Ragamala Dance Company receives Doris Duke Charitable Foundation's Leadership in Dance Award

August 18, 2015

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) announced today the 18 outstanding dance companies and presenters receiving grants through the first-ever Leadership Grants Program for Dance. This all-new initiative supports the self-defined, long-term goals of organizations that have demonstrated excellence in and sustained commitment to the field of dance.

Grantees distinguished themselves by the quality of their choreography, the impact of their touring on communities across the country, and the successful expansion of their own initiatives and educational programming. DDCF is now providing each organization with flexible funds that encourage them to build upon the unique courses they have already charted and to continue to pursue their vision for the long term. This new support will enable grantees to realize their plans to increase organizational capacity, execute new artistic initiatives, strengthen data and evaluation systems, or other strategies that they have determined will best lead them to continued success.

Ben Cameron, program director for the arts at DDCF, said, "These grants support dance companies and dance presenters that have been leaders, both artistically and organizationally, thinking creatively about reaching audiences in exciting new ways. We are honored to support their work with these flexible grants, designed to help them achieve their self-defined, long-term goals."

The 18 organizations are:

  • Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (New York, NY), with a grant of $500,000
  • Alonzo King LINES Ballet (San Francisco, CA), with a grant of $500,000
  • AXIS Dance Company (Oakland, CA), with a grant of $200,000
  • Ballet Hispanico (New York, NY), with a grant of $500,000
  • Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) (Brooklyn, NY), with a grant of $500,000
  • Danspace Project, Inc. (New York, NY), with a grant of $200,000
  • Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (Chicago, IL), with a grant of $500,000
  • Jacob's Pillow Dance (Becket, MA), with a grant of $500,000
  • The Joyce Theater (New York, NY), with a grant of $500,000
  • Margaret Jenkins Dance Company (San Francisco, CA), with a grant of $200,000
  • Mark Morris Dance Group (Brooklyn, NY), with a grant of $1,000,000
  • ODC (San Francisco, CA), with a grant of $500,000
  • Stephen Petronio Company (New York, NY), with a grant of $200,000
  • Ragamala Dance Company (Minneapolis, MN), with a grant of $200,000
  • STREB (Brooklyn, NY), with a grant of $400,000
  • Paul Taylor Dance Company (New York, NY), with a grant of $500,000
  • Urban Bush Women (Brooklyn, NY), with a grant of $200,000
  • White Bird (Portland, OR), with a grant of $200,000

The Leadership Grants Program for Dance responds to the ongoing and dynamic evolution of the dance field in which many nationally celebrated companies may face future challenges or changes. The initiative acknowledges the various ways grantees may choose to embrace the years ahead, whether through artistic and/or organizational means. (Potential uses of the grant exclude physical capital investments and bricks-and-mortar projects.) DDCF has offered small organizations $200,000, mid-sized organizations $400,000 and large organizations $500,000 in grants that span up to four years. A single grant of $1 million goes to the Mark Morris Dance Group in recognition not only of the company but of its extensive efforts in education and outreach, including its dance program for Parkinson's disease patients. DDCF has also offered additional planning grants, ranging from $25,000-50,000 each, to provide several organizations with long-term strategic planning assistance.

About the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

The mission of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is to improve the quality of people's lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Doris Duke's properties. The Arts Program of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation focuses its support on contemporary dance, jazz and theatre artists, and the organizations that nurture, present and produce them. For more information, please visit www.ddcf.org.

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