Jump on the DanceWagon (J/DW) is a presenting platform for four (4) choreographers/dance companies to show 20 minutes of work in any arrangement they feel best represents their creative voice and current efforts. This means that a choreographer/dance company can present four (4) 5-minute pieces, two (2) 10-minute pieces, one (1) 20-minute pieces, etc.
J/DW’s mission is to empower dance artists creatively and financially to the greatest extent made possible through the structure of the event. J/DW was conceived and launched in 2002 to provide choreographers and/or dance companies a vehicle through which to show their work and gain the crucial visibility necessary to establishing and advancing their efforts. Among the performing arts, choreographers face distinctive logistical and systemic challenges to not only creating their work, but presenting it as well, and J/DW fulfills a vital need in the dance community to assuage those challenges and embolden dance makers.
J/DW’s ideals include self-sufficiency through the utilization of the participants’ resources along with ticket sales revenue to meet expenses. Self-sufficiency remains a central tenet of J/DW. However, your support can provide J/DW with the ability to not only continue serving as a relevant option for choreographers and dance companies and their growing needs, but also to launch new directions and programming.
This campaign of support would include:
1) The launch of a master class program with current J/DW artists and J/DW alumni to broaden their role beyond the stage and into the studio.
Workshops and intensives are a meaningful vehicle for choreographers to not only explore their craft, but also provide choreographers with an additional platform for visibility for their efforts and connect with the dance community on a more personal level.
2) Establishing a fund to support the inclusion of choreographers/dance companies outside of the tri-state area.
I receive many inquiries from dance artists based outside of NYC who are doing work of value and impact, and deserve opportunities to extend the reach of their efforts. Resources for travel and lodging would make this possibility a reality.
3) Provide resources to increase the visibility and reach of J/DW as an established program.
The growth and progress of J/DW requires it to cast a net that extends to both audiences and choreographers, as well as capturing the attention of venues, dancers, curators, agents, among other constituents of the dance community.
4) Implementing additional organizational advancements not available without external support.
Subsequently, at this stage in J/DW’s growth, it is both appropriate and essential to secure support that supplements the participants’ resources in order to stimulate scaling up J/DW’s programmatic reach. To that end, to meet the expenses of space rental, stipends, promotion, and crowdfunding fees, $5,000 is being sought to achieve the aforementioned goals.
The arts are about the Expressive Lives we all lead whether publicly or privately, on a stage or in our shower. And dance is all around us whether it’s at our cousin’s wedding, or in a theater with velvet curtains and chandeliers. While quantifying the value and impact of the arts may be an ongoing debate, the palpability of that value and impact is not.
I believe supporting the arts is always in season. If you believe in the power of the arts, the power of dance, in the platform that J/DW is providing for dance, and believe in my abilities to lead and serve J/DW’s mission, and are thinking, Count me in – how can I help?, I hope you will consider a gift to Jump on the DanceWagon 2016 in achieving our goals. In addition, J/DW’s values are aligned with RocketHub’s mission to “liberate ideas” and serve not as an investment or charity, but an exchange between supporter and event. RocketHub is also a “keep what I raise” funding mechanism: if J/DW doesn’t reach its financial goal, J/DW keeps what resources were raised.
Jump on the DanceWagon is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Jump on the DanceWagon must be made payable to Fractured Atlas only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. If there are directions in which you would be interested in seeing Jump on the DanceWagon expand, please don’t hesitate to volunteer your thoughts! I welcome your questions or thoughts. I hope you might have both! Thank you in advance for your support! ~ Ellen
Thanks for spending some time with us here for Jump on the DanceWagon! I have been a member of the New York City dance community since the professional debut of my choreography in 1996 at the 92nd St. Y. From 1997-2009 I served as the director and choreographer for ellen stokes shadle/DanceWorks, creating over 25 original works for the company and appearing in over 60 performances over those 12 years. I was also fortunate to be a familiar presence in the Greenwich Academy dance department between 2004-2013 as artist-in-residence, guest choreographer, and visiting instructor. As founder, director, and producer of Jump on the DanceWagon, since its inception in 2002, I have enjoyed facilitating the presentation of close to 20 choreographers’/dance companies’ work. Most recently, I completed my master’s in Arts Management from the University at Buffalo in May of 2015 allowing me to conduct dedicated research into the questions I feel are the biggest that the dance field face.