Three S.C. organizations selected for South Arts Dance Touring Initiative
RIOULT Dance NY is one of the companies providing residencies for the Dance Touring Initiative
The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina in Hilton Head, the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, and Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College in Columbia have been selected for the third cohort of 10 arts presenters participating in South Arts’ Dance Touring Initiative (DTI), a competitive and intensive three-year program supporting performing arts presenters throughout the South. With funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, venues across the South will develop a rich selection of performances, workshops, and audience engagement activities to connect local audiences with touring modern dance and contemporary ballet companies.
“We are excited to begin our third DTI cycle,” said Nikki Estes, program director with South Arts. “The first two cycles have connected over 30,000 audience members throughout the South with modern dance and contemporary ballet, and we look forward to broadening that impact over the coming years. After the start of this third cycle, we will have 26 active arts presenters in the initiative as a network and learning community among dance presenters.”
The third cohort of presenter participants:
- Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Hilton Head Island, SC
- Arts Council of Central Louisiana, Alexandria, LA
- Bologna Performing Arts Center, Cleveland, MS
- City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, Charleston, SC
- Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA
- Duke Performances/Duke University, Durham, NC
- Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, Columbia, SC
- Kentucky Center for the Arts, Louisville, KY
- Memphis Development Foundation/The Orpheum Theatre, Memphis, TN
- Paramount Theatre/City of Goldsboro, Goldsboro, NC
The 26 arts presenters come from eight Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee) and will receive professional development, take part in residency planning visits with artistic directors from major national dance companies, and receive financial support to provide both educational programming and public performances for their audiences.
“DTI enables these organizations to expand their already solid community partnerships,” said Suzette M. Surkamer, executive director of South Arts. “This training provides presenters with additional platforms to garner a larger and stronger audience base, especially around modern dance and contemporary ballet.”
About South Arts
South Arts, a nonprofit regional arts organization, was founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with a regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to address the role of the arts in impacting the issues important to our region, and to link the South with the nation and the world through the arts. For more information, visit www.southarts.org.