RIOULT Dance New York Receives NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Rocco Landesman announced today that RIOULT Dance New York is one of 832 non-profit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. RIOULT Dance New York is recommended for a $10,000 grant to support the creation of a new work in 2013.

Choreographer Pascal Rioult is currently in close collaboration with composer Michael Torke, creating a new piece for the ten-dancer company based on Euripides' drama, Iphigenia in Aulis. Marking the third in Rioult's "Dance to Contemporary Composers Series," this new work will also serve as a companion piece to Rioult's critically acclaimed 2011 collaboration with composer Aaron J. Kernis in On Distant Shores...a redemption fantasy which took on the story of Helen of Troy. The new piece will have its world premiere to live music at RIOULT's New York Season at The Joyce Theater on June 4-9, 2013.

"I'm proud to announce these 832 grants to the American public including the creation of RIOULT's newest work," said Chairman Landesman. "These projects offer extraordinary examples of creativity in our country, including the creation of new work, innovative ways of engaging audiences, and exemplary education programs."

Pascal Rioult comments, "Working with living composers to create new work - as I'm doing this year and plan to continue - is a worthy tradition that has led to some of the greatest pieces in the history of dance. "

In March 2012, the NEA received 1,509 eligible applications for Art Works requesting more than $74 million in funding. The 832 recommended NEA grants total $22.3 million, span 13 artistic disciplines and fields, and focus primarily on the creation of work and presentation of both new and existing works for the benefit of American audiences. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.