The National Endowment for the Arts and the American Dance Festival announced that the festival is seeking applicants for the 2009 NEA Arts Journalism Institute
for Dance Criticism for professional print, online, radio, and television journalists. With support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the program offers journalists immersion in one of the
world's premiere modern dance festivals, held on the campus of Duke University from June 20 to
July 11, 2009.
Acting NEA Chairman Patrice Walker Powell joined ADF Director Charles Reinhart in encouraging journalists to apply for the program. "The NEA is pleased to partner with ADF by offering the fifth annual Arts Journalism Institute for Dance," Powell said. "This institute is unique in that it offers journalists a three-week total immersion in dance. The writers and broadcasters who attend will connect their bodies and minds with the art form, not just their eyes. In times of severe media cutbacks, the NEA remains committed to providing support and professional development for arts journalists."
The NEA Arts Journalism Institute for Dance Criticism is designed for professional journalists interested in refining their skills in writing about dance and analyzing choreography. "The NEA dance critics conference has been a valuable asset in helping critics look at the dance world," ADF Director Charles Reinhart said. During the 2009 institute, fellows will write reviews, observe classes, participate in movement sessions, meet with choreographers, funders, and other dance professionals, and analyze the role of today's dance critic.
The list of world-class performances participants will see includes premieres by Shen Wei, the choreographer whose work was featured at the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies; Emanuel Gat, a 2006 chosen artist of the Israeli Cultural Excellence Foundation; and Pilobolus, the innovative American company that will once again work with an outside collaborator. In addition, participants will attend a festival within the festival focusing on the work of Israeli choreographers. As members of the ADF community, accepted applicants will have ample opportunity to converse with the festival's special guests, teachers, faculty, and choreographers. The institute covers most expenses, including tuition, room, board, transportation, and tickets to performances.
Directing the fifth annual program is dance critic and historian Suzanne Carbonneau, whose writing has appeared in the Washington Post and the New York Times. Carbonneau holds a Ph.D. in performance studies from New York University.
Since 2004, more than 250 journalists from all 50 states have attended one of three NEA Arts Journalism Institutes: the dance institute at ADF, the institute for music and opera at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York, and the institute for theater and musical theater at USC Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles. Funded by a multimillion-dollar NEA initiative, the institutes offer intensive training for arts reporters and their editors, especially those who live and work outside the major cultural centers.
To apply, applicants must submit the following materials: a letter specifying reasons for wishing to attend the institute, a résumé, three samples of dance criticism, and two references with names, addresses, and phone numbers. All applications must be received by Wednesday, April 1, 2009.
For more information on the dance institute at ADF, please see:
www.americandancefestival.org/projects/artsJournalism.html
About the National Endowment for the Arts: The NEA is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts—both new and established—bringing the arts to all Americans, and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. For more information, please visit
www.arts.gov.
About the ADF: Founded in 1934 in Bennington, Vermont, the ADF remains an international magnet for choreographers, dancers, teachers, students, critics, musicians, and scholars to learn and create in a supportive environment. ADF's wide range of programs include performances, artist services, humanities projects, publications, community outreach, educational programs and classes, archives, media projects, and national and international projects. ADF has been presenting the best in modern dance for over
75 years. www.americandancefestival.org