Dance Metro DC, the regional service organization for dance in the national capital region is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2015 Choreographers’ Commission Grant and Rehearsal Space Subsidy Lottery.
Choreographers’ Commission Grant Recipients:
Sarah Beth Oppenheim
Adrienne Clancy
Hayley Cutler
Rehearsal Space Subsidy Lottery Recipients:
Katherine Horrigan
Olivia Sabee
Shawn Short
Ilana Silverstein
2015 Choreographer’s Commission Grant
One of only three commissioning awards for professional dance artists in the DC region (the other two are offered by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Dance Place), Dance Metro DC’s 2015 Choreographer’s Commission Grant program exists to support the creation and development new dance works created by dance-makers in the DC metropolitan area. Dance Metro DC has awarded 3 (three) commission grants at $2,000 each towards the development of new work by DC area choreographers. The commission grant program also includes a series of monthly professional development sessions aimed at helping dance artists and choreographers to strengthen their position in the field and enhance the business skills necessary to successfully thrive as a choreographer in the DC area. The selected commissionees will be presented in a shared evening concert in the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Theater at Dance Place on September 12 & 13, 2015.
Professional Development Component
Professional development sessions will be free for the selected commissionees and will be open to the public for a nominal fee of $15 per session. Dance Metro DC members may participate for $5 per session. Dance Metro DC will provide the following sessions as part of this program:
o Fundraising: build your network to leverage your grant for additional support
o Budgeting and Finance: develop and realistic project budget
o Writing About Your Work: describe your creative process and artistic vision
o Marketing: develop a publicity strategy for your work
o Peer/Mentor Feedback: receive critical feedback from peers, invited guests and mentors (there will be 3 [three] Peer/Mentor Feedback sessions
Adjudication Process
An independent panel consisting of professional members of the dance community selected recipients based on artistic merit and capacity. The selection panel for the 2015 Choreographers’ Commission Grant were: Nikki Gambhir, Sarah Kramer, Ben Levine, Alvin Mayes, Harriet Moncure Fellows, Damian Sinclair and Christel Stevens.
Review Criteria
Applications are reviewed and selected on the basis of the following criteria:
Artistic Merit
· Does the applicant demonstrate a commitment to artistic rigor, professional discipline and a unique artistic aesthetic?
· Does the applicant demonstrate an understanding of the artistic significance of their work within the larger context of the field of dance?
· Does the applicant’s work reveal compelling artistry, creative inquiry and technical proficiency within their self-identified genre?
· To what extent does the applicant demonstrate creative innovation?
Katherine Horrigan
Olivia Sabee
Shawn Short
Ilana Silverstein
2015 Choreographer’s Commission Grant
One of only three commissioning awards for professional dance artists in the DC region (the other two are offered by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Dance Place), Dance Metro DC’s 2015 Choreographer’s Commission Grant program exists to support the creation and development new dance works created by dance-makers in the DC metropolitan area. Dance Metro DC has awarded 3 (three) commission grants at $2,000 each towards the development of new work by DC area choreographers. The commission grant program also includes a series of monthly professional development sessions aimed at helping dance artists and choreographers to strengthen their position in the field and enhance the business skills necessary to successfully thrive as a choreographer in the DC area. The selected commissionees will be presented in a shared evening concert in the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Theater at Dance Place on September 12 & 13, 2015.
Professional Development Component
Professional development sessions will be free for the selected commissionees and will be open to the public for a nominal fee of $15 per session. Dance Metro DC members may participate for $5 per session. Dance Metro DC will provide the following sessions as part of this program:
o Fundraising: build your network to leverage your grant for additional support
o Budgeting and Finance: develop and realistic project budget
o Writing About Your Work: describe your creative process and artistic vision
o Marketing: develop a publicity strategy for your work
o Peer/Mentor Feedback: receive critical feedback from peers, invited guests and mentors (there will be 3 [three] Peer/Mentor Feedback sessions
Adjudication Process
An independent panel consisting of professional members of the dance community selected recipients based on artistic merit and capacity. The selection panel for the 2015 Choreographers’ Commission Grant were: Nikki Gambhir, Sarah Kramer, Ben Levine, Alvin Mayes, Harriet Moncure Fellows, Damian Sinclair and Christel Stevens.
