ARCOS Foundation for the Arts provides the Dance Artist Development Award (DADA) to honor independent professional dance artists in Austin seeking to deepen, expand, or refine their practices. While many grants provide funding for artistic projects, the impact of which can be quantified (for example, by measuring artists paid or audience members directly affected), this award is intended to provide dance artists the opportunity to take a risk to explore a practice- rather than product-based pursuit that may have profound, long-term effects on their creative development and work going forward. Prior recipients have used the development funds to explore new movement modalities within and outside of our community, work with mentors to strengthen their self-producing capacity, and conduct leadership training in art as social engagement and activism.

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ARCOS is invested in the power of relational, rather than transactional, creative practices of sharing resources, knowledge, and care. ARCOS Presents is a production mentorship and laboratory designed to prepare artists to be nimble, courageous, and willing to take creative risks by tackling difficult ideas in new ways. We aim to support Austin-based “emerging-into-self-producing” dance artists at any stage of their choreographic practices.

Awardees receive financial support, including an artist stipend, production budget, studio rehearsal space, technical inventory access, and performance venue rental. Mentorship also serves awardees with creative thought partnering, production and technical support, and audience and press outreach.

The next round of ARCOS Presents will take place in 2025.