Aboriginal Peoples Production Project Grants in Dance
Deadlines
- Short-Term Production Grants: 15 March only
- Long-Term Production Grants: 1 November only
Program Description
The Aboriginal Peoples Production Project Grants in Dance program aims to respond to the natural creative cycles of dance artists and to bring high quality dance works to audiences. This program provides project support to Canadian Aboriginal dance professionals (individuals), companies, collectives and organizations. The activities supported through this program lead to the creation, production and presentation of traditional dance forms and contemporary dance or movement, as well as the development of artistic and professional skills in the field of dance.
The program has two components.
- Short-Term Production Grants provide support for one project that will be fully developed and presented to a paying audience within one year.
- Long-Term Production Grants provide support for one major project, which is defined as a full program of work or works that will require between two and four years to be fully developed and presented to a paying audience.
Aboriginal professionals creating and working in all dance genres are eligible to apply for support. For a complete list of eligible dance genres and specializations, applicants should refer to Appendix A of the application form.
Applicants may find that their project falls within the objectives of the Artists and Community Collaboration Fund (ACCF). The ACCF is an additional source of Canada Council grant funds, which is intended to support diverse artistic activities that bring together professional artists and the broader community and that give the arts a stronger presence in everyday life. The ACCF provides an opportunity for communities to express themselves through creative working relationships with leading professional artists. The fund offers financial support for projects that connect professional artists with communities, including projects that involve youth and elders.
Applicants apply to the ACCF through existing Canada Council programs, including the Aboriginal Peoples Production Project Grants in Dance program. They follow the usual application process plus specific additional requirements, which are described in these guidelines and in the application form.
Definitions of Terms
Aboriginal peoples include Status, Non-Status, Métis and Inuit people.
An Aboriginal-controlled dance company means one that is directed by Aboriginal dance professionals. Collectives must have a majority membership of Aboriginal people, as well as artistic leadership or direction by Aboriginal people. Organizations must be owned and operated by Aboriginal people.
A professional artist, as defined by the Canada Council for the Arts, is someone who:
- has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
- is recognized as a professional artist by her or his peers (those working in the same artistic tradition)
- is willing to devote more time to the artistic activity, if possible financially, and
- has a history of public presentation.
Emerging dance professionals are those who have completed their basic training (as defined by the standards of their dance genre), are ready to undertake a professional career and have had some professional experience.
For dancers, this means having performed in at least one professional public presentation where they were paid a fee. Choreographers must have presented at least three works publicly, within a three-year period.
Mid-career dance professionals are those who have had an active professional career for at least five years. They must be recognized locally and/or regionally by their peers (those within their artistic tradition and/or discipline) and have made a recognized contribution to the field of dance.
Established dance professionals are those who have made a substantial contribution to the field of dance nationally and/or internationally. They must have been actively engaged in the professional dance milieu and have sustained a career for a minimum of 15 years. In determining this, the peer assessment committee will take the applicant’s entire body of work into consideration (for example, choreography, interpretation or research).
A dance company must be an incorporated Canadian non-profit organization. The core members of the company must be professionals, and they must have completed their basic training. Company dancers must be professionals who are paid for rehearsal time and performances. If the artistic director of the company is also the choreographer, he or she must meet the eligibility criteria for choreographers as indicated above.
A collective or organization must have a minimum of three core artists but may include any number of people contributing to a common creative goal. The core members of the collective or organization must be professionals, and they must have completed their basic training. A collective or organization must be represented by a dance professional who will take on the administrative and/or artistic responsibility for the project. He or she must also meet the above criteria as an individual arts professional.
A production means the creation of a new dance work or the creation of a program involving more than one dance work. It can also mean the remount of an existing dance work and/or the commissioning of new work(s) from a professional choreographer. These works must be professionally produced, professional fees must be paid to the participating collaborators and interpreters, and the works must be presented to a paying audience. Artists may choose to self-produce or co-produce the works, or have them fully presented by a professional third party.
Eligibility
Applicant Eligibility
Applicants who are applying to this program for the first time and are unsure of their eligibility should submit a summary of their dance experience or their resumé and a one-page (maximum) project description to the Dance Section. This must be done at least one month before the deadline.
General Eligibility
This program is open to Canadian Aboriginal dance professionals (individuals), and Aboriginal-controlled dance companies, collectives and organizations.
The applicant -- whether an independent dance professional or an organization’s representative -- must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status in Canada, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Dance companies that are receiving operating grant funds from the Dance Section are not eligible to apply to this program.
Eligibility for Short-Term Production Grants
These grants are available to emerging, mid-career or established artists, and to companies, collectives and organizations.
