Dance Heritage Coalition Inc

TO MAKE ACCESSIBLE, ENHANCE, AUGMENT AND PRESERVE THE MATERIALS WHICH DOCUMENT THE ARTISTIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN DANCE OF THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. TO ALSO SERVE AS A THINK TANK AND CONVENER FOR THE DANCE HERITAGE FIELD.

DIGITAL INITIATIVES. SINCE 2002, DHC HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN ENVISIONING, TESTING, AND IMPLEMENTING SOLUTIONS FOR PRESERVING ENDANGERED AUDIOVISUAL ASSETS AND CREATING ACCESS TO AUDIOVISUAL DOCUMENTATION OF DANCE NATIONWIDE. A SEARCHABLE PILOT DATABASE COMBINES NEARLY 30,000 MOVING IMAGE RECORDS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES, WHILE MORE THAN A THOUSAND ANALOG VIDEOS HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO ARCHIVAL-QUALITY DIGITAL FORMATS AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING ON A PROTOTYPE SECURE MEDIA NETWORK (SMN) AVAILABLE TO EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS. IN THE CURRENT YEAR, DHC CONTINUED DIGITIZING UNIQUE ARCHIVAL VIDEOS FOR ARTISTS AT THREE DIGITIZATION HUBS IN NEW YORK, SAN FRANCISCO, AND WASHINGTON, DC; REFINED A DATABASE FOR CATALOGING AUDIOVISUAL ASSETS; AND PARTNERED WITH GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS IN PORTLAND, OR AND CHICAGO TO CONDUCT OUTREACH TO ARTISTS AND DEVELOP NEW RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY-BASED DIGITIZATION SOLUTIONS. WITH AN AWARD FROM THE KNIGHT FOUNDATION PROTOTYPE FUND, DHC INVESTIGATED METHODS FOR PRESERVING ONLINE DANCE CRITICISM BY DEVELOPING AND TESTING A WEBSCRAPING TOOL, USING THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA DANCE COMMUNITY AS A TEST CASE.

PUBLIC PROGRAMMING EXPENSES - ONLINE AND LIVE PROGRAMS FOR A GENERAL AUDIENCE, SUCH AS A LOBBY EXHIBIT, ONLINE DANCE TREASURES EXHIBIT OR PUBLIC LECTURES. DANCE HERITAGE COALITION HAS CONTINUED TO EXPAND AND AUGMENT THE LIST OF AMERICAS IRREPLACEABLE DANCE TREASURES AND THE ONLINE RESOURCES CELEBRATING THEM. IN 2015, 13 NEW TREASURES WERE NAMED, AND ORIGINAL SCHOLARLY ESSAYS, RESEARCH GUIDES, AND CURATED VISUAL MATERIALS WERE ADDED TO THE ONLINE EXHIBIT ON DHCS WEBSITE. THE EXHIBIT WAS REDESIGNED WITH NEW FEATURES TO INCREASE FUNCTIONALITY FOR EDUCATORS WHO INCORPORATE THE SITE INTO DANCE HISTORY CURRICULA.

DOCUMENTATION AND PRESERVATION OF DANCE HISTORY THROUGH VARIOUS METHODS INCLUDING ARCHIVES PROJECTS. A CORE COMPONENT OF DHCS MISSION IS TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND RESOURCES TO THE DANCE COMMUNITY TO HELP ARTISTS AND THEIR ORGANIZATIONS DOCUMENT, PRESERVE, AND SHARE THEIR WORK. DHC OFFERS CONSULTATIONS ABOUT ARCHIVING ISSUES AND PROVIDES HANDS-ON HELP, INCLUDING ARCHIVE ASSESSMENTS, INVENTORIES, ASSISTANCE WITH PRESERVING AND ORGANIZING LEGACY MATERIALS, AND VIDEO DIGITIZATION. DHC USES WORKSHOPS, WEBINARS, AND PRESENTATIONS AT CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA TO DISSEMINATE BEST PRACTICES AND SHARE OUTCOMES AND LEARNING FROM PROJECTS. SURVEYS AND FOCUS GROUPS GATHER DATA AND PROMOTE KNOWLEDGE-SHARING AND IDEA-GENERATION ABOUT THE NEEDS OF ARTISTS AND HOW DHC AND OTHER SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS CAN IMPROVE SERVICES AND RESOURCES. IN THE CURRENT YEAR, DHC CONVENED FOCUS GROUPS IN CLEVELAND, MIAMI, NEW YORK, AND SAN FRANCISCO, AND PUBLISHED A WHITE PAPER ON STRENGTHENING THE ARCHIVES OF ACTIVE PERFORMING ARTS ORGANIZATIONS.

DHCS FELLOWSHIPS IN DANCE ARCHIVES AND PRESERVATION PROGRAM PLACES FELLOWS (TYPICALLY EARLY-CAREER PROFESSIONALS OR GRADUATE STUDENTS) WITH A DHC MEMBER INSTITUTION FOR SIX TO TEN WEEKS OF SUPERVISED WORK ON DANCE-RELATED ARCHIVES PROJECTS. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THIS MENTORING PROCESS, THE FELLOW SPENDS ANOTHER SIX TO TEN WEEKS ASSISTING IN THE ARCHIVES OF A DANCE COMPANY OR A DANCE-RELATED REPOSITORY, BENEFITTING ARTISTS BY ORGANIZING AND PRESERVING THEIR ARCHIVES, AND ENRICHING THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR STUDY AND ENGAGEMENT NATIONWIDE. SINCE 2003, THE DHC HAS FUNDED MORE THAN THIRTY FELLOWSHIPS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY AND HAS PROVIDED CONTINUING MENTORSHIP TO FORMER FELLOWS IN THEIR CAREER DEVELOPMENT. IN THE CURRENT YEAR, DHC COMPLETED A THREE-YEAR IMLS-FUNDED PROGRAM THAT HOSTED THREE COHORTS OF 7 OR 8 FELLOWS EACH, WHO SIMULTANEOUSLY COMPLETED FELLOWSHIPS AT DIVERSE LOCATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND WHO RECEIVED GROUP ORIENTATIONS SESSIONS, SUPPORT TO ATTEND PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES, AND A PLATFORM TO BLOG ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE. DHC CONTINUED TO TRACK THE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF FELLOWS AFTER COMPLETION OF THEIR ASSIGNMENTS AND PRODUCED A WHITE PAPER SHARING FINDINGS FROM THE PROGRAM.