May 22, 2019

The Dance/USA Annual Conference, a national convening that celebrates American dance, comes to Cleveland June 12-15.

CLEVELAND (May 22, 2019) – The Dance/USA Annual Conference, a national convening that celebrates American dance, comes to Cleveland June 12-15. The gathering of national and international dance professionals will feature workshops, performances, panel discussions and symposia exploring issues of leadership, artistic creation, administration, power, accessibility, and vision.

The conference travels to a different city each year, highlighting the unique vibrancy of dance communities around the nation, this year featuring the dance community of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. The 2019 Dance Showcase presented by Playhouse Square will take place on Thursday June 13 from 7:00pm-8:30pm featuring ten local companies, and throughout the conference there will be pop-up performances featuring additional dance artists from Northeast Ohio.

In addition to the variety of activities for attendees, each year the conference honors extraordinary leaders in the dance field, both artists and administrators. The awards are a long-standing Dance/USA tradition, beginning in 1986. The Dance/USA 2019 Honorees are:

• The Dance/USA Honor Award: Dianne McIntyre (Cleveland native, dancer, choreographer, researcher, mentor, director, and dance-driven dramatist)
• The Dance/USA ‘Ernie’ Award: Glenn McCoy (Executive Director, San Francisco Ballet)
• The Dance/USA Champion Award: Terry and Sheldon Adelman (Long-time supporters of Playhouse Square and the Playhouse Square Annual Dance Showcase, mentioned above)

The 2019 Honors Ceremony will take place on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 during the Opening Night Celebration at the Cleveland History Center, which kicks off the 2019 Annual Conference. For full information about the awards and awardees, please visit https://www.danceusa.org/awards.

Many local organizations have been involved in the planning and execution of the conference. These include: ArtsCleveland, DanceCleveland, Dancing Wheels, GroundWorks DanceTheater, The National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron (NCCAkron), Ohio Dance, and Playhouse Square. Partnering venues include: Cleveland History Center, Cleveland Metropolitan Conference Center, Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland State University, Hilton Cleveland Downtown, Idea Center at Playhouse Square, Playhouse Square. Annual Conference funders and sponsors include: Arts Insurance Program; Black Dance Magazine; Bloch; Capacity Interactive; City of Cleveland; The Cleveland Foundation; Cleveland Public Library; DANCECleveland; Dancing Wheels Company and School; Destination Cleveland; DeWitt Stern a Risk Strategies Company; DLR Group | Westlake Reed Leskosky; The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation; Freed of London; Gaynor Minden; The George Gund Foundation; GroundWorks DanceTheater; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Harlequin Floors; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The John P. Murphy Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Nordson Corporation; NormaTec; Ohio Arts Council; OhioDance; Runaway Productions; The Shubert Foundation; Selfspace Meditation Studio; shark&minnow; the University of Kentucky Department of Arts Administration, and Verb Ballets.

The conference is presented by Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. Established in 1982, Dance/USA champions an inclusive and equitable dance field by leading, convening, advocating, and supporting individuals and organizations in dance and the arts. Dance/USA’s core programs are focused in the areas of engagement, advocacy, research, and preservation.

For more information about the Dance/USA Conference, visit https://danceusa.org/annual-conference.

Registration is available on-site June 12-14, 2019.