NEWS: National Endowment for the Arts grant to support 'Sense of Place' touring project @ Repertory Dance Theatre

Repertory Dance Theatre receives National Endowment for the Arts grant to support 'Sense of Place' touring project

One of 817 NEA Art Works grants totaling $26.3 million in funding nationwide

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced on April 23, 2013 that Repertory Dance Theatre is one of 817 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Repertory Dance Theatre is recommended for a $30,000 grant for "sense of place" touring support.  Funds will enable RDT to offer affordable touring fees for presenters in under served communities of Nevada, North Dakota and South Dakota. RDT will produce concerts and educational residencies using dance to celebrate environmental awareness and encourage environmental responsibility. This project addresses NEA Art Works criteria in strengthening communities, audiences and the art form with creation, engagement, learning, and livability outcomes. During this unique tour, choreography will be created by RDT dancers with local dancers and community art partners will be invited to join the creative process. RDT will lead participants to inventory the assets and attributes of the local landscapes and express those attributes in music, visual and performing arts. Sense of Place celebrates the uniqueness of each community. Local dancers will experience memorable and enriching performance opportunities, as they join RDT on stage in concert, performing works developed in choreography workshops. Exploring the creative process together allows for development of a sense of place. It is also cause for a celebration of community.  Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse arts projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable opportunities for the public to engage with the arts." Executive/Artistic Director Linda C. Smith said, "Communities everywhere are eager to validate a 'sense of place' for their residents. RDT facilitates this by bringing locals together with our dancers to tell a story that relates to the landscape residents call 'home'. This NEA grant will assist RDT in taking this artistic exploration of 'place' to remote Western U.S. communities."  In August 2012, the NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit. For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.