Travel Grants to Dance Professionals
The Canada Council for the Arts is committed to equity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from diverse Aboriginal, cultural and regional communities, including people with disabilities.
Deadlines
Any time before departure date.
Applicants who wish to have the results before their departure should apply at least eight weeks in advance.
The Canada Council for the Arts will not accept applications postmarked after the departure date, incomplete applications or those submitted by fax or email.
Please refer to the Program Guidelines for detailed information.
Program Description
This program assists individual Canadian dance professionals to travel on occasions to attend or participate in activities that are important to the development of their artistic practice or career.
Travel Grants do not support touring activities. Dance artists who have been invited to tour nationally or internationally should refer to the Dance Touring Grants programs..
Eligibility
Note that meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee that you will receive a grant.
Eligible Applicants
To apply to this program, you must be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.
You must also meet the Canada Council’s definition of a professional artist, which is an artist who:
- has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
- is recognized as such by his or her peers (artists working in the same artistic tradition)
- is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if possible financially
- has a history of public presentation.
In addition, to meet the above definition of a dance professional:
- dancers must have completed professional training and have at least one year of paid performance in a professional context
- choreographers must have presented at least three works publicly in the last three years in a professional context. The works choreographed must have been set using paid professional artists (this does not include school or pre-professional work)
- designers and technicians must have been paid to work on at least three professional productions.
Professionals working in all dance world cultures and in a wide range of dance genres and specializations are eligible to apply for support.
Eligible Travel
Travel grants are for the following seven specific situations:
1. Invited to perform
A dance artist is invited to perform as a guest with a professional company where all the artists are paid, or he or she is offered a unique opportunity to perform at a professional festival. The company or festival must offer a fee to the dancer, in writing, for this guest engagement.
2. Invited to present a paper or to teach
A dance professional is invited to present a paper or lead an activity at a conference, festival or symposium. The host organization must offer a fee to the applicant, in writing, for this presentation or activity.
3. Invited to take part in a collective creation
A choreographer or dancer is invited to participate in a collective creation where credit for authorship will be shared equally among the participants. The event must be one-time and exceptional, and cannot be part of a company’s regular season.
4. Invited to audition
A dance artist receives a written invitation to audition, from a professional dance company in Canada or abroad. The company must confirm, in writing, that it has the ability to offer the artist a minimum of 20 weeks of paid work, including a minimum of three weeks of national or international touring.
5. Conducting an audition tour
An artistic director wishes to conduct an audition tour of at least three cities, in Canada or internationally. Artistic directors of professional Canadian companies are eligible if they can confirm their ability to offer a minimum of 20 weeks of paid work to dance artists, including a minimum of three weeks of national or international touring.
6. Studying with a scholarship or bursary
A choreographer or dancer receives a written invitation and a confirmed scholarship or bursary to participate in an advanced professional workshop. The workshop must be for less than one month’s duration and be conducted by a professional dance organization. Scholarships can be offered by a third party and do not need to come from the host organization.
Grant Amount
You may apply for one of the following fixed amounts of $500, $750, $1,000, $1,500, $2,000 or $2,500. However, the amounts of $2,000 and $2,500 are available only if you are travelling to or from northern Canada or to international destinations other than the United States and Europe.
Further Information
Ellen Busby
Program Officer
Dance Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON K1P 5V8
1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414 , extension 5506
TTY: 1-866-585-5559
January 2012