Individual Artist Project Grant

Due to its history, ballet is an inherently elitist art form. A combination of factors, including financial, cultural, and venue accessibility, all create barriers when it comes to sharing ballet with a broader audience. The combination of the no-cost admission, handicap accessible venue, and my collaboration with the Freshwater Dance Collective will work together to combat ballet's elitism, and create an inclusive space for the community. As a member of the LGBTQ community in Duluth, my work expands queer representation in the performing arts. Renters Insurance will serve the community by presenting art that combats the predominately misogynistic performing-arts world. Femininity, and masculinity, in combination, are dissected, selected, and embraced, in Duluth. This representation is needed in ballet, and over time, it will increase appreciation for the arts by providing new examples of what ballet can and should be. Lastly, this project would increase employment of local artists in Duluth who would otherwise seek work outside the community or remain unemployed. My project will help legitimize a performing arts career by providing all participants with adequate compensation without accruing additional costs of entry by traveling elsewhere during the summer. This project's main goals and outcomes include: * Increased community arts access by presenting a high-quality and thought-provoking new choreographic work for a free performance. Aiming to expand people's notion of what ballet can be. This can be measured by audience attendance and feedback. * Expand on a piece that demonstrates choreographic potential. Expanding Renters Insurance into a complete ballet with opening, divertissement, pas de deux, variations, and finale, is important for me to accomplish. This can be measured by feedback, to include, how the emotions presented in my piece impacted viewers. * Move the dance world towards greater equality. From a directorial standpoint, my goal is that employed dancers feel supported, valued, and fulfilled. I wish that the artists I selected for this project experience professional growth from the opportunity to rehearse with me and contribute to a new work. This can be measured by a post-production meeting. My experience as a choreographer is extensive for someone my age. At Point Park's Choreographic Collective, I was mentored by industry leaders, who shared encouraging remarks on my artistic potential and enabled me to hone my creative process. There I learned to hold my own at the front of the room, and how to use my time in the studio efficiently to create a work in a very short amount of time. That experience solidified my ambitions as a choreographer, and my confidence to complete this project. I choreographed for Dances on the Lakewalk in both 2021 and 2022 with no funding or resources other than a studio and volunteer creative partners who believed in my vision as a choreographer. Both works, Au Bord du Lac and You Dropped Something, were well received by the audiences. Ultimately, I learned to work in the three-dimensional space this project will be set in and I feel confident that, if given this grant, the additional resources will set this year apart from my previous works. To measure the success of audience impact, I will encourage the community to send reactions and feedback to my professional social media and email at the end of the shows. Positive feedback means I successfully expanded their notion of what ballet can be. Through attendance numbers from both performances, I can determine if access to the performing arts was expanded. To measure the success of my choreographic concept and structure, I will confer with industry peers on the structure and integrity of the ballet. Through audience feedback and constructive comments from fellow artists, I will be able to determine if the work's intended emotional affect translated to the viewer. Lastly, to measure my success as a director, I will debrief the creative process with the artists involved. As an early-career industry leader, feedback is crucial to determine my strengths and areas for improvement by gaining additional perspectives from this project to implement in the future.