The New England Foundation for the Arts, together with the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, has selected Erica Mott and Erica Mott Productions as one of 12 Chicago-based artists selected to participate in a 10-day dance lab with support from The Reva and David Logan Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
What is the RDDI?
The dance lab is part of the Regional Dance Development Initiative (RDDI) of NEFA’s National Dance Project (N DP), which provides professional growth for dance artists in regions across the U.S. through programs designed to help dance artists clarify goals, develop strategies, hone public presentation skills, and strengthen partnerships between artists and presenters.A national panel selected 12 artists from a highly competitive pool of 36 applicants who represent a broad range of career stages and dance disciplines, representing multiple neighborhoods across the greater Chicago area.
The Chicago Dance Lab will take place July 29-August 9, 2016, along with additional workshops and events open to the Chicago dance community in 2016 and 2017.
What is a Dance Lab?
The Dance Lab is not a choreographic or technique lab. The Dance Lab’s goals are to strengthen artists’ ability to talk and write about their work and vision, increase the capacity of artists, instigate meaningful relationships between artists and presenters, and build networks for the exchange of ideas, resources, and opportunities within the region.
Since 2004, dance labs have been held in the Pacific Northwest, the San Francisco Bay Area, New England, and Minnesota. Outcomes for previous lab artists have included national funding, commissioning of new and collaborative projects, national and international festival residencies, and extended engagements and partnerships with presenters.
NEFA launched the National Dance Project in 1996 to encourage the creation of new dance work to share with audiences in communities throughout the U.S. Since then, the program has distributed more than $28 million in grants and remains one of the most significant sources for dance funding in the U.S. NDP has reached over 3.6 million audience members in all 50 states, Washington D.C, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Congratulations to the other 2016 RDDI Chicago Dance Lab Artists including:
