For Immediate Release: July 25, 2008 Elaine Mariner, elaine.mariner@state.co.us, 303-892-3870 Deadline for 2009 Masterpieces of Colorado Dance Tour is Extended to August 22 Grant will fund a dance tour that celebrates Colorado’s unique cultural heritage.

DENVER (July 25, 2008) The 2009 Masterpieces of Colorado Request For Proposals (RFP) seeks applicants who can develop and implement a statewide dance tour that will acquaint Coloradoans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy. The deadline has been extended to August 22, 2008, to allow potential applicants additional time to develop their project ideas.

The proposed activity must be a tour of dance performances that are artistically, historically and culturally significant and in some way highlight and celebrate the extraordinary and rich evolution of dance and choreography as it relates to Colorado. Proposed programs may focus solely on a particular choreographer, style, tradition, or subject area relevant to our state or region. Examples may include but are not limited to:

• Recognize a dance tradition that is revered in the cultural fabric of our state.
• Recognize an American Master choreographer from Colorado or the Rocky Mountain West, who has significantly influenced the genre.
• Recognize choreography or dance works that illuminate a cultural, historical, or artistic era that has significance to Colorado or the Rocky Mountain West.

Commissions for new works are not eligible. The tour must be accompanied by related educational and interpretive components.

The Colorado Council on the Arts will award one grant in the amount of $50,000 to $55,000. The grant requires a one-to-one match, 50% of which must be in cash.

To read the complete Request For Proposal and apply for funding, go to the Council’s web site at www.coloarts.org. A list of Questions & Answers to assist potential applicants in deciding whether to apply is also posted on the site.

The mission of the Colorado Council on the Arts is to promote the cultural, educational and economic growth of Colorado through development of its arts and cultural heritage. Funding is provided through an annual appropriation from the state’s Gaming Fund and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

###