Chicago's Deeply Rooted Dance Theater is one of five dance companies (and the only Midwestern one) named to the International Association of Blacks in Dance's (IABD's) INFLUENCERS Cohort for the 2021 COHI/MOVE program.
The five companies that compose the cohort will each receive $150,000 over the next three years. The other companies include Collage Dance Collective, in Memphis, Tennessee; Emerge 125, in New York City; and KanKouran West African Dance Company and StepAfrika!, both in Washington, D.C.
The organizations were selected based on several key considerations for participation:
commitment to collaborative participation and engagement with IABD, NFF, program consultants and cohort companies;
the depth of community relationships;
demand for local based programming greater than the organization's ability to provide;
engagement and demonstrated support of local artists and the local arts community; and
demonstrated loss for the community if this organization no longer existed.
The Comprehensive Organizational Health Initiative (COHI)/Managing Organizational Vitality and Endurance (MOVE) is a multi-phase and collaborative program in partnership with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) designed to improve the structural and financial health of dance companies. Gifts from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation support the program.