Despite the immense role that Black dance organizations have played both in Chicago and in the national dance sector, structural inequity in arts philanthropy threatens the future of these companies. In a 2019 report, Mapping the Dance Landscape in Chicagoland, an extensive review of Chicago-based dance companies confirmed a drastically skewed history of funding in the city, with over 56 percent of grant dollars going to just three majority-White institutions. According to the report, dance organizations with budgets below $100,000 make up nearly 60 percent of the city’s total groups, with more than half below $50,000.

These funding inequities disproportionately affect Black dance makers, who make up 31 percent of the city’s dance community but struggle to achieve growth, visibility, and sustainability at the same pace as larger, majority-White, Euro-centric dance institutions. Black dance companies already face a critical dearth of essential resources, from scant performance and rehearsal space to a lack of visibility and administrative capacity beyond day-to-day survival. With limited access to funding opportunities, these challenges compound to limit the potential for Black-led organizations to grow in capacity and reach, let alone to pass their legacies to the next generation of dancers and choreographers.

In recognition of the critical issues facing the field of Black dance and the importance of its continued survival, the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project fills the need for a dance service organization in Chicago that partners directly with Black dance companies to strengthen their financial and operational capacity, ensuring the long-term survival of their work. Developed through a partnership between the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at The University of Chicago and Tracie D. Hall, Director of The Joyce Foundation’s Culture Program, this initiative leverages the strategic resources of the Logan Center and UChicago to facilitate access to funding, support dance programming and training, and provide key administrative support to eight Chicago-based Black dance companies. The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project aims to serve as a local and national model for collaborative strategies to strengthen the Black dance field as a whole.

Launched in 2019, CBDLP brings together a cohort of dance companies to learn from each other and leverages the resources of the Logan Center and other University of Chicago entities to bolster Black dance companies’ operational capacity to ensure the long-term survival of their legacies.

The Joyce Foundation awarded the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project a $396,600 grant — the single largest cultural grant ever given by the foundation—to launch the project. Further funding and support was provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Trust, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (DCASE), as well as Pam Crutchfield, Ginger Farley, Maggy Fouche, and other individual donors.

On September 17, 2019, the Logan Center hosted the first formal workshop for the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, led by Hall, and 13 participants representing the senior and artistic leadership of the project’s eight partner companies: Ayodele Drum and Dance, Chicago Multicultural Dance Center, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, Forward Momentum Chicago, Joel Hall Dancers & Center, Muntu Dance Theatre, Najwa Dance Corps, and Red Clay Dance Company. Selected specifically for their artistic excellence, the quality of their technical training, the diversity of forms represented, the longevity and stability of their leadership, and their prominence in their respective communities, these companies range from established legacy organizations to emerging ensembles and training schools. All are united in their shared vision for the continued vitality of Black dance forms and their commitment to long-term sustainability.

After an initial needs assessment of the individual companies by the Community Programs Accelerator, a program of UChicago’s Office of Civic Engagement, the September 2019 convening focused on refining the goals of the initiative and identifying individual and collective areas of need by engaging the leadership of the dance companies in dialogue with each other. The resulting discussions and SWOT analysis revealed and confirmed the complex factors necessitating greater philanthropic investment in this critically underfunded sector of the arts.

Following the success of the first phase of the program, the CBDLP is currently in the second cohort with 10 outstanding groups representing a variety of traditions and perspectives.

CAPACITY BUILDING

Artistic

•   Leadership Education

•   Artistic Professional Development through Collaborative Performances

Organizational

•   Targeted Support for governance, resource-sharing, and sustainable business models.

•   Sustainable Operations

•   Support for Individual Artists

ADVOCACY:

•   Collaborative Marketing and Audience Development

•   Intergenerational Dance Education

•   Audience Engagement

•   Civic Engagement

ARCHIVING

•   Archival Preservation

PRESENTING

•   Annual Collaborative Performance

•   Emerging Dancers Initiative

The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project (CBDLP) plays a pivotal role in uplifting and sustaining Black dance in Chicago. Building on a legacy of artistic excellence, CBDLP provides essential support to ensure the long-term growth of companies that celebrate Black dance and artists in the city. As we look ahead, the project will continue to evolve, focusing on leadership development, sustainability, and community engagement.

The mission of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project is to celebrate, advocate for, and provide support to dance organizations and artists that dance Black dance in Chicago. Through a focus on equity, inclusion, and capacity building, CBDLP ensures the longevity and vibrancy of Black dance in Chicago’s cultural landscape.

Our vision is to create a thriving ecosystem where dance companies and artists that celebrate Black dance can flourish artistically and operationally. By fostering leadership, cultivating resources, and engaging communities, we aim to position CBDLP as a national model for the sustainability and growth of Black dance.

The 2019-2022 cohort included:

• Ayodele Drum & Dance

• The Chicago Multicultural Dance Company

• Deeply Rooted Dance

• Forward Momentum Chicago

• Joel Hall Dancers & Center

• Muntu Dance Theatre

• NAJWA Dance Corps

• Red Clay Dance Company

The first cohort was supported by funding from the Joyce Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Trust, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs (DCASE), as well as Pam Crutchfield, Ginger Farley, Maggy Fouche, and other individual donors.

The Chicago Multicultural Dance Company and Hiplet Ballerinas

Deeply Rooted Dance Theater

The Era Footwork Collective

Forward Momentum Chicago

Joel Hall Dancers & Center

M.A.D.D. Rhythms

Move Me Soul

Muntu Dance Theatre

NAJWA Dance Corps.

Praize Productions Inc.

This cohort has received lead funding from the Joyce Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. Additional support is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation with funding from the Pritzker Foundation and the Millennium Park Foundation, Walder Foundation, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, The City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and Pam Crutchfield. Funding is also provided by University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts, Women’s Board, Office of Civic Engagement’s Community Programs Accelerator, and the Black Metropolis Research Consortium.

Get in touch with the CBDLP here.