Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts Receives National Endowment for the Arts Grant to Support 2012-2013 Breaking Ground Dance Series
Receives National Endowment for the Arts Grant
to Support 2012–2013 Breaking Ground Dance Series
Grant part of NEA announcement of 863 grants and $22.543 million in funding nationwide
Middletown, Conn.—The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman has announced that the agency will award 863 grants to organizations and individual writers across the country. Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts is one of the grantees and will receive $20,000 to support the 2012–2013 Breaking Ground Dance Series. The 863 grant awards total $22,543,000, encompass 15 artistic disciplines, and support projects in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts is the only dance presenter in Connecticut to receive support from the National Endowment for the Arts dance program.
The Breaking Ground Dance Series at the Center for the Arts, now in its 12th season at Wesleyan University, features cutting-edge choreography, world-renowned companies, and companies pushing the boundaries of the art form. Upcoming performances this season include the Connecticut premiere of Connected (2011) by the Australian dance company Chunky Move on March 30 & 31, 2012. The work animates the physical connection between body and machine as dancers construct a kinetic sculpture designed by California-based artist Reuben Margolin. Past companies from the U.S. and abroad that have been featured on the Breaking Ground Dance Series include Bebe Miller Company, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, and Compagnie Marie Chouinard.
"Art Works" is the name of the NEA’s new Grants for Arts Projects program. "'Art Works' is the guiding principle at the NEA," said agency Chairman Rocco Landesman. "And I’m pleased to see that principle represented through the 823 Art Works-funded projects included in this announcement. These projects demonstrate the imaginative and innovative capacities of artists and arts organizations to enhance the quality of life in their communities."
"Support from the National Endowment for the Arts has been central to our ability to fulfill our mission to become a vibrant center for dance in the State and to bring contemporary dance to audiences who might not otherwise be able to access it," said Pamela Tatge, Director of the Center for the Arts at Wesleyan University. "We are grateful for the vote of confidence that this grant implies."
In March 2011, the NEA received 1,686 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $84 million in funding. The resulting funding rate of 49 percent of eligible applications reflects both the significant demand for support and the ongoing vitality of the not-for-profit arts community despite current financial challenges. Art Works grants are awarded based on the applications received by the NEA and how those applications are assessed by the review panels.
For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA web site at http://www.arts.gov.