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Travel Grants to Dance Professionals

Deadlines

There are no deadlines for this program. You are, however, encouraged to apply a minimum of eight weeks before your departure date.

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Program Description 

This program assists individual Canadian dance professionals to travel on occasions important to the development of their artistic practice or career. Details on eligible travel activities are provided in the next section.

Professionals working in all dance world cultures and in a wide range of dance genres and specializations are eligible to apply for support (see Appendix A of the form). 

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 of the Canada Council for the Arts.

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Eligibility

Eligible Applicants

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or have Permanent Resident Status, as defined by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Canadian citizens need not be living in Canada when they apply.

All applicants must meet the Canada Council for the Arts’ definition of a professional artist, defined as someone who:

  • has specialized training in the discipline (not necessarily in teaching establishments)
  • is recognized as such by their peers (artists in the same artistic tradition)
  • is committed to devoting as much time as possible to their artistic practice, considering their financial situation.

Dancers must have performed in at least one professional public presentation where they were paid a fee. Choreographers must have presented at least three works publicly over a period of three years. Designers and technicians must have been paid to work on at least three professional productions.

You may apply to the Canada Council for only one Travel Grant (from 1 April to 31 March).

Full-time students at a school, college or university are not eligible to apply.

This Canada Council for the Arts program is accessible to Aboriginal artists and artists of diverse cultural and regional communities of Canada.

Note that meeting the eligibility criteria allows you to apply to the program. However, it does not guarantee that you will receive a grant.

In order to be eligible, your date of travel must occur after receipt of your application. The Canada Council does not provide retroactive funding.

Eligible Travel

The Travel Grants program is 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.
  7. Invited to Set a Choreography. A choreographer is invited to set a new or existing choreography on a professional dance company, or to attend the premiere of that work. The host company must be professional, in other words all artists must be paid, and the company must offer a fee (in writing) for the choreography.

Note: For this program, box office and in-kind revenues do not constitute a fee.

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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.

You may include two or more destinations, as long as they are part of one consecutive trip. This program intends to support activity in a limited period of time and involving paid fees. It is not aimed at a series of activities over an extended period of time.

Travel grants are available as a contribution toward your travel costs, based on air fares. You should apply for the fixed amount that will come closest to covering the air fares, and you must justify the amount requested.

If final travel costs are lower than the amount granted, you will be required to return the unused portion of the grant, if it is over $100.00.

Where travel by air is not possible, you must state your planned method of travel and the exact fares quoted by a travel agency or website.

Eligible Costs

  • Travel costs (air fare or train/coach fare)

Ineligible Costs

  • Commuting and local ground transportation
  • Self-presenting costs
  • Production costs
  • Publishing-related costs
  • The cost of purchasing equipment, costumes and props
  • Honoraria or fees for the applicant
  • Accommodation and per diem costs
  • Workshop fees or tuition

Note: For this program, box office and in-kind revenues do not constitute a fee.

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Application Form

Or

  • To submit your travel grants application form on the Internet go to GO! Grants Online
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Further Information

Ellen Busby, Program Officer
Dance Section
Canada Council for the Arts
350 Albert Street, P.O. Box 1047
Ottawa ON  K1P 5V8

Telephone: 1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414 , extension 5506

TTY: 1-866-585-5559

Fax: 613-566-4409

July 2009