New York, NY—Dance/NYC, the local service organization for professional dance artists and managers, has been awarded a $100,000 Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture Grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. This grant will underwrite a field needs assessment, State of NYC Dance, and a strategic plan to maximize Dance/NYC’s foundation of service and to build new advocacy, management, education and promotional capacity for the field.

To manage the strategic plan, Dance/NYC has hired Emma Dunch and Andrea Sholler of Dunch Arts LLC, which specializes in supporting organizations in transition and whose clients include Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ballet Hispanico and Jacob’s Pillow Dance. From leading arts industry researcher Catherine Lanier, Dance/NYC has commissioned the State of NYC Dance study.

Lane Harwell, who was named Director of Dance/NYC in the fall, says: “The Rockefeller Brothers Fund is giving Dance/NYC an opportunity to re-envision and shape the future of NYC dance at a critical historical moment, when new energy and approaches are rising to the surface.”

“We commend Dance/NYC’s leadership and foresight in taking on this timely strategic planning project that will not only help chart the organization’s future, but also begin a much needed discussion to advance the entire New York City dance community,” says Ben Rodriguez-Cubenas, Program Director, New York City, Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Dance/NYC is a satellite of Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. Dance/NYC’s mission is to sustain and advance the professional dance field in New York City-serving as the voice, guide and infrastructure architect for all local dance artists, audiences and managers. The organization achieves this mission through three core program areas: advocacy and research, audience engagement and professional development. www.dancenyc.org

Founded in 1940, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund advances social change that contributes to a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. The RBF’s grantmaking is organized around three themes: Democratic Practice, Peacebuilding, and Sustainable Development, and three pivotal places: New York City, Southern China, and the Western Balkans. The New York City program’s Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture Grants honor the legacy of Charles E. Culpeper by supporting the artists and arts and cultural organizations that make New York City one of the world's most dynamic creative capitals.