FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 20, 2018
CONTACT: Johanna Tschebull
202.833-1717
Washington, DC – Dance/USA is pleased to announce the launch of its Fellowship in Dance Archiving and Preservation. In this pilot program, Dance/USA will provide a 12-week Fellowship for a library science student, who will gain hands-on experience working with dance legacy collections, be mentored by experienced dance archivists, and work directly with a dance company to archive their materials. The first Dance/USA Archiving Fellow, Carolina Meneses, will work in UCLA Library Special Collections and with Los Angeles-based Lula Washington Dance Theatre between July and September 2018, helping to preserve the legacy of Lula and Erwin Washington, recipients of the 2018 Dance/USA Champion Award. Learn more about Meneses here.
“We’re excited to announce this pilot program,” said Dance/USA Executive Director Amy Fitterer. “Through this program, we hope to address the need to preserve important dance collections, which will benefit all dancemakers and the future of the field.”
This program builds on the successful model of Fellowships in Archiving and Preservation developed by Dance Heritage Coalition (DHC) between 2001 and 2014, which strengthened dance-specific skills among emerging archivists, offered vital help to independent artists and smaller organizations to manage and save their records, and made more dance research materials available to artists and scholars. “The archiving Fellowships were one of DHC’s most high-impact programs and filled an urgent need in both the dance community and the archives field,” said Dance/USA Director of Archiving and Preservation Imogen Smith. “I’m excited that Dance/USA’s pilot will be able to evaluate the design and impact of this program, which we hope to see continue and expand.”
In 2017 Dance/USA and DHC began the process of integrating DHC’s preservation, archives, and education programs into Dance/USA. With this Fellowship program, Dance/USA will contribute to developing an engaged, passionate, and well-trained next generation of archivists in the dance field and advancing models for community-based archiving assistance to regional dance communities. The program has a specific focus on increasing diversity in the archives field and developing equitable and inclusive models for preserving the full array of voices, practices, and identities within dance communities.
Dance/USA is grateful to The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the generous support of the pilot Fellowship in Dance Arching and Preservation.
About Dance/USA
Propelled by our belief that dance can inspire a more just and humane world, Dance/USA will amplify the power of dance to inform and inspire a nation where creativity and the field thrive.
Dance/USA is the national service organization for the professional dance field. Established in 1982, Dance/USA champions an inclusive and equitable dance field by leading, convening, advocating, and supporting individuals and organizations. Dance/USA’s core programs are focused in the areas of engagement, advocacy, research, and preservation. Learn more about Dance/USA at danceusa.org.
