Tag: Press

A Significant Increase in D.C. Arts Commission Funding? Not Exactly.

by Jonathan Fischer

Mayor Vince Gray‘s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 dropped today, and on first glance, arts boosters might be pleased with what they see: an increase to the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to $7,635,142 from $4,798,246. Unfortunately for them, the boost is not what it seems.

For the current fiscal year, the arts commission divvied up a piddly $3.7 million in arts grants, splitting the money between more than 200 organizations and individual artists. Compare this to nearly $14 million, the amount the commission handed out in fiscal year 2009, before the first of several slashes to its budget.

Alas, the bulk, $2.5 million, of the fiscal year 2013 increase represents a transfer of a federal program, the National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs grants, that already funds a number of medium and large D.C. arts organizations, like Dance Place, Arena Stage, and the Kennedy Center. NCACA has shrunk in recent years—to the point that Arena postponed a production in its season in anticipation of more cuts. President Barack Obama‘s proposed federal budget suggests moving the diminished program, currently administered by the federal Commission on Fine Arts,  to D.C. control.

If the transfer happens—and amid Congress’ testy budget deliberations, it may not—the additional $2,500,000 could conceivably aid more D.C.  groups. Right now, only off-the-National-Mall D.C. arts groups that raise at least $1 million a year for three years qualify for the grants. The funds are distributed according to a formula, not based on merit. But Lionell Thomas, the executive director of the arts commission, says that if the transfer goes through, his organization might ditch the current funding model in favor of a panel-review process similar to how commission grants are currently administered. The NCACA dollars would remain within a separate funding category, he says, although the qualifying criteria could change.

Take away the anticipated federal transfer, and that leaves $5,135,142 in city funds and other federal dollars—a smidgen more than last year’s approved budget. The increase to the D.C. arts commission includes funding for two new full-time employees—an arts program specialist within the arts commission and an executive director for the Lincoln Theatre. Late last year, the commission took over the troubled U Street NW venue. The executive director position is part of $350,000 within the commission’s budget that will cover the Lincoln’s operational costs. (The mayor’s budget also includes $1 million for capital improvements to the theater.)

There will probably be no increase in grant funding, Thomas said, adding that he supports the mayor’s budget—and that he was pleased the arts commission didn’t see any cuts this year.

Still, level funding is disappointing news to the local arts groups that lobbied over the past several months for an increase in the arts commission’s grant pool. “The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities cannot maintain arts service in all eight wards with one quarter of the funding it had three years ago,” writes Rob Bettmann, a local dancer and the advocacy chair of D.C. Advocates for the Arts, a group that helped lead a recent day of lobbying for increased arts funding. “I’m very disappointed by what we’re seeing today.”

Elsewhere, the Office of Motion Picture and Television Development got an increase of about $143,000, to $869,450 and the Office of Cable Television got an increase of $67,000, to $8,591,720.

Original Publication URL: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/general/2012/03/23/a-significant-increase-in-d-c-arts-commission-funding-not-exactly/

THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW: Robert Bettmann

by Emily Babay, Washington Examiner

Bettmann is the choreographer for “Quis Custodiet,” a security-themed dance his company produced to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

What is “Quis Custodiet”? “Quis Custodiet” is the title of the dance my company, Bettmann Dances, will premiere Sept. 2. The title was drawn from an old Greek phrase, Quis Custodet ipsus custodiet, which means “who shall watch the watchers themselves.”

How can you explore security through dance? As a choreographer I’ve made a number of choices picking the stories and relationships that highlight what I think are the most interesting aspects of security since 9/11. In one section, for instance, we retell Bible stories. In the Adam and Eve story, the video projections help place that story in the context of Julian Assange and “information is dangerous.” In another section of the dance, we physically explore limitation based on the preparation to strike. With my arm raised prepared to hit you, my body is limited, and I’ve created some dance developed from that pretty simple physical exploration.

How did you get the idea for this performance? I’ve been thinking about security a lot over the last decade. Are we making the right choices in pursuing security? Is the government making the right choices for us? … Security is not an infinite good. It’s inherently limited. I think we make decisions in emergencies that might not be the best long-term decisions, and I think now, on the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, it’s an opportunity to remember. Security is critically important, and balance is important, too.

What challenges did you face in choreographing “Quis Custodiet”? The biggest challenge is finding the time. I started dancing in college and even though I danced professionally, that’s not how I earn my living now.

Where will it be performed? We’ll be at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D St. NW, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2.

– Emily Babay

Original Publication URL: http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/117898#.UGWx-hg1YiU

Q & A with Robert Bettmann: A look into Post 9/11 Security through Dance and Community

By Kelsey King, Pinkline Project

The Pink Line Project sat down with choreographer and artistic director of Bettmann Dances, Robert Bettmann, to discuss the intentions behind his current project Quis Custodiet and the interesting ways he involved the community in its formation. Join Bettmann for the premier of his yearlong exploration of security on September 2, 2011, and ask yourself – 10 years after 9/11 are we safe?

Pink Line Project (PLP): What is Quis Custodiet?

Robert Bettmann (RB): Quis is a dance project, the second project of my company, Bettmann Dances. Quis is a dance about security. Art can be fun to watch and abstract, and it can be fun to watch and narrative… in this case I’m creating little narrative arcs, and not all of the narratives occur in order. Some times you see a character at one point in time and then later you see them in something like a ‘flashback.’

PLP: What is the role of storytelling in your work?

RB: What’s fun about art, and dance, is that it’s not preachy, and hopefully doesn’t try to tell you what to think…. It’s fun, and entertaining. If you’ve got something to say, and you don’t want to tell people what to think, you find a way to tell stories. With Quis we’re telling several stories, including a story about Eve, and a story about Cain, related to the stories you may already know about those characters in the bible.

PLP: This project has been in the works for more than a year, what have you been up to in that time?

RB: Quis is a community exploration of security, culminating in a dance performance. We have not only been working to develop the dance, but have also been creating programs and conversations within the community to help us inform the dance and to generate a thoughtful consideration of the ideas behind the dance amongst the DC population. We have done this through a community blog and a series of dialogues with security related professionals.

PLP: What inspired you to involve the community so deeply in your project?

RB: If you have one smart person in the room you get some smart answers. You get two smart people in the room you get more smart answers. This project involves a lot of research, sourcing, reading, talking, because that’s what the project requires. I’m asking not only myself, but also everyone to help the company consider the topic of security. And from that research we’re creating a work of art.

PLP: What do you hope to achieve by involving the community in your project?

RB: I picked the topic of security because it means something to me, and I think I have something of value to say about it. Within the American Dream, there is a parallel promise of security. As one example: we have a safety net that includes food stamps, social security, etc. How low to the ground should that safety net be set? Through my work with DC Advocates for the Arts I’ve met some folks who serve the least safe in DC, and I’m fascinated by the disconnect between national security dialogue, and community security dialogue. They way we define and pursue security creates policy outcomes. Looking back on 9/11 from a decade away we’ve got a chance to not just put that tragedy behind us, but prepare a little better for the future.

PLP: Can we get any spoilers before the Quis Premiere? What should we expect on stage?

RB: We’ll start posting some videos on to the project site pretty soon. The project site — http://quis.bettmanndances.com — is fun even now. We’ve got resources for teachers, ways for people to submit their own stories, and lots of readings on security. I’d love for your readers to share their own thoughts on Security, or their own experience of 9.11. And of course: come see the show! The dance is very entertaining, and I’m incredibly grateful to be working with an immensely talented group of people.

Original Publication URL: http://pinklineproject.com/article/q-robert-bettmann-look-post-911-security-through-dance-and-community