Dancelink picks eight groups to share grant.

CHICAGO--DanceLink, a consortium of four regional dance organizations, has selected eight companies to receive a total of $100,000 for new works. The grant is part of the organization's first Dance Commissioning and Residency Exchange, which will also provide technical, marketing, and administrative support for the troupes.

"The goal is not just to give the artists a wonderful experience," says Ann rosenthal, DanceLink's program coordinator. "The goal is to carry them forward. [DanceLink] is not just a grant program, or a fellowship, or a touring subsidy. It's about the artists' involvement in their own futures."

DanceLink was founded in 1994 by Chicago Dance Coalition, Florida Dance Association, Minnesota Dance Alliance, and Philadelphia Dance Alliance to increase opportunities for midsize dance companies by building a network to foster touring and residency initiatives.

Two companies from each DanceLink region will participate in the commissioning program: Jan Erkert and Dancers and Trinity Irish Dance Company from Illinois, Demetrius Klein Dance Company and Houlihan and Dancers from Florida, Chris Aiken and Zorongo Flamenco Dance Theatre from Minnesota, and Dance Alloy and Roko Kawai from Pennsylvania.

Each of the eight companies will perform in its home base and take up residencies in the three other regions. DanceLink will also help the troupes cultivate additional presenters, with an emphasis on finding venues that do not usually present dance.

DanceLink will instruct the participating companies in the nuts and bolts of touring and residency programs. The organization will also provide funding, administrative, and mentoring support to presenting organizations. Presenters will be included in a second retreat in September 1996.

For those dance companies selected, the program has been a lifeline. "Before this program I felt like I didn't know how I was going to carry [my company] forward," says Erkert. "There are very few choreographers on my level in Chicago, and that's because it's very hard to survive if there's not another stepping--stone. This program is an opportunity to grow, to gain exposure that has been unobtainable until now."

The program is intended to be the cornerstone for a long-term collaboration between the four regional dance associations. The residency and commissioning project is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.