New England Foundation for the Arts Receives $275K MetLife Grant for Dance

The following is an edited press release — the interesting number here is $1.05 million, the amount that the MetLife Foundation has given to the New England Foundation for the Arts over the last four years to support the latter’s National Dance Project:

New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) announced today 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.

…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.

…Featured artists and projects are listed below…

Philadanco, Philadelphia, PA
Project: By Way of the Funk

Doug Varone and Dancers, New York, NY
Project: Chapters from a Broken Novel

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

Dancing Earth Creations, San Francisco, CA/Santa Fe, NM
Project: Of Bodies of Elements

Emily Johnson/Catalyst, Minneapolis, MN
Project: The Thank-you Bar

Eiko & Koma, New York, NY
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.

For more information on NEFA’s grant programs and services, please visit www.nefa.org or call 617-951-0010.