Cleveland Modern Dance Association

Masterclasses: educational success lies in our ability to provide direct and free hands-on dance experiences at the advanced and professional levels to dancers in our community as well as special classes for early dance students. Professional, pre-professional and student dancers are invited to attend free masterclasses led by members of the visiting dance companies we present, thereby honing their techniques, enhancing their expressiveness, and networking with the very best in their field and social-emotional learning; and ohio ela and dance standards. Dancecleveland delivered 160 program hours with 2,840 student interactions in the cleveland metropolitan school district and lorain city school district during the 2023-24 school year. Artist development: in addition to masterclasses, dancecleveland regularly finds opportunities to provide professional development for members of the northeast ohio dance community with visiting artists on our performance season. In fiscal year 2024, dancecleveland engaged salt contemporary dance to mentor local dance students through an six-month in-person and virtual program. The company set a work on five local dance students, and served 180 community members through dance classes, virtual sessions and rehearsals, and professional development mentoring. The culminating performance at near west theatre reached 265 community members.early childhood education: our read to learndance to move curriculum-based program serves pre-k and kindergarten students over eight weeks, and provides an introduction to six dance forms as well as supporting ohio early learning and development standards in motor development, physical well-being, language and literacy, creativity,

Collaborator:as a small organization, we thrive because of our collaborative relationships in the community which have the twofold benefit of reducing our financial risk while maximizing our potential to bring the finest dance companies in the world to cleveland. We pride ourselves on being artistically bold and fiscally prudent, which enables us to be nimble andreactive to testing new ideas, endeavors, and partnerships. Danceclevelands vibrancy, relevancy, reach, and long-standing reputation of excellence rest on the strength of a small-yet-mighty staff team, a visionary board of directors, an army of dedicated volunteers, and an annually changing lineup of modern dance luminaries. Creativity, collaboration, and sheer elbow grease help us to generate an equitable variety of performances, relatedmasterclasses, dance workshops and residencies, and an annual community dance day. We carefully assess potential partnerships against rigorous standards for creative and professional integrity and enjoy the privilege of working with in-demand artists who challenge and inspire the audiences we serve. Frequent partners include cuyahoga community college, playhouse square, the city of cleveland heights, rainey institute, cleveland school of the arts, firestone clc, the university of akron, and cleveland state university. We frequently work in a co-presenting model, bringing our curatorial expertise to the table as we stretch our smallorganizations resources through our partners marketing and media buying reach, productionand space resources, and human resources. Co-presenting enables us to minimize our financialrisk and expand our reach to new audiences, many of whom go on to be a loyal, repeat base ofsupporters. Dancecleveland extensively engages the community through educational programmingin underserved communities, professional development opportunities for the local dancecommunity, and audience development activities that support its goal of creating a vibrantdance community in northeast ohio. Advocacy: we are not an advocacy organization, however, werecognize that we have a voice to offer relating, in particular, to public funding for thearts. We regularly remind our audiences and supporters about the significance of the fundingwe receive from cuyahoga arts and culture, the ohio arts council and the national endowmentfor the arts.

Community programs: hundreds of community members, including youth, adults, and senior citizens of all abilities, are introduced to dance through community residencies that include movement classes, demonstrations, and conversations with visiting artists. Our annual community dance day builds on this work by offering free outdoor exercise classes, dance demonstrations, community dance lessons, and a showcase of student dancers from across northeast ohio. This event served approximately 800 community members in july 2023.