DANCE NEWS: Mark DeGarmo Dance Awarded Two-Year Grant By New York State Council on the Arts
Mark DeGarmo Dance received a major two-year grant from the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). Multi-year grants are extremely rare in the arts world. The grant supports MDD’s program Partnerships in Literacy through Dance and Creativity©. MDD has always fulfilled its BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) mission of bringing this program to New York City’s least-resourced elementary schools, serving 75 - 98% children of color and children with disabilities, living in under-resourced school districts and disenfranchised communities. MDD has provided this program free of cost to grades prek to 5 students in these disproportionately under-funded public schools and districts since 1991.
Mark DeGarmo Dance's Virtual Salon Performance Series for Social Change. Image © The Company
NYSCA cites MDD’s “ongoing commitment to supporting your community and persevering throughout this most challenging year. The arts are central to the health of our state’s economy and individuals, and over these last eleven months we have been nourished by a resilient arts sector that continues to sustain us in the face of isolation and fear. From pivoting to...digital programming, to...strengthening vital community services, the innovation of New York’s arts and culture sector is truly inspiring. Your organization is one of many that makes New York State the cultural capital of the world, and we are committed to working together...as we look forward to the reopening of arts and culture organizations across the State.”
Partnerships in Literacy through Dance and Creativity© is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.