitably distributing resources and intentionally prioritize countering against structural inequities that have excluded individuals and communities from opportunity based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, culture, language, age, and geography.

These 12 advisors evaluate each application individually based on the following criteria: support the creation development and US touring/sharing virtual or in person of new dance projects that demonstrate excellence in artist's practice.

Support new dance projects within a range of cultural and aesthetic diversities that bolster today's dance field. To clarify, NEFA defines US to include all 50 of the United States as well as Hawaii, Alaska, and Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

Funding criteria continued. Reflect partnerships with organizations that are essential to the realizations of the proposed new project. Applications must include at least one US-based partner.

Demonstrate a commitment to an engagement process with/for communities and audiences because of the project's relevance, originality, and/or timeliness.

Develop a viable plan for touring/sharing the supported project in multiple communities in the US and its territories. We want to also acknowledge the virtual space we have found ourselves in more and more, and what that means for touring subsidies. Artists are welcome to share their work internationally. We encourage this, but keep in mind, we are not able to distribute NDP funds to international organizations. Therefore we are not able to financially support those engagements.

[Cheri] Organizational partner. This is Cheri speaking. In the creation process, an... oh, sorry. NDP believes strongly in artist/organization alliances to strengthen the development of new work and to connect communities to dance. As part of your application, you will need to identify organizational partners that will support you in reaching the goals of your project, which can range from ideation to community engagement to how you will tour and/or share your work. While projects may have more than one partner, you must list one on the application form, but can and should include information about additional partners in the narrative section. The National Dance Project defines Organizational Partners as U.S. nonprofit organizations who have working relationships with dance artists or companies and are committed to providing support for the creation and/or touring of the proposed new work. The organizational partner is not required to present the finished work at any time, though many do.

In the creation process, an organization may provide a variety of resources, including, but not limited to: Residency space, Audience for work-in-progress showings, Administrative guidance or support, Access to communities who will be involved in the research, creation, and/or presentation of the new work, Mentorship, research assistance Leveraging of additional funds for the project. During the touring of the proposed new project, support may take the form of presentations, mentorship, and tour planning assistance. The partner does not have to be a presenter. Additionally, the applicant should demonstrate how the partnership is supporting the new project. And it is also beneficial to understand how the partnership will support the goals of the organization, demonstrating reciprocity in the relationship.

[Kristin] This is Kristin speaking. The following slides are technical instructions for accessing and filling out your application. You can preview the narrative questions that will be addressed in the application at any time by clicking the preview application questions button on the main Production Grant page. When you are ready to begin your application, scroll down to the apply-now button. Please only click this one time. As each time you click the apply now button, it will bring you to a brand new blank application. To resume your application that may have already been started, please use the resume application button. You can return to your grant application at any time using the resume-my-application button prior to the deadline. If you have not applied to the National Dance Project in recent years, you will notice that we are using a new online grant system. You can find more information about how to navigate our new portal in the blog link posted on this page, or at nefa.org.

If this is your first time applying for a NEFA program, or you have not applied in several years, you will need to create a new account before you are able to view your application. We recommend using the beginning of your email address as your username or something similar and easy to remember. You are not be able to enter your full email as your username, as the portal will not accept the @ symbol or anything beyond the @ symbol. For example, my email address is kgregory@nefa.org. I would use the username kgregory. If you don't remember your password, please click on the can't-access-your-account-button or forgot-your-password. It's much easier and much more efficient than requesting a new password through a staff member. We are able to look up your username if you have forgotten it, but you can also use the link to the right of the sign-in boxes to look up your username. If you are still having difficulty accessing your account, or if you are having any applications, submission issues, or need tech support once you have logged in, please reach out to our tech support team at tech@nefa.org, that's T-E-C-H@N-E-F-A.O-R-G. We do hope that our new portal is more easily navigated and more accessible, though we continue to address access issues. If you need an alternate format for application submission, please contact our accessibility coordinator jane Preston at jpreston@nefa.org, that's J-P-R-E-S-T-O-N@N-E-F-A.O-R-G.

If you have clicked the apply now and have logged in for the first time, you will be taken to a blank inquiry form immediately. We recommend at least entering your name and project title and hitting save immediately. This will ensure that you can view and return to the form at any time. Please save your form often. You will have to manually save your form as it will not auto save for you. And if any information that you have entered in the form has not been saved manually with the save button, there's nothing that we can do to get it back for you. We recommend viewing the form and copying the information over into a Word Document and working or editing your information from there. Once it is ready to go, you can copy and paste it back into the online form when you're ready, continuing to use the save button often. A few notes about the form itself. Please pay attention to character count in the narrative section. Unfortunately, we are not able to do anything to allow answers above character counts to be submitted. This is not something we are able to override. Characters include special characters, spaces and paragraph mark. Please also keep in mind that special formatting, including bold or italics will not appear in the form. Bullets and numbering may not appear in the same way that they look in a Word Document and may take up extra characters. Please keep this in mind while writing your answers. In order to return to a saved form, log into our grants system and move to the open item tab. From there, you'll want to highlight in the blue box to the left, the inquiry section. This is where your form will appear. When you log into the portal, it will not automatically be selected to show the inquiry section. So you will have to go there yourself. You can always see previous applications that you may have submitted under the closed items tab in your portal.

[Indira] This is Indira speaking. As shared earlier, the selection of NDP grantees is the sole responsibility of the 12 NDP Advisors. They seek to select projects that represent the breadth and depth of our field as exemplified through NEFA's values inclusive of artistic & life experiences, career stage, dance aesthetics, forms, genres, and more. Though we continue to navigate unknown territory given the current pandemic and impacts on how projects are toured and shared, we remain committed to supporting artists' ability to thrive. Thus, as you complete your NDP proposal, we encourage you to answer all questions to the best of your knowledge. We invite you to lean on the NDP team as a resource as you prepare to submit your preliminary application.

Now we will review the inquiry narrative questions that you will need to answer as part of the 2022 NDP Production Grant Application, as well as provide insight on what to consider when crafting your responses.

Question one reads, please describe the proposed new work. While this question may feel self-explanatory. This is also an opportunity for you to share with advisors, why this work is important now. This narrative question aligns with the criteria that states: "Support the creation and development and US touring or sharing, virtual or in-person, of new dance projects that demonstrate excellence in artists' practice."

Question two reads: Please describe your creative process or practice in relation to the development of the proposed project for collaborative models of making. Please also include information about artistic collaborators involvement. This question offers space for you to share your values and how it relates to the new project you are are creating. This narrative question aligns with the criteria that states: "Support the creation and development and US touring or sharing, virtual or in-person, of new dance projects that demonstrate excellence in artists' practice."

Question three reads: Please share how you imagine excellence or success manifesting through your project. Include any other information you think would be important for the advisors to fairly assess your application. This question uplifts an artist or company's agency to define excellence and success on their own terms. Your response grounds the advisors in how they assess and evaluate your application keeping in mind your definition of excellence and success for the project and not their own. This space can also be used to share additional information you feel is invaluable to your process and that otherwise would not be shared in response to other narrative questions. This narrative question aligns with the criteria that states: "Support new dance projects within a range of cultural and aesthetic diversities that bolsters today's dance field."

Question four reads: beyond the collaborators and creative team, how does this project contribute to the cultural and aesthetic diversities of today's dance field? For NEFA's value statement around equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility, we offer a link for you to click. Thinking about our EDIA work, it is important that we always consider how the work we support is elevating our field through the dance projects and community engagement experiences with various audiences and communities. We value how artists are choosing to advance, enhance, or subvert various forms of dance, and remain committed to disrupting the perpetual exclusion and erasure of artists representing forms, genres, practices, traditions, lineages, experiences, and/or identities through their projects. We believe representation is important. Creating space for challenging and rich dialogue is critical; not only for our field but for the world we want to transform through the art of dance. While the advisors represent various geographies and experiences with dance, they may not be familiar with your work specifically. So, in response to this question, you may want to start by defining your aesthetic and the specific ways in which you work and create. Then explain how you are either pushing your own boundaries and/or the form you work in. Please note: We recognize that the contributions of diverse artistic collaborators, including the dancers is important, however the advisors seek to also understand how the proposed new project itself is contributing to the cultural and aesthetic diversities of today's dance field. This narrative question aligns with the criteria that states: "Support new dance projects within a range of cultural and aesthetic diversities that bolsters today's dance field."

Question five reads: Describe your timeline for the proposed project. Here the advisors are interested in further understanding your development timeline for the proposed project and those you wish to engage through your creative process. It is also an opportunity to uplift more information about any and all artistic collaborators for the work. This question aligns with the criteria that states: "Support the creation and development and US touring or sharing, virtual or in-person, of new dance projects that demonstrate excellence in artists' practice."

Question six reads: define and describe your relationship with the project partner or partners, institutional community presenting, et cetera, for this new project, including the organizational partner listed on the previous tab. How and why are their contributions essential to the realization of the proposed new project? This can be through the development, promotion, engagement, performance, and/or touring or sharing virtual or in-person. We want to emphasize that for this question, the advisors are evaluating what the organization and project partners are doing for you and the project, not the other way around. We understand that you may be teaching, lecturing, and leading other experiences that support your project, as well as the project partners' mission/goals, but that isn't what we are asking. The advisors are interested in understanding the deepness and diversity of the project partnerships as a way to support the excellence and success you desire and have defined for the proposed project. This narrative question aligns with the criteria that states: "Reflect partnerships with organizations that are essential to the realization of the proposed new project."

The final question, question seven reads: describe the audiences and communities you want to reach with the proposed new project and how you envision connecting with them. Here the advisors want to understand more about the audiences and communities you wish to engage with and impact through your project. This goes beyond the presentation aspect of the project and should include other ideas for deepening and/or building new connections with the audiences and communities that you have identified. This narrative question aligns with the criteria that states: "Demonstrate a commitment to an engagement process with and/or for communities and audiences because of the new project's relevance, originality, and/or timeliness."

As a reminder, when inside of the portal, we encourage you to press save often when filling in responses as our system will not autosave your information.

[Cheri] This is Cheri speaking. Work samples. This application requires you to offer a three-minute work sample. For work samples longer than three minutes, clearly indicate cue times. If you are submitting two clips, each clip should be at least one minute in length. Audio. All video work samples should utilize original audio if available. We do encourage submission of your most recent works, consider works within the last five years when possible. Promotional videos and/or video montages will not be accepted.

Types of work samples. Since you are applying for funding of a project not yet fully produced, you may submit: a clip of the in progress project named in the application. Video of the proposed project is not required, however we recommend that you submit work samples that show the capacity by the artist/company to fully realize their ideas. This is an opportunity to connect the narrative answers to the application with the visual manifestation of the work. A clip of similar work with a company or choreographer named in the application, or a combination of both. The description field offers an opportunity to highlight your choices. These might include important collaborators, content, and context relating to the new project. Please also note that the panel reviewers will be looking at these on computers, tablets, and phone screens so please be mindful of very dark, hard to see images, or audio that is not clear.

Work sample submission instructions. Upload video work samples to the video sharing sites Vimeo or Google drive. Enter the URL link to the video in the Work Sample Link form field. Please include one Work Sample per section. For multiple Work Samples, please enter the information in the order the videos should be viewed. For password-protected links, please provide the password, and do not change permissions for video before May 1st 2022. And ensure that videos can be downloaded. If you are a company and you are looking to bring in another choreographer, it is helpful to see a sample from the company who will be performing the work as well as the artist who is creating the work. If you submit longer than 3 minutes, advisors may not watch the appropriate sections of your work sample. Advisors will watch the first three minutes of submission if not given appropriate cue times, and will stop after three minutes total. NDP staff are not responsible for contacting applicants for work sample corrections.

[Kristin] This is Kristin speaking. Production inquiry finalist process. All applicants will be notified of their application status in early May of 2022. Up to 40 applicants are invited to submit full proposal application. This second stage of a full proposal application submission is by invitation only, and those invited are selected from the pool of applicants due on March 1st, 2022. For those applicants not selected, we do offer an opportunity to receive feedback, regardless of your status. Information on how to receive feedback on your application is shared in the notification email you will receive.

Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will be paired with one of our 12 NDP advisors. These advisors will work with finalists on the development of the full proposal application. They can let you know any questions that came up about your inquiry application during the panel meeting. And we'll provide you with the panel's feedback. They can review your budget, narrative questions, help you select work samples, et cetera. Advisors provide advice during the full proposal process and present the final proposal during the July panel meeting. Presenting an application is not the same as advocating for the application. The advisor has worked with you to develop the application and is therefore intimately familiar with the information provided by you in the proposal, which is what they will present to the panel. It is important if you are a finalist to get your application materials to your advisor for review well in advance of the application deadline, so that they have time to review, read, ask questions and give feedback ahead of the application deadline.

Application process and timeline. We encourage you to start your application as early as possible. It is currently available online. During the application process, we try to make ourselves as available as possible to answer questions and support with technical difficulties. However, please keep in mind that there are only three NDP staff. And last year we did have 206 eligible applications. Please reach out to us early, as we cannot guarantee our availability and responsiveness as the deadline approaches. We are not available to support questions after 5:00 PM Eastern Standard time on the day of the application deadline, which is March 1st, 2022. You do have until 11:59 PM Eastern Standard to submit your application. All applicants are notified of the decision in early May. Those invited to submit a full proposal will be asked to submit their proposal by June 10th, 2022, again at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard. Production Grant recipients will be notified in August of 2022. And we will announce the Production Grant awardees in September, 2022 on our website.

If you are interested in learning about the National Dance Project, NEFA's Strategic plan or about our new grants system, the NDP panel review process or the most recent Production Grant recipients, you can find all of these resources linked here or on our website at neefa.org.

[Indira] This is Indira speaking. This concludes our 2022 NDP Production Grant informational webinar. As always, should you have any questions, we encourage you to contact us prior to submitting your preliminary application on March 1st, 2022. All of our contact information can be found on NEFA's website at www.N-E-F-A.O-R-G. We thank you for joining us and hope you, your loved ones, and community remain safe and healthy.