Review Criteria
Applications are reviewed and selected on the basis of the following criteria:
Artistic Merit
· Does the applicant demonstrate a commitment to artistic rigor, professional discipline and a unique artistic aesthetic?
· Does the applicant demonstrate an understanding of the artistic significance of their work within the larger context of the field of dance?
· Does the applicant’s work reveal compelling artistry, creative inquiry and technical proficiency within their self-identified genre?
· To what extent does the applicant demonstrate creative innovation?
Capacity
· Does the applicant demonstrate the ability to carry out the project towards the development of a 20-30 minute new work?
· Does the applicant demonstrate a commitment to building their professional skill set and strengthening their position in the field of dance?
· Does the applicant demonstrate the ability to carry out the project towards the development of a 20-30 minute new work?
· Does the applicant demonstrate a commitment to building their professional skill set and strengthening their position in the field of dance?
Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program
Dance Metro DC’s 2015 Rehearsal Space Subsidy program exists to increase the accessibility of rehearsal / studio space for dance-makers in the DC metropolitan area. Dance Metro DC awarded 4 (four) Rehearsal Space Subsidy Grants at $500 each towards the costs of rehearsal / studio space. Subsidy payments will be made directly to the studio / venue identified by the selected applicants. Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program Grantees were selected by random lottery from the pool of eligible applicants.
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Dance Metro DC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that functions through a series of board-driven initiative that provide activities and resources to dance professionals in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. The organization works to make the conditions possible for dance to thrive in our region and aims to help professionals in dance contribute deeply to the economic and cultural development of the national capital region. Dance Metro DC program activities are organized in three program priorities: Communications and Networking, Relational Development Over Time, and Creative Resource Sharing. Communications and Networking activities include maintenance and ongoing updates to the online Dance Events Calendars and Dance Community Directory, release of the weekly Dance eNews and dedicated eblast services. Relational Development Over Time activities include a member benefits program, daytime lecture/demonstration performance opportunities and individualized consulting. Creative Resource Sharing activities include an ongoing professional development workshop series, peer/mentor creative feedback sessions, a choreographers’ commission and a rehearsal space subsidy lottery.
Commission Recipient Biographies
Sarah Beth Oppenheim
Sarah Beth Oppenheim hails from the Wild, Wild West where she had trouble cutting on the dotted black line, so she read Steinbeck and became a modern dancer instead. She graduated from SUNY Purchase where she became a founding member of Nelly van Bommel’s noa dance. She started choreographing in Berlin and has created works for storage closets, balconies, living rooms, graveyards, bookstore aisles, burrito joints, the Chelsea Hotel, and kitchen window sills with a good view of a crescent moon ever since. Upon returning to New York, Oppenheim started teaching, directing plays, choreographing musicals, planning weddings, and cleaning house for a stripper who tipped very well. She is a 2009 Brooklyn Arts Council Regrant Recipient for her Brooklyn production Hold This Deep for Safe. She danced on Sam Bassett and Noah Baumbach film sets until she heard Virginia is for Lovers, and her relocation there has introduced her to the amazing DC Dance community in projects by Tzveta Kassabova, Christine Stone-Martin, and Stephanie Miracle. Oppenheim is Associate Director of Greater Washington Dance Center – the metropolitan area’s newest pre-professional studio that has a schedule and curriculum to ensure healthy training, career longevity, artistic boundary-breaking. She founded Metro Moves that brings modern dance and choreographic tools to at-risk youth. Her company, Heart Stuck Bernie recently premiered It’s Not Here, Either in the Mayflower Square Apartment Complex of Alexandria, VA. She is currently a first year MFA candidate in Dance at the University of MD.
Adrienne Clancy
Adrienne Clancy, PhD, MFA, MA is the Founding Director of ClancyWorks, a dance company that shifts perceptions through quality performances to advance positive social action. Clancy worked as a Company Member for Bella Lewitzky, Liz Lerman, Nora Reynolds-Daniel, and as a Guest Artist for Bill Evans, Maida Withers and Victoria Marks. Clancy’s work has been presented nationally and internationally in Australia, Colombia, England, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Paraguay and Poland. Dr. Clancy, both an artist and a scholar, earned a PhD and a MFA in Dance from Texas Woman’s University (TWU), a MA in Dance (emphasis in History & Criticism) from the University of New Mexico, and a BFA in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She currently teaches at University of MD, Baltimore County and Howard Community College and has taught a variety of courses at American University (DC), George Mason University (VA), the University of Maryland Baltimore County (MD), Towson University (MD), Community College of Baltimore Essex (MD), George Washington University (DC), Goucher College (MD), and graduate courses at the University of Maryland College Park (MD), along with hundreds of guest artist residencies at colleges, universities, and K-12 settings both nationally and internationally. Dr. Adrienne Clancy has received many awards for her choreography and is honored to receive the NDEO 2013 Outstanding Dance Educator of the Year Award and the 2014 Outstanding Educator of the Year Award from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
Hayley Cutler
Hayley Cutler is a choreographer, performer, and educator based in Washington, DC. Hayley holds a BA in Dance from The George Washington University (GWU), and a postgraduate diploma from the Laban Conservatoire in London, England. As a solo artist and as founding Artistic Director of darlingdance company (est. 2010), her work has been presented in London, Chicago, and Massachusetts. In Washington, DC, she has presented at Artisphere, Atlas Theatre, Dance Exchange, Dance Place, GALA Theatre, and the Jack Guidone Theatre. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Northfield Mount Hermon School, and has taught at Sitar Arts Center and The George Washington University. At present, she is a teaching artist at Imagination Stage and Joy of Motion Dance Center. Hayley is the recipient of the Maida Withers Dance Construction Company Innovation Award for “daring to walk the tightrope between originality and risk in performance art and the formality of the theatre stage”. She was named a finalist in the Emerging Choreographer category for the 2012 Metro DC Dance Awards, and has been recognized as “a choreographer to watch” by Washington City Paper. Currently, Hayley is pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance at GWU, where she was awarded a University Fellowship.
Dance Metro DC’s 2015 Rehearsal Space Subsidy program exists to increase the accessibility of rehearsal / studio space for dance-makers in the DC metropolitan area. Dance Metro DC awarded 4 (four) Rehearsal Space Subsidy Grants at $500 each towards the costs of rehearsal / studio space. Subsidy payments will be made directly to the studio / venue identified by the selected applicants. Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program Grantees were selected by random lottery from the pool of eligible applicants.
~~~
Dance Metro DC is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that functions through a series of board-driven initiative that provide activities and resources to dance professionals in the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. The organization works to make the conditions possible for dance to thrive in our region and aims to help professionals in dance contribute deeply to the economic and cultural development of the national capital region. Dance Metro DC program activities are organized in three program priorities: Communications and Networking, Relational Development Over Time, and Creative Resource Sharing. Communications and Networking activities include maintenance and ongoing updates to the online Dance Events Calendars and Dance Community Directory, release of the weekly Dance eNews and dedicated eblast services. Relational Development Over Time activities include a member benefits program, daytime lecture/demonstration performance opportunities and individualized consulting. Creative Resource Sharing activities include an ongoing professional development workshop series, peer/mentor creative feedback sessions, a choreographers’ commission and a rehearsal space subsidy lottery.
Commission Recipient Biographies
Sarah Beth Oppenheim
Sarah Beth Oppenheim hails from the Wild, Wild West where she had trouble cutting on the dotted black line, so she read Steinbeck and became a modern dancer instead. She graduated from SUNY Purchase where she became a founding member of Nelly van Bommel’s noa dance. She started choreographing in Berlin and has created works for storage closets, balconies, living rooms, graveyards, bookstore aisles, burrito joints, the Chelsea Hotel, and kitchen window sills with a good view of a crescent moon ever since. Upon returning to New York, Oppenheim started teaching, directing plays, choreographing musicals, planning weddings, and cleaning house for a stripper who tipped very well. She is a 2009 Brooklyn Arts Council Regrant Recipient for her Brooklyn production Hold This Deep for Safe. She danced on Sam Bassett and Noah Baumbach film sets until she heard Virginia is for Lovers, and her relocation there has introduced her to the amazing DC Dance community in projects by Tzveta Kassabova, Christine Stone-Martin, and Stephanie Miracle. Oppenheim is Associate Director of Greater Washington Dance Center – the metropolitan area’s newest pre-professional studio that has a schedule and curriculum to ensure healthy training, career longevity, artistic boundary-breaking. She founded Metro Moves that brings modern dance and choreographic tools to at-risk youth. Her company, Heart Stuck Bernie recently premiered It’s Not Here, Either in the Mayflower Square Apartment Complex of Alexandria, VA. She is currently a first year MFA candidate in Dance at the University of MD.
Adrienne Clancy
Adrienne Clancy, PhD, MFA, MA is the Founding Director of ClancyWorks, a dance company that shifts perceptions through quality performances to advance positive social action. Clancy worked as a Company Member for Bella Lewitzky, Liz Lerman, Nora Reynolds-Daniel, and as a Guest Artist for Bill Evans, Maida Withers and Victoria Marks. Clancy’s work has been presented nationally and internationally in Australia, Colombia, England, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Paraguay and Poland. Dr. Clancy, both an artist and a scholar, earned a PhD and a MFA in Dance from Texas Woman’s University (TWU), a MA in Dance (emphasis in History & Criticism) from the University of New Mexico, and a BFA in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She currently teaches at University of MD, Baltimore County and Howard Community College and has taught a variety of courses at American University (DC), George Mason University (VA), the University of Maryland Baltimore County (MD), Towson University (MD), Community College of Baltimore Essex (MD), George Washington University (DC), Goucher College (MD), and graduate courses at the University of Maryland College Park (MD), along with hundreds of guest artist residencies at colleges, universities, and K-12 settings both nationally and internationally. Dr. Adrienne Clancy has received many awards for her choreography and is honored to receive the NDEO 2013 Outstanding Dance Educator of the Year Award and the 2014 Outstanding Educator of the Year Award from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County.
Hayley Cutler
Hayley Cutler is a choreographer, performer, and educator based in Washington, DC. Hayley holds a BA in Dance from The George Washington University (GWU), and a postgraduate diploma from the Laban Conservatoire in London, England. As a solo artist and as founding Artistic Director of darlingdance company (est. 2010), her work has been presented in London, Chicago, and Massachusetts. In Washington, DC, she has presented at Artisphere, Atlas Theatre, Dance Exchange, Dance Place, GALA Theatre, and the Jack Guidone Theatre. She has been an Artist in Residence at the Northfield Mount Hermon School, and has taught at Sitar Arts Center and The George Washington University. At present, she is a teaching artist at Imagination Stage and Joy of Motion Dance Center. Hayley is the recipient of the Maida Withers Dance Construction Company Innovation Award for “daring to walk the tightrope between originality and risk in performance art and the formality of the theatre stage”. She was named a finalist in the Emerging Choreographer category for the 2012 Metro DC Dance Awards, and has been recognized as “a choreographer to watch” by Washington City Paper. Currently, Hayley is pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance at GWU, where she was awarded a University Fellowship.
