Emerging Artists Mentorship Program

Call for Proposals

Submission Deadline October 1, 2024

The Wisconsin Dance Council is pleased to announce its 2024 pilot project to support Wisconsin’s emerging dance artists. Sponsored by a Wisconsin Arts Board Creative Community Grant, WDC is calling for dance artists of all genres to submit proposals for one subsidized choreographic cycle. In this pilot year, this project is designed to support three (3) emerging artists who are beyond access to institutional structures that support their creative work and within the first five (5) years of their professional career.

Emerging Artist Mentorship Program Flyer

This project will offer the following:

Mentorship for the duration of the creative process (three meetings in person or virtually, depending upon the artists’ location).
One month of free rehearsal space (8 hours/week) during the months of December 2024 and January 2025.
A stipend of $1,000
The opportunity to present the resulting work at a Southeastern Wisconsin area venue in late February 2025.
The opportunity to engage in dialogue around both the dance making process and the resulting work with audience members.
Access to a quality video recording of the resulting work.
The chance to pilot this project with the WDC and provide culminating knowledge, experience, and critical feedback for future project cycles.

Choreographic Guidelines

Proposed work must be original choreography
Solo or group works will be considered
Only one submission per artist will be accepted
The proposed work must be choreographed by the submitting artist
Works should not exceed 15 minutes in length
“Dance on Film” proposals are not eligible

Link to the google application form

Proposal Guidelines

To be considered for this program, applicants must complete the Emerging Artist Mentorship Program Online Application by October 1, 2024 11:59pm.

The online application requests the following information: Applicant contact information; Work experience, including a 150 word bio, video samples of the applicant’s choreographic work; Information about the proposed project, including goals and production components; Project Impact, including the rationale for the proposed project, career impact, and the role of mentorship and/or community discourse.

Written or Video Log Submission Format

Within the online application, applicants may choose to submit the requested information in writing, or they may choose to submit the requested information with password protected video log links. The online application will include Video Log submission prompts.

Proposal Evaluation and Deliberation

Proposed works will be adjudicated by professional artist(s)
Proposals will be evaluated using the following Evaluation Rubric
Adjudicators will limit their feedback on the materials submitted

Copyrights

Due to artistic copyrights issues, none of the selected works will be shared in any of the WDC Social Media platforms unless the music is original or public domain

Project Timeline

August 2024

Call for Submissions

Fall 2024

October 1, 2024 Proposal Submission to the WDC
November 1, 2024 – Announcement of Selected Artists and Mentors
December 2024 – First meeting with WDC, artists (3) and mentors (2) for scheduling, project scope and goals

January 2025

Debut of the creative process with (8) hours rehearsal/week for one month
Photo shoot with (4) emerging artists
Rehearsal Intensive with Showings #1 for mentors

February 2025

Rehearsals continue with Final Showing #2 for mentors
Public Showing with artist discussion, audience participation, audience surveys

March 2025

Project closure interviews with emerging artists and mentors
Video of the public performance shared with the (4) emerging artists