Mark DeGarmo Dance To Receive $25,000 Grant From The National Endowment For The Arts

National Endowment for the Arts Acting Chairman Mary Anne Carter has approved more than $80 million in grants as part of the Arts Endowment's second major funding announcement for fiscal year 2019. Included in this announcement is an Art Works grant of $25,000 to Mark DeGarmo Dance for its Partnerships in Literacy through Dance and Creativity program. Art Works is the Arts Endowment's principal grantmaking program. The agency received 1,592 Art Works applications for this round of grantmaking, and will award 977 grants in this category.

"These awards, reaching every corner of the United States, are a testament to the artistic richness and diversity in our country," said Mary Anne Carter, acting chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. "Organizations such as Mark DeGarmo Dance are giving people in their community the opportunity to learn, create, and be inspired."

Partnerships in Literacy through Dance and Creativity© is MDD's "evidence-based" seven-year interdisciplinary program that empowers elementary students to use dance, movement and creative writing as lifelong tools to fulfill their highest potential.

For more information on this program, visit www.markdegarmodance.org/education/

About Mark DeGarmo Dance

Mark DeGarmo Dance (MDD) is a leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates underserved New York City communities and children; creates, performs and disseminates original artistic and scholarly work; and promotes intercultural community through dance arts. Founded in 1987 by dancer and scholar Mark DeGarmo, MDD provides high quality, interdisciplinary arts programming for New York City public elementary school students who live in economically challenged and disenfranchised communities. New York press and audiences have heralded MDD's dance-theater works as "brilliant" and "risk-taking" and DeGarmo as "a gladiator in various arenas." Hailed as a national model by the National Endowment for the Arts, MDD was recognized by President Barack Obama for its commitment to New York City communities and the nation.

About Mark DeGarmo

Founder, Executive and Artistic Director Mark DeGarmo, Ph.D. is an award-winning, internationally recognized choreographer, performer, and educator with a passion for intercultural community-building. Over the past 30 years, DeGarmo has produced more than 100 dances and 30 international tours promoting cultural diplomacy and exchange in 12 countries across Latin America, Europe and Russia.

For more information on this National Endowment for the Arts grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.