An individual applying to this component as a choreographer must meet the minimum requirements for either a dancer or a choreographer, as defined above. Choreographers representing companies, collectives or organizations must meet the requirements for choreographers, as defined above.
Eligibility for Long-Term Production Grants
These grants are available to mid-career or established artists, and to companies and collectives.
Applicants to this component must meet both of the following eligibility requirements. They must have:
- received, in the past five years, a minimum of two grants from one or more of the following programs -- Grants to Dance Professionals, Production Project Grants in Dance, Dance Touring Grants and International Co-production Program for Dance, and
- produced, in the past five years, a minimum of two full-length public programs (for paying audiences) that involved professional, paid artists.
Project Eligibility
Short-Term and Long-Term Production Grants
The following activities are eligible for support:
- the creation/production and presentation of dance works, including traditional forms, dance for young audiences and dance that integrates new technologies
- the production of new works or remounts of previous works
- the commissioning of works from professional choreographers
- collaborative productions between individual dance professionals, companies and/or collectives, and
- international collaborations and co-productions with foreign artists and/or producers.
The following are not eligible for support:
- the production and dissemination of Canadian professional screen-based dance works (film, video or new media). Applicants should refer instead to the Dance on Screen Production Fund (Pilot Program). For other dance video or film production projects, applicants may contact the Media Arts Section to obtain information on the Grants to Film and Video Artists and Grants to New Media and Audio Artists programs
- professional development or apprenticeship/mentorship projects. Applicants should refer instead to the Grants to Dance Professionals program
- in-studio choreographic research. Applicants should look at the Grants to Dance Professionals program
- touring activities that are eligible for support through other programs, such as the Dance Touring Grants program, and
- projects that involve competitive activities.
Other Possibilities and Restrictions
Short-Term and Long-Term Production Grants
Applicants are encouraged to apply to other programs of support within the Dance Section. A list of these programs, with brief descriptions, is available from the Dance Section or by consulting the Canada Council’s website.
The same expenses may not be included in an application to the Aboriginal Peoples Production Project Grants in Dance program and to another program offered by the Dance Section.
An individual may apply for a production grant from this program and a grant for professional development, research or apprenticeship/mentorship from the Grants to Dance Professionals program if the artistic activities are unrelated.
Applicants submitting a request to the Aboriginal Peoples Production Project Grants in Dance program (as the artistic director of a company, three key people of a collective or leaders of an organization) may also apply as individuals to the Grants to Dance Professionals program. They can request a grant for professional development, research or apprenticeship/mentorship for an unrelated project.
Two applications may not be submitted to this program for the same competition deadline (even if the applications are for unrelated projects).
Applicants may apply for and receive two or more grants in a row from this program. They may not, however, hold two grants that will overlap in the same period.
An established arts professional who works in more than one discipline, and who meets the eligibility criteria as an established artist in both disciplines, may apply to two different grants to professional artists programs (including this program) per fiscal year (1 April to 31 March). (The criteria for the status of established artists are determined by each disciplinary section.) The arts professional must, however, accept or refuse the first grant offered by the Canada Council within two weeks of the date of the grant notification. If the first grant offered is accepted, the arts professional’s other application will be withdrawn from any competition taking place in the same fiscal year.
Artists and Community Collaboration Fund Grants
Applicants to the ACCF must meet all the eligibility requirements for the Aboriginal Peoples Production Project Grants in Dance program. They must also meet the following criteria:
- they may submit only one project per participating program deadline, and no more than two projects per fiscal year
- they must provide the additional information described in Part B of the application form, and
- they must contact the Dance Section Officer, before applying to the ACCF, to confirm that they understand the eligibility requirements for this fund.
Note that ACCF projects should generally include at least one public presentation (a public workshop, showing or performance).
Grant Amount
- Short-Term Production Grants: A maximum of $30,000 is available.
- Long-Term Production Grants: A maximum total amount of $100,000 is available over a two-, three- or four-year period.
Assessment of Applications
Peer evaluation is fundamental to the Canada Council’s decision-making process. Applications to this program are evaluated by a national Aboriginal peer assessment committee.
Committee members are selected from the Aboriginal community across Canada, and are chosen for their experience and expertise in dance as well as their significant knowledge of cultural protocol. They are also chosen to ensure fair representation of the breadth of Aboriginal dance nationally, Canada’s diverse regions, both official languages and gender.
The peer assessment committee’s final recommendations are reviewed by the Board of the Canada Council, which is responsible for final approval.
Application Form
Aboriginal Peoples Production Project Grants in Dance (PDF Acrobat format).
This form can only be printed and cannot be filled out on-line.
Further Information
Jerry Longboat
Dance Section Officer
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P. O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or (613) 566-4414, ext. 5501
TTY (TDD) machine, for hearing-impaired callers: (613) 565-5194
September 2005