UWM Department of Dance Receives NEA Grant

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa has announced that University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Department of Dance is one of 886 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. UWM Department of Dance at the Peck School of the Arts is recommended for a $15,000 grant to support the restaging of Trisha Brown's signature work Set and Reset (1983) as the focal point of Brown: Lineage and Process, a year-long exploration of Brown's creative ideas during the 2014-2015 academic year. UWM is one of only four colleges and universities in the United States that received a grant this year in the dance artistic field.

Brown: Lineage and Process will offer fresh insights into Brown's collaborative process through the participation of Peck School Departments of Art & Design and Music, public performances on and off campus including high school matinees, outreach and lecture demonstrations in Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin, as well as a collaboration with RedLine, Milwaukee's arts incubator. This is the seventh time that the Peck School of the Arts Dance Department has received an NEA grant since 2005; previous grants have supported the exploration of work by celebrated choreographers Garth Fagan (2009-10), Mark Morris (2010-11) and Arnie Zane (2011-12).

NEA Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, "The NEA is pleased to announce that the UWM Department of Dance is recommended for an NEA Art Works grant. These NEA-supported projects will not only have a positive impact on local economies, but will also provide opportunities for people of all ages to participate in the arts, help our communities to become more vibrant, and support our nation's artists as they contribute to our cultural landscape."

Dance Department Chair Simone Ferro acknowledges the importance of such support. "NEA grants are extremely competitive. Having the opportunity to receive such support - again! - recognizes the caliber of the instruction and dance research developed by UWM Dance faculty and students. It also confirms the relationship and commitment the Department of Dance has with the Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin community."