February 9, 2021

Women in Dance, an arts organization founded by Assistant Teaching Professor Sandra Parks, has been approved for a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support 2021 Women in Dance Leