Beyond Production and Touring grants, NDP participates in a variety of
projects intended to cultivate and strengthen the global dance community.
The following details the scope of NDP’s work.
NDP's Regional Dance Development Initiative (RDDI), Center for Creative Research (CCR), and Contemporary Art Centers (CAC) network have been made possible by support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Altria Group, Inc., WESTAF, and the Aliad Fund of the Boston Foundation.
Regional Dance Development Initiative (RDDI) RDDI helps regional dance artists to reach new markets by
improving their ability to communicate with audiences about
the meaning of and context for their work, and by developing
relationships with dance presenters. Each RDDI has a ten-day
"Lab" for up to 12 artists emphasizing mentoring by experienced
choreographers, managers, and presenters. In conjunction with the
artists' Lab there is also an artist/presenter exchange component.
Three initial Labs took place in Seattle (August 2004), San Francisco
(February 2006), and Portland, OR (May 2006) and directly served
32 regional artists. A fourth Lab was held in New England at
Connecticut College in New London, CT (July 2007), serving 12
artists, and was followed by seven exchanges in dance throughout the region.
RDDI Labs:
New England
New England’s RDDI (also called the New England Dance Lab) took place at Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, from July 27 to August 4, 2007. Twelve artists selected from throughout New England and seven mentors worked over the course of the ten-day lab on the articulation of their work and how to build relationships with presenters. Thirty-two presenters attended the final two days for an artist/presenter exchange. A series of regional artist/presenter exchanges will follow in each state in New England in 2008. View artist bios and contact info. View a Summary for Participants of NDP's New England RDDI.
Seattle – Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest pilot project was the first 10-day dance lab for regional artists. Directed by San San Wong with additional coordination by Michele Steinwald, the planning involved an advisory committee of regional presenters, artists and managers. The Seattle lab was held in December 2004 and involved 11 selected artists from the region. View artist bios and contact info.
San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA)
The SFBA pilot project 10-day dance lab focused on culturally specific dance artists in the SFBA. The project was led by coordinator San San Wong and advisor Rob Bailis of ODC Theatre with an advisory committee of regional presenters, artists and managers. The SFBA lab was held in February 2006 and involved 11 selected artists. View artist bios and contact info.
Portland – Pacific Northwest
The Portland pilot project was launched in September 2005 with a meeting of alumni from the Seattle Lab as an introduction to Portland area artists, presenters and managers. Under the coordination of Erin Boberg Doughton with advisor Eloise Damrosch from Regional Arts Advisory Council (RAAC) an advisory panel was formed of regional artists, presenters and managers. The Portland lab was held in June 2006 and involved 10 selected artists from Seattle, Portland, Ashland, Idaho, and Montana. View artist bios and contact info.
Center for Creative Research (CCR) Envisioned as an innovative partnership between NDP and institutions of higher education, CCR places
established choreographers in residence at a university or college as members of a research-oriented
academic community. Through CCR, artists conduct choreographic research working with faculty and
students, bringing benefits to both the artist and institution and encouraging nontraditional, crossdepartment
collaboration. Partner sites have included Wesleyan University, University of Maryland,
Dartmouth College, and the University of Minnesota.
Contemporary Art Centers (CAC) The Contemporary Art Centers (CAC) network brings together
performing arts curators at contemporary art centers in the U.S. The
aim is to build connections to support dance and other performing
artists working across disciplines and help these centers collaborate
with peer organizations to maintain a high level of programming.
The network is comprised of leading contemporary art centers whose
cutting-edge programming is in performing, visual, and media arts.
CAC 2008 Grantees Center: Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston, MA)
Artists: Ralph Lemon and others
Project: Blues (Working Title)
Choreographer Ralph Lemon will curate three separate evenings of dance in conjunction with the ICA/Boston’s Blues, a major visual arts exhibition co-curated by Bennet Simpson and artist Glenn Ligon, that will reassess notions of the Blues in contemporary art, music, and visual culture. The performance series will pair three visual artists from the exhibition (such as David Hammons, Cady Noland, Dawoud Bey, William Eggleston, and Derek Jarman) who will create set elements and décor for the performances with a team of two choreographers (such as Okwui Okpokwasili, Dean Moss, Faustin Linyekula, and Wally Cardona) who share each evening’s program. Each team will create a new thirty-minute dance piece, and there will be a total of three evenings of new work.
Center: Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
Artists: Meredith Monk and Ann Hamilton
Project: Songs of Ascension
Exploring the spiritual, vocal and physical notions of ascension across geography and time, legendary composer/director/choreographer Meredith Monk joins forces with groundbreaking American installation artist Ann Hamilton to create their second live performance collaboration together. Combining Meredith Monk’s minimalist yet expressionistic vocal and instrumental music and iconoclastic theatricality with Ann Hamilton’s raw, sensual installation elements and video art, the collaboration brings leading forces of visual and performing arts together to challenge and inspire one another. Musically, the work will involve Ms. Monk, five members of her long-standing vocal ensemble, a string quartet of leading New York-based instrumentalists (led by violinist Todd Reynolds), and three additional instrumental musicians. The project will be in residence at the Walker Art Center for two weeks of full technical/developmental residency in June, 2008.
Center: Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, OH)
Artist: William Forsythe
Project: William Forsythe: Performance and Video Installations
In partnership with OSU’s Advanced Computing Center for Arts and Design (ACCAD) and the Department of Dance (both well known for their innovative work exploring the intersection of new digital media and the arts), Forsythe is designing a new interactive web based project that analyzes his landmark work One Flat Thing (Reproduced) so that Forsythe’s choreography can be seen as a template for a variety of creative problem solving that can be applied to other practices and fields. The launch of this web project will take place at a variety of cities around the world, with the Columbus/OSU launch to take place in early 2009. For its launch event at OSU, the Wexner Center will organize a range of projects that complement the web project. In late January 2009, they will mount a series of Forsythe’s performance and installation projects including: a performance/installation work to be staged in the galleries, a large scale interactive outdoor video installation that morphs images of the approaching crowd transforming them into dancers, and another audience interactive work that invites all to perform.
Center: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Artist: Nick Cave and Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, Inc.
Project: Soundsuits
The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is thrilled to conclude its '08-'09 season with a truly remarkable confluence of performing and visual art in their Exhibitions gallery, fusing the movement of renowned choreographer Ronald K. Brown and the shimmering Soundsuits of visionary sculptor Nick Cave. Praised as “one of the most profound choreographers of his generation,” Brown and his company EVIDENCE blend African, modern, ballet and hip-hop to tell stories about the human experience. As part of his residency at YBCA, Brown and EVIDENCE dancer Shani Collins will collaborate with local performers to bring to life Cave’s Soundsuits, ephemeral full-body sculptures composed of recycled clothing, beads, bottle caps, toys, twigs and hair. The exhibition, which runs in the galleries March 28 – July 12, represents the largest scale presentation of Cave’s career, and gives YBCA audiences the unique chance to experience his Soundsuits in performance. While these groundbreaking performance “happenings” will take place only three times, numerous activities and performances are planned in conjunction with the Nick Cave exhibition.
National Dance Presenters' Leadership Forum at Jacob’s Pillow
The National Dance Presenters' Leadership Forum is a professional development program for dance presenters. Developed out of a partnership between NEFA, Jacob’s Pillow, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), and Dance/USA, the Forum brings together representatives from presenting organizations across the nation to focus on the curatorial and practical dimensions of dance presenting. NEFA currently supports the Forum by providing travel support to New England presenters who are interested in attending. For general information about the Forum, and to download application form visit www.artpresenters.org or www.danceusa.org
White Oak Convenings
Initiated as a vehicle to strengthen the dance field through communication
between colleagues and cooperative strategizing, The White Oak Convenings
are periodic gatherings of a varied and representative group of stakeholders,
practitioners, and activists in the dance field. Held at the White Oak
Plantation in Yulee, Florida, these meetings - structured as forums -
focus on the future of dance in the United States. Participants identify
current challenges in dance creation, presentation, and touring, discuss
organizational and resource development, and exchange ideas on how to
promote and support the growth of dance as an art form.
Artists, artist managers, agents, funders, service organization representatives,
and presenters - nearly 30 in total - attend each convening. The first,
held in October 1999, concentrated on needs assessment and strategy recommendations.
The group ascertained dance field needs, pinpointed which needs were and
were not being met, and discussed how deficiencies should be addressed
by recommending specific courses of action. Building on findings from
the first convening, the second, held in December 2002, considered the
roles of individual organizations and how they might work together in
developing opportunities for dance creation and presentation.
The Howard Gilman Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
generously supported the 1999 White Oak Convening. The 2002 White Oak
Convening was generously supported by the Howard Gilman Foundation, and
the Hewlett Foundation, with additional support provided by the Doris
Duke Charitable Foundation, and Arts Midwest.
2002 White Oak Report PDF