Grants Go To Dance - Brief Article

Dance Magazine, July, 2001 by Judith Lynne Hanna

Children and youths who live in public housing will soon have free, weekly sequential dance instruction taught by professional artists. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts (NGCSA) have jointly planned this effort, called Creative Communities.

Under an interagency agreement, HUD will provide $3 million to implement the program. The NEA will contribute $500,000 to strengthen the initiative's services to young people. NGCSA will raise matching funds to support the project and provide training and technical assistance.

Twenty community arts schools in twenty states, thirteen of which include dance training, will receive $135,000 grants selected by a competitive process. The funds will be used over three years to pay for instructional activities outside of students' regular school hours. Schools or agencies may strengthen or expand existing programs, develop new ones, or both.

Winners of the grant competition were announced at an April 19 conference in Washington, D.C. Sites receiving funds began planning and training staff in April for arts instruction that will begin by October. For additional information, contact NGCSA Project Director Shawn Dove at 201/871-3337.

HUD, an agency of the federal government, awards more than $2.4 billion in grants each year through national competitions. These grants go to local and state governments, nonprofit and faith-based organizations, veterans' service organizations, public housing agencies, Indian tribes, and others to carry out a variety of HUD community and economic development programs.

NGCSA is the national service organization for a diverse constituency of nonprofit, non-degree-granting institutions located in cities, suburbs, and rural areas throughout the United States. The Guild's mission is to foster and promote broad access to high-quality arts education designed to meet community needs. To that end it provides service, advocacy, and leadership for community arts education organizations. The Guild has 290 members in 44 states, including one each in Canada and Bermuda.

For more information about the NEA, call 202/682-5570 or visit its Web site at www.arts.gov. Click on "Creative Communities." For more information about HUD, call 202/708-0685 or visit its Web site at www.hud.gov. For more information about NGCSA, call 201/871-3337 or visit its Web site at www.nationalguild.org.

RECIPIENTS OF $135,000 CREATIVE COMMUNITIES GRANTS THAT WILL INCLUDE DANCE:

CENTER OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI:

Sequential, multidisciplinary arts instruction for children and youths living in public housing

CHILDREN'S ART CARNIVAL, NEW YORK, NEW YORK:

Sequential, multidisciplinary arts instruction for children and youths residing in Manhattanville Community Center

CITY ARTS CENTER, OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA:

Sequential, multidisciplinary arts instruction for middle and high school students living in public housing developments

MEMPHIS BLACK ARTS ALLIANCE, INC., MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE:

Sequential arts instruction and academic encouragement for children and youth residing in Lamar Terrace and LeMoyne Gardens public housing

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION AND COUNSELING THROUGH THE ARTS, HOUSTON, TEXAS:

Sequential, multidisciplinary arts instruction for children and youths residing in Irvington Village public housing

NEVADA DANCE THEATRE, INC., LAS VEGAS, NEVADA:

Sequential ballet training program in Las Vegas Housing Authority public housing developments

NEW ORLEANS BALLET ASSOCIATION, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA:

Sequential dance instruction for children and youths residing in C.J. Peete, Lafitte, St. Bernard, and Fischer public housing communities

CREATIVE SPARK, INC., MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA:

Sequential, multidisciplinary arts instruction for children and youths offered by Storefront School for the Arts in five public housing developments

DANCE INSTITUTE OF WASHINGTON, WASHINGTON, D.C.:

Sequential dance instruction for children and youths residing in Sibley Plaza, Langston Dwellings, and Garfield Terrace public housing

FEDERATED DORCHESTER NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSES, INC., DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS:

Arts instruction through the Arts a la Carte program for teens residing in public housing developments of the Boston Housing Authority

LOS ANGELES MUSIC AND ART SCHOOL, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA:

Music, visual art, and dance instruction for children and youths residing in Estrada Courts public housing

VERMONT ARTS EXCHANGE, NORTH BENNINGTON, VERMONT:

A sequential, multidisciplinary arts instruction program for children and youths living in Applegate Housing, Willowbrook Apartments, and Beech Court Apartments

VILLAGE OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES INC., PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA:

Sequential arts instruction for children and youths residing in the Fairhill Apartments

Judith Lynne Hanna, Ph.D., is senior research scholar in the Department of Dance at the University of Maryland.