JJ&D 2017 OPEN CALL FOR CHOREOGRAPHERS
Selection Announcement:
Sidra Bell
JJ&D is thrilled to announce that Sidra Bell has been selected to set a new work on the company!
The commissioned work will be performed in a November showcase of Live Arts Boston grantees in Boston, and will tour to London in 2018. Sidra Bell will participate in an intensive-format residency during JJ&D's 2017 fall season. During the residency, Sidra will be provided with nine three-hour creative periods with the company to create, develop, and set new choreographic material.
JJ&D staff, and the artistic advisory committee assembled to review applications, received 24 proposals from choreographers based in the Northeast. With support from The Boston Foundation's Live Arts Grant, our goal was to locate a project which aligns with JJ&D's vision to support innovative works of socio-political relevance. The reviewers looked for projects which were practical in terms of artistic and logistic scope, and which address JJ&D's mission to use creative practice as a means to traverse cultural and interpersonal boundaries.
For this inaugural open call, the panel chose works which fit with our current programming and demonstrated attention to the detail of utilizing the whole group. The panel was inspired by the depth of ideas brought forward and articulated by the entire pool of applicants.
Live Arts Boston (LAB) is designed to respond directly to the needs articulated by Boston's arts community through Boston Creates. LAB provides critically needed, flexible, project-specific grants to Greater Boston's performing artists and small nonprofit performing arts organizations to create, produce or present artistic work for Greater Boston audiences. To learn more about this grant program, go to http://www.tbf.org/lab.
Out of 24 applications, four proposals were identified as finalists. The top finalists are:
Sidra Bell / Sidra Bell Dance New York (http://www.sidrabelldanceny.org)
Followed by, in no particular order:
Alexander Davis / Alexander Davis Dance (http://www.alexanderdavis.dance)
Paula Josa-Jones / Performance Works (http://www.paulajosajones.org)
Scotty Hardwig / hardwigDance (http://hardwigdance.com)
We wish to sincerely thank all of our supporters, and the artists who gave us the honor of receiving their work. JJ&D hopes to be able to support many more artists in the near future by holding an Open Call for Choreographers annually. We encourage you to stay in touch and / or meet us in person, follow our progress on JJ&D's website (jessiejeanneanddancers.com), and collaborate with us to create more opportunities for dance within the city of Boston.