Dance residency grants and the National Endowment for the Arts: 1971--1981

The hypothesis of this thesis is that National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding for a dance program called the Coordinated Residency Touring Program, was an important factor in helping develop the art form during the 1970s. The hypothesis is explored through documentation and analysis of a summer program conducted at American University, 1971--1981, which received Coordinated Residency Touring Program Funding. An essential component of this investigation is defining the impact of the Academy on the dance world. As it relates to those who were students during the ten years of the programs existence, impact would mean how the program helped define and shape their lives in dance. There are other questions that are important in defining the impact the Academy and the NEA funding had on the companies that were in residence, both the choreographers and the company members.