ERASING BORDERS DANCE FESTIVAL CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 2024

Indo-American Arts Council’s Erasing Borders Dance Festival is seeking dance submissions for 2024.

The dance festival will be presented tentatively on Saturday, September 21, and Sunday 22, 2024 at Ailey Citigroup Theater and online on Monday September 23. In addition, the festival will partner with Barnard College for dance investigations and discussions on Monday September 23.

The festival will include two parts: live performances including applicant dancers from around US and an invited group from India on Saturday and Sunday. Three dance groups from the applicant pool will be selected to receive a grant towards producing a digital performance for IAAC’s streaming platform Facebook and Youtube for Monday September 23.

IAAC has embraced the theme of "Then and Now" for the year 2024 across the platforms of dance, film, music, and literature. For an in-depth understanding of how the theme is understood and applied, please see this video from curator Srinidhi Raghavan. Pondering on these thoughts and prompts, we urge you to think of your own works and assess how this applies. Submit dance works of 8-12 minutes in length that showcase this theme. Also submit a 100-150 words description of how these themes connect to your work.

WE SEEK:

- IAAC seeks original works in multiple or new vocabularies and forms deriving from or relating to the traditions of Indian dance. Dancers are encouraged to apply with works they have learned from their gurus as well as works that are challenging or critically thinking on their own terms. For the digital grant applicants, we encourage shorter works. Professional works of up to 12 minutes duration (you can submit multiple works for us to consider).

- There is a non-refundable application fee of $15 and applications are due March 15, 2024. IAAC is dedicated to promoting, showcasing, and building an awareness of the arts and artists whose heritage lies in India in the performing arts, visual arts, literary arts and folk arts.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

We are only taking in digital applications this year.

- First, review the Curatorial Guidelines we have compiled. These guidelines will help you submit a strong application which catches the eye and interest of our professional curators.

- Selected artists are compensated with professional standard artistic fees for their work and time. Our fees are commensurate to other New York area professional companies.

- Additionally, if selected for the digital presentation, we will provide funds towards video production costs for which technical guidance will be provided. If selected for the live festival, we will take care of all theatre needs in New York. We will not be able to process visas. We ask that applicants have already taken care of this.

- Next, complete your 'application form'. Bear in mind that you will not be able to save your application and come back to it later. So, it is recommended that you first draft your answers in a separate document, and then enter them on this online form in one sitting.

- Pay your $15 application fee through PayPal  (using any credit card) Click here >>

- If you have any questions, check the Frequently Asked Question (FAQ). We keep updating this FAQ as new questions are received. If the FAQ does not address your questions, you can email us via this Inquiry form. Please note that we will only respond to questions that have not been addressed in the FAQ, so make sure to check the FAQ first!

- Application fees are $15.

Technical Suggestions

- Artist would film themselves at home/studio.

- Make sure sound quality of the music is clear. It could be played on a different device close to the recording camera.

- Have lighting from the front and avoid lighting at back (unless it is part of your aesthetic)

- Shoot in daytime conditions. Night time indoor shoots do not look good.

Requirements:

- Completed Application Form, which will include a place for you to send us a link to the performance piece you want to showcase at the festival.

- Video: Applicants need to submit the entire video recording of the proposed works (not excerpts or sampling of past works). Since this is a hybrid festival, we ask that you not apply with a work that is already published in video format with other platforms.

- We plan on leaving the work accessible online for an agreed upon time after the last day of the festival, so make sure you secure rights from your gurus, musicians, and collaborators. Please also make sure you own the rights to publish the music and other elements that you are using. This permission can be sent to you by other producers through emails, social media messages etc. so it can be documented if the need arises. If you submit work that we select, we assume you have done the due diligence.

- *Special note for virtual festival applicants only: This is a work that would be choreographed for camera, so we need to get a sense from your application as to how you would accomplish this.

- Only professional-level performances will be considered for the festival. Typically, we receive about 80 applications each year that our curators go through very carefully. Due to limited time, we do not email all applicants back and prioritize writing to applicants we seriously consider for the festival.

- Selected artists for the virtual festival will receive grants ranging between $1500-2500 for achieving a professional-grade production value in addition to the performance fee. Please submit a sample budget plan of up to $2500 for the final production to account for videography and editing. For the usage of this work, you will need to include a credit line “This project was created as part of the Erasing Borders Dance Festival 2024 and is supported by funds from the Indo-American Arts Council.

- Non-refundable application fee of $15.