The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government by an act of the U.S. Congress, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 29, 1965. It is a sub-agency of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, along with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
James Titus Godbolt, known professionally as Jimmy Slyde and also as the "King of Slides", was an American tap dancer known for his innovative tap style mixed with jazz.
Donald McKayle was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human condition and, more specifically, the black experience in America. He was "among the first black men to break the racial barrier by means of modern dance." His work for the concert stage, especially Games (1951) and Rainbow Round My Shoulder (1959), has been the recipient of widespread acclaim and critical attention. In addition, McKayle was the first black man to both direct and choreograph major Broadway musicals, including the Tony Award-winners Raisin (1973) and Sophisticated Ladies (1981), and he worked extensively in television and film. As a young man he appeared with some of the twentieth century's most important choreographers, including Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, and Merce Cunningham, and in some of Broadway's landmark productions, including House of Flowers (1958) and West Side Story (1957), where he served for a time as the production's dance captain. A Tony Award and Emmy Award nominee, McKayle held an endowed chair for the last decades of his life in the Dance Department at UC Irvine, where he was the Claire Trevor Professor of Dance. He previously served on the faculties of Connecticut College, Sarah Lawrence College, and Bennington College.
Miya Hisaka Silva is the founder and director of El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea de El Salvador. Miya is the producer and director, teacher, dancer, choreographer, international presenter and city-planner. She has worked in El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, France, Italy, England, Jordan, Thailand, China, Canada and throughout the United States.
Susan Marshall is an American choreographer and the Artistic Director of Susan Marshall & Company. She has held the position of Director of the Program in Dance at Princeton University since 2009.
Grace Cavalieri is an American poet, playwright, and radio host of the Library of Congress program The Poet and the Poem. In 2019, she was appointed the tenth Poet Laureate of Maryland.
Bebe Miller is an American choreographer, dancer, and director.
Laura Dean is an American dancer, choreographer and composer. She is known for her collaborations with Steve Reich, a number of commissioned works for the Joffrey Ballet, and works for her own dance companies. Dean's earliest works were marked by a minimalist approach and an affinity for spinning; her later work saw more use of traditional dance methods.
Ann Carlson is an American dancer, choreographer and performance artist whose work explores contemporary social issues. She has performed throughout the United States and internationally and has won a number of awards.
Kate Weare is an American choreographer. She is the founder and artistic director of the Kate Weare Company.
Catherine Turocy co-founded The New York Baroque Dance Company in 1976, with Ann Jacoby. The NYBDC is dedicated to reconstructing Baroque dances. Catherine Turocy studied historical dance under Ohio State teacher, Shirley Wynne. She has reconstructed and choreographed “over 300 dances and 60 opera-ballets” including numerous Rameau operas, including Les Boréades. She has worked ten years at the Handel Festival in Goettingen, Germany. She has toured the world and made numerous dance videos. As director of the New York Baroque Dance Company, she presents reconstructions of 17th- and 18th-century dances, often in collaboration with Concert Royal, a musical group directed by James Richman that uses period instruments."
New Leaf is a public artwork by American artist Lisa Scheer, located at the Georgia Avenue – Petworth Metro Station in Washington, D.C., United States. "New Leaf" was created through D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
Camille A. Brown is a dancer, choreographer, director and dance educator. She is the Founder & Artistic Director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and has congruently choreographed commissioned pieces for dance companies, Broadway shows, and universities. Brown started her career as a dancer in Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, A Dance Company, and was a guest artist with Rennie Harris Puremovement, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Brown has choreographed major Broadway shows such as Choir Boy, Once on This Island and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert! that aired on NBC. Brown also teaches dance and gives lectures to audiences at various universities such as Long Island University, Barnard College and ACDFA, among others.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess is an American choreographer and dancer. In May 2016 Burgess was named the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence at the National Portrait Gallery. His work has tended to focus on the "hyphenated person" - someone who is of mixed ethnic or cultural heritage - as well as issues of belonging and societal acceptance. He serves as a cultural envoy for the U.S. State Department, an appointment he uses to promote international cultural dialogue through "the global language of dance". Throughout his career, Burgess has performed, taught, and choreographed around the world.
Donna Uchizono is an American choreographer.
Peggy Spina Tap Company is a tap dance company that first presented in 1981 at Cami Hall by its founder and artistic director, Peggy Spina. The company performs annually with the Joel Forrester Jazz Quartet in the Spina SoHo Loft on Prince Street in New York City. Her choreography in the 1980s was described by The New York Times as "particularly fascinating", including "excited outbursts and changes of rhythm as if Miss Spina were a conversationalist with her feet who had suddenly thought of new ideas", although the same review described her as "less convincing as a choreographer for ensembles." Reviews of the company performances and choreography in the 1990s indicated "the interplay of tap rhythms...was like sophisticated repartee." Her company signature pieces include, "Stop the Music," known for "the tightness of the taps and the relentless locomotive surge of Ms. Spina's choreography and Mr. Forrester's score".
Terry Braunstein is a photomontage artist based in Long Beach, California. Her work has used multiple media – photography, installation, assemblage, painting, printmaking, video, sculpture and large permanent public art. She also creates artists' books – some published, most one-of-a-kind artists' books.
Muna Tseng is a Chinese-American dancer, choreographer, author and lecturer. She has lived in New York since 1978 and in 1984 founded Muna Tseng Dance Projects in New York City. She created over 40 dance productions and performed in over 30 cities and festivals in 15 countries. Since 1990 she has been the director and executrix of her late brother Tseng Kwong Chi's photography archive. She has served for several years on the 'Current Practice' subcommittee for the annual Bessie Awards, also known as the New York Dance and Performance Awards.
David Roussève is an American choreographer, writer, director and filmmaker. He founded his company, David Roussève/REALITY in 1988 and has since choreographed, written and directed 14 evening-length works for the group. His latest work for REALITY, Halfway to Dawn premiered in October 2018 at REDCAT in Los Angeles before touring nationally and internationally. His work addresses issues of racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Maida Withers is an American dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. Withers is the founder and artistic director of Maida Withers Dance Construction Company (1974) of Washington, D.C. She is a professor at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, at the George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
