Dance Education Grant

Funding available

For the second year the dance world in Maine has provided funding for a dance education grant program that the Maine Arts Commission is administering. I am so impressed with the commitment to dance education and the grassroots efforts of individuals and collaborative groups. I encourage you to apply for these dance education funds. Application deadline: Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Please note: Funding is only available to school districts presently with no dance education. Extra points will be given to those applications from schools with less opportunities in arts education. This information was learned in the statewide arts education data collection conducted during the last school year.

The Maine Arts Commission is offering dance education grants to schools/districts interested in providing dance education by teaching artists who are part of the Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artist Roster located at http://mainearts.maine.gov/Pages/Education/Teaching-Artist-Roster.

The Thornton Academy dance education program collaborated with seven schools and studios with a culminating performance on November 18, 2016 and raised $3575. On March 4, 2017 Dancers Making a Difference, a non-profit organization held their fifth annual benefit performance with fourteen schools and studios performing to raise $6730. The total, $10,305.00, has been generously provided for the funding of this dance education grant program. This opportunity provides funding to support high-quality dance education for PreK-12 students and/or educators of this population in schools where dance education is not currently in place. This funding is meant to inspire and to exhibit the value of dance education.

Deadline: Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Total funding available to be divided: $10,305.00 (maximum award of $3,500)

The funding cycle for this program: September 1, 2017 through March 30, 2018

REVIEW CRITERIA

• Demonstration of high quality teaching and learning for all learners.
• Clear description of the idea and its impact.
• Description of the learning opportunity including objectives, outcomes (including performance information), and assessment methodology.
• Alignment with dance standards.
• Evidence of collaborative planning among the school educator(s) and the Teaching Artist(s) and evidence on how you will sustain this program.

NARRATIVE

1. Provide a brief overview of your dance education project.
2. Describe in detail your project. Include the following:
   1. Who will be served? Describe the school community.
   2. Who is involved? Teaching artist(s) from the Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artist roster, and professional teacher(s) from the school. Describe their collaborative/involvement in the planning and implementation?
   3. Time line. When will each component of this project take place? Who are the Teaching Artists and teachers involved. Who are the professional teacher(s) from the school, and teaching artist(s) from the Maine Arts Commission Teaching Artist roster and describe their collaborative/involvement in the planning and implementation of this project.
3. Clearly state the objectives and outcomes for the idea, plan for the culminating performance and for evaluating the success.
4. How does your proposal align with the State of Maine Learning Results for Visual and Performing Arts? If relevant, speak to the National Core Arts and/or the Common Core Standards.
5. What are your plans to sustain this work?

APPLICATION PACKAGE REQUIREMENTS

A completed application in the Grants Management System (GMS) for the Arts Learning Grant contains:

• Completed answers to all narrative prompts
• Project budget
• Two letters of support. One from a teacher from the school and one from teaching artist on the MAC roster who will provide the residency.

Applicants will be notified of the review outcome by June 19, 2017.

CONSIDERATION

Evidence of long-term impact.

The school/district awarded funds for dance education will be expected to document the teaching artist residency so others can learn about the work.

TO APPLY

To start a dance education grant application please go to https://mainearts-grants.maine.gov/account/login?ReturnUrl=%2fapplicant%2fgran and establish an account if you do not already have one. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me at argy.nestor@maine.gov.