BDL Receives Major NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the NEA's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2018. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $10,000 to Broadway Dance Lab in support of its commitment to provide choreographers with free rehearsal space and dancers to assist in the creative process. Art Works is the NEA's largest funding category and supports projects that focus on the creation of art that meet the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and/or the strengthening of communities through the arts.

"The variety and quality of these projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country," said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. "Through the work of organizations such as Broadway Dance Lab in New York City, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are."

"Having the support of the NEA means the world to this organization," said BDL Artistic Director Josh Prince. "It speaks to the fact that BDL is committed to serving artists on a national level. We have a rich history of supporting choreographers working at various theaters across the country. BDL is for anyone and everyone." Photo credit: In rehearsal with BDL Artistic Director Josh Prince and choreographer Robert Fairchild.

The Art Works Grant will help support BDL's Fall 2018 Lab Cycle, providing selected choreographers with the opportunity to practice their craft and test their ideas in an atmosphere of artistic privacy. The company's 2018 Summer Cycle will run June 4-29. Choreographers and dancers for the Cycle will be announced in the coming weeks

To learn more about Broadway Dance Lab, visit www.broadwaydancelab.org.

Broadway Dance Lab is a 501(c)(3) organization founded by Broadway choreographer, Josh Prince (Beautiful, Shrek), and serves as a choreography incubator designed to promote the use of dance in musical theater. The company provides space, dancers and private creative time to choreographers of all technical backgrounds so that they may grow their ideas and collaborate more effectively with colleagues in the field.

Josh Prince began his career as an actor, appearing on Broadway in Little Me and Saturday Night Fever, where he understudied the role of "Bobby C". Among numerous regional theater and concert credits, he starred Off-Broadway in Forbidden Broadway, toured the country as "Skimbleshanks" in Cats, and played "Carmen Ghia" in The Producers opposite Jason Alexander and Martin Short at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles.

In 2006, Josh made his Broadway choreographic debut with Shrek, The Musical (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), which opened on Broadway in December, 2008 and went on to tour the US, play in London's West End, and tour the UK. He has choreographed shows at prestigious venues across the US and UK, including New York City Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center, The Signature Theatre (DC), BAM, The New Group, The Old Vic, Royal Festival Hall, and The Royal Albert Hall. Josh recently choreographed a new adaptation of the animated film, Frozen, for Disney Cruise Lines, and made his directorial debut with Grease at the Winter Garden Theater in Toronto, CA. This summer, he will collaborate with acclaimed director, Sheryl Kaller, on the new musical, A Walk On The Moon at American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Josh is currently the choreographer for the hit Broadway show, Beautiful - The Carole King Musical (Tony, Olivier, and Fred and Adele Astaire Award nominations), which is currently touring the US, UK, and Australia. Last year, Josh enjoyed reuniting with director, Marc Bruni, on the Broadway-bound musical, Trevor, based on the Academy Award winning short film of the same name.