FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/19/17
Kathleen Pender
(763) 521-7738
spdanthcontact@gmail.com
Minneapolis, Minn.—National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $82 million to fund local arts projects across the country in the NEA’s second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works award of $15,000 to Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater (SPDT) for their upcoming project, ”The Common Good / Engaging the Underserved in the Shenandoah Valley,” presented in partnership with Shenandoah University.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to work with the Northern Shenandoah Valley community and are honored to receive support from the National Endowment for the Arts,” said SPDT Artistic Co-Director Suzanne Costello.
In this extensive 10-day residency from January 29 through February 7, 2018, SPDT will facilitate their internationally recognized community programs for caregivers, senior adults, and low income K-12 students and families throughout Winchester, Virginia, and college students in the Public Health, Nursing, and Dance Departments at Shenandoah University. Shenandoah University partners include Shenandoah Conservatory and the Shenandoah University School of Health Professions, Dance Division, and Center for Public Service and Scholarship.
The residency will culminate with two public performances of selections from SPDT’s acclaimed repertory in the Glaize Studio Theatre on February 6 and 7, 2018. SPDT’s performance work, described as “theater for the heart and mind,” has garnered national and international critical acclaim for over 35 years. SPDT’s signature ”Talk Piece,” an audience-performer conversation, will follow each performance.
“The arts reflect the vision, energy, and talent of America’s artists and arts organizations,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support organizations such as Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater, in serving their communities by providing excellent and accessible arts experiences.”
Since its founding in New York City in 1979, SPDT has continued to engage populations worldwide through its performance works and community inclusive programs. SPDT’s interdisciplinary vision weaves movement, spoken text, song, and visual imagery that provokes and comments on the personal and political. Artistic Co-Directors Suzanne Costello and Stuart Pimsler and their company of compelling artists continue to garner critical acclaim for their “theater for the heart & mind.” SPDT’s company artists have been distinguished for their artistic excellence, garnering seven McKnight Fellowships and five Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance.
Based in Minneapolis since 2000, SPDT has toured to Europe, Israel, Taiwan, Russia, Canada, Bermuda, China, and Mexico, including presentations at the Beijing Modern Dance Festival; International Tanzmesse, Dusseldorf; the Bermuda Ministry of Culture; and the National Center for the Arts, UNAM, and American Embassy in Mexico City. In the United States, SPDT has appeared in more than 35 states at such venues as the The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Civil Rights Museum, Jacob’s Pillow, the American Dance Festival, and New York Live Arts.
In Minneapolis, SPDT has been commissioned and presented twice by the Guthrie Theater for the premieres of The Ends of Love (2007) and Tales from the Book of Longing (2009). The company has also toured extensively throughout Minnesota with major support from the Minnesota State Arts Board through the Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
SPDT has been a leader in Arts & Education programs and at the forefront of the Arts & Healthcare field since introducing its signature program, Caring for the Caregiver℠ in 1992. Additional SPDT programs include Meaning in Movement℠, for stroke survivors and their care partners, and Transforming the Doctor / Patient Relationship℠, for physicians and medical students. SPDT’s Community Connections programs are significant components of the company’s mission and have been cited as a “National Model” by The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and recognized for “Best Practices” by the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about SPDT visit www.stuartpimsler.com.
To join the conversation about this announcement on social media, please follow us on Twitter: @SPDTPimsler and Instagram: @stuartpimslerdanceandtheater and ‘like’ us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SPDTPimsler. For more information on all NEA projects, use #NEASpring17 or go to arts.gov.
