Toronto Arts Council: Dance Projects Program (Canada)

The program recognizes a diversity of dance practices. The City of Toronto supports this program through a funding allocation approved annually by Toronto City Council.

Categories

• Creation: supports choreographic creation, including research and development, and commissions.
• Production and Presentation: supports the rehearsal, production and presentation of live dance.
• Dance Series and Festivals: supports dance series and festivals that present Toronto choreographers, dance artists and dance companies.
• Dance Field Development: supports projects that develop and advance the practice of professional dance in Toronto.

Funding Information

• Creation: The maximum grant in this category is $10,000.
• Production and Presentation: The maximum grant in this category is $20,000.
• Dance Series and Festivals: The maximum grant in this category is $10,000.
• Dance Field Development: The maximum grant in this category is $8,000.

Eligible Expenses

• Creation:
  • Expenses can include:
    • Fees paid to choreographers, dancers, and creative resources such as a musical composer, outside eye, mentor, elder, dramaturge, etc.
    • Studio costs and production elements that are essential to the choreography.
• Production and Presentation:
  • Expenses can include:
    • Artistic, production and administrative fees and costs, including rehearsal, venue, publicity, marketing and outreach.
• Dance Series and Festivals:
  • Expenses can include:
    • Artists’ engagement fees, production and administrative fees and costs, including publicity, marketing and outreach.
• Dance Field Development:
  • Expenses can include:
    • Artistic, production and administrative fees and costs, including venue, publicity, marketing and outreach.
• For all categories, project expenses could include: artists fees, production and technical fees, marketing and outreach costs, administrative costs, childcare costs, etc. The payment of artist fees is a requirement in this program.

Eligibility Criteria

• To apply to Dance Projects, applicants can be individual professional dance artists, or professional not-for-profit dance organizations or collectives. The payment of artists’ fees is a requirement in this program.
• Artists must be professional. A professional artist is someone who has developed their skills through training and/or practice; is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic tradition; actively practices her/his/their art; seeks payment for her/his/their work; and has a history of public presentation.
• TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (e.g. limited mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) that some flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to take into account equivalent professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Program Manager in advance of submitting an application.
• You may not apply as an individual and an organization or collective for the same project in the same competition. If you are one of the members of an applicant collective, you may also apply as an individual for an unrelated project in the same competition.
• The project for which the funding is requested must take place in the City of Toronto.
• Applicants may receive only one grant per calendar year through the Dance program and may not apply to other TAC discipline programs.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Projects that have been started or completed prior to the announcement of results. Toronto Arts Council does not fund retroactively.
• Choreographers who direct dance organizations that receive Operating funding from TAC.
• Organizations or collectives that receive Operating funding from TAC.
• Dance studios and schools.
• Schools that are part of Ontario’s public or private education system.
• Educational and religious institutions, unless there is a clear separation in both programming and budget between their regular activities and their arts activities.
• Undergraduate students.
• Ongoing operating costs, such as permanent staff salaries and general administration of an organization. This program is not intended to support an organization or collective’s ongoing activities.
• Costs related to equipment purchase, capital projects (such as building purchase or renovation), fundraising activities, deficit reduction, publishing and archiving projects, awards and award ceremonies, projects conceived for the creation of a film or for competitive purposes, art therapy.
• Activities taking place outside of the City of Toronto (such as touring, travel, accommodations).

For more information, visit Toronto Arts Council.