Chicago Human Rhythm Receives $20,000 NEA Grant

National Endowment for the Arts Chairman Jane Chu has approved more than $30 million in grants as part of the NEA's first major funding announcement for fiscal year 2017. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $20,000 to Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) to support its citywide festival, STOMPING GROUNDS; its grand finale performance, Chicago Rhythm Fest; the Rhythm World summer festival; and a home season for CHRP's resident ensemble. The Art Works category focuses on the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts and strengthening of communities through the arts.

"The arts are for all of us, and by supporting organizations such as Chicago Human Rhythm Project, the National Endowment for the Arts is providing more opportunities for the public to engage with the arts," said Chu. "Whether in a theater, a town square, a museum or a hospital, the arts are everywhere and make our lives richer."

"We're honored to receive support from the NEA, which allows us to present new, citywide performances, deepen our engagement with students in arts education programs and continue to facilitate peace through rhythmic expression," said CHRP Founder and Artistic Director Lane Alexander. "We're especially excited to present the third annual citywide STOMPING GROUNDS festival and its culminating concert, the Chicago Rhythm Fest."

NEA funding will support three of CHRP's most important programs in 2017:
STOMPING GROUNDS, a series of free events in six distinct communities showcasing five of Chicago's most accomplished percussive dance companies
Chicago Rhythm Fest, the culminating event of STOMPING GROUNDS featuring all the participating companies in one program in a major downtown theater
Rhythm World, the oldest and most comprehensive festival of American tap and contemporary percussive arts in the world, featuring master classes, workshops, intensives and performances. A home season featuring CHRP's resident ensemble. For more information on projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Chicago Human Rhythm Project
For 26 years, Chicago Human Rhythm Project (CHRP) has helped to foster the revival of American tap dance throughout North and South America, Australia, Europe and Asia. CHRP presents the oldest and largest annual festival of American tap and percussive dance in the world-Rhythm World-and has expanded through community outreach, ongoing education programs in public elementary and high schools, commissions of new work, innovative conferences for the field and a commitment to social reconciliation and local investment. CHRP led the development of Chicago's shared dance/arts space, the American Rhythm Center, which offers daily dance classes for children, teens, adults and seniors.

During the last 26 years, CHRP has educated and performed globally for millions of people; received an Emmy Award nomination, as well as national airings, for JUBA! Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance, which was co-produced with ITVS and WTTW/Channel 11; earned an NEA American Masterpieces grant administered by the Illinois Arts Council Agency; curated the first full-length tap concert in any of the Kennedy Center's three largest theaters for a sold-out audience of 1,100 in the Eisenhower Theater; provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in tap dance scholarships to more than 300 deserving, talented teens; and, most recently, led a collaborative effort to establish a shared dance/arts space in the center of the Chicago Cultural Mile: the American Rhythm Center (ARC). CHRP's vision is to establish the first global center for American tap and percussive arts, which will create a complete ecosystem of education, performance, creation and community in a state-of-the-art facility uniting generations of diverse artists and the general public. For information, visit chicagotap.org.

Photo by Peter Wochniak.

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