Ragamala receives prestigious National Dance Project grant

Ragamala is one of 21 companies nationwide to receive a National Dance Project Touring Grant. This is a wonderful opportunity for the company to tour extensively throughout the country.

NEFA Announces 2010 National Dance Project Awards

$735K Supports the Creation of Contemporary Dance to Tour in 2011-2011 Ragamala Dance is honored with grants for production, touring, and residency, which only 6 of 21 selected companies received

(BOSTON) New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) announces that its National Dance Project (NDP) has awarded $735,000 in Production Grants to support the development of new dance works during the 2010-2011 seasons.

Twenty-one contemporary dance artists and companies spanning the U.S. from Rhode Island to Hawaii, and including Australia will receive NDP Production grants in amounts from $17,000 to $37,500. Projects were selected from a highly competitive applicant pool. Once developed, the works will be available for national touring activity during the 2011-12 or 2012-13 performance seasons.

In addition to the Production award, each U.S. grant recipient will receive general operating support of $10,500 from special funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. These funds are intended to ensure organizational stability during this extraordinarily challenging economic period.

“The diversity and imagination of this year’s grantees showcases the collaborative nature of new dance work and a continued interest by artists to explore ideas that truly engage audiences,” said Jane Forde, NDP Manager. “Artists are working from both contemporary and traditional forms, bridging cultures and partnering across multiple disciplines.”

As of July 2010, NDP has awarded more than 17.3 million dollars to 356 projects reaching over 200,000 audience members annually , NDP grants have supported more than 263 new dance works involving over 300 presenters of dance in more than 4,300 performances and 7,500 community activities. NDP has reached over 2.8 million audience members and funds tours to an average of thirty-six states annually. Projects that receive NDP Production Grants are added to a roster of selected projects available to performing arts presenters, who can then apply for NDP Touring awards to help defray the cost of presenting these works. For further information about NDP, please visit www.nefa.org or call 617.951.0010 ×512.

NEFA’s National Dance Project Production and Touring awards are generously supported by lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with additional funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Community Connections Fund of the MetLife Foundation, and the Boeing Company Charitable Trust. Production residency funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation