Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Local Dance Commissioning Project is currently seeking project applications for the 2009 Prelude Festival. Application due January 9, 2009. Two Awards will be granted and announced March 2009.

Mission

The Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project supports the local dance community by nurturing the creation of new dance work and presenting that new work to a wide audience via the Millennium Stage, the Kennedy Center’s free daily performance series.

The Millennium Stage aims to:

Stimulate and transmit the creativity and joy inherent in the performing arts;
Seek out and present programming of the highest standards that reflects the diverse cultural life of the United States and from around the world;
Encourage, nurture, and develop the widest possible audience for the performing arts;
Welcome, value, support, and respect both artists and patrons;
Honor the hallmarks of quality and diversity.

Details

Through the Commissioning Project, the Kennedy Center will present a Commission Award to two of the local (DC, MD, VA) dance choreographers/companies to create a new work or a combination of works of at least 20 minutes in length. Independent choreographers may submit a joint application with a dance company that wishes to include his/her work in its repertory.

The commissioned works will premiere on the Millennium Stage, September 2009 during the Kennedy Center’s Prelude Festival. Applications for work created specifically for the Millennium Stage will be given preference over works already in progress.

The Commission Award includes:

$7,500 artist fee;
Center-hosted private showings for the three choreographers to share work and input;
Rehearsal space at the Kennedy Center during Summer 2009;
Technical support prior to the performance day to develop lighting, sound, and/or set concepts for the new work.

Deadlines & Timeline

Proposals must be received by 5pm on Friday, January 9, 2009. Hand delivered applications will not be accepted. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered. A panel consisting of Kennedy Center Dance Programming and Millennium Stage staff members will select recipients. The awards will be announced in March 2009. Award recipients will then have time for creative development through August 2009, and showings at the Kennedy Center will take place during that time. Rehearsal and tech time will be coordinated with each company from June through September. Exact performance dates are determined by the Kennedy Center after artist selection.

Application Materials

This application is an opportunity to share your creative vision with us. In order to get the clearest idea of your work, we have broken down the application into a series of responses:

Part A.

Please provide us with a written statement addressing the following topics in no more than two typed pages:

Please give a brief artistic statement that describes your creative work and your process.
Share an idea for a new work that the Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project would help fund. In your response, please address the issue of how this new work fits artistically, technically, and spatially in the Millennium Stage venue, and in principle with the Millennium Stage mission (please note: stage dimensions of the Millennium are 24 ft. X 24 ft.). Please be specific about your ideas for musical accompaniment.
The newly commissioned work or combination of works must be at least 20 minutes in length. Keeping in mind that Project participants have an hour-long Millennium Stage performance, indicate how you would round out the rest of the program.

Part B.

Please provide us with a visual representation of your work. Both video elements may be included on the same tape. VHS and/or DVD are accepted.

Videotape of the movement for the new work that you are interested in developing. This is required. Professional-quality video and/or editing is NOT required or expected; however, videotapes of existing work are not sufficient (i.e., feel free to set up a camera in the corner of a rehearsal studio and press record).
Videotape of existing work that will give the panel a feel for your current choreographic vision, as well as how you would complete the program if necessary.

It is important for us to get a visual picture of your ideas for a new work. In addition to the video, exactly how you would like to communicate that to us is entirely up to you. We understand that your artistic vision has its own, unique way in which it must be shared. Nevertheless, here are some other suggestions:

Costume or scenic design sketches;
Graphic/artistic representation, photographs, or slides of choreographic sketches;
Storyboard of your current plans for the work.
These are only suggestions! Please be as exploratory as you see fit in sharing your creative vision and process.

Materials May Not Be Dropped Off In Person At The Kennedy Center - They Will Not Be Accepted.

Please mail application materials, including written statement and video, to:

Postal Mail:: Local Dance Commissioning Project
The Kennedy Center, Dance Programming
PO Box 101510
Arlington, Virginia 22210
FedEx/DHL/ Courier:: Local Dance Commissioning Project
The Kennedy Center, Dance Programming
2700 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20566

All questions regarding this commissioning project should be directed to Michael Ann Mullikin, Manager of Dance Programming, 202-416-8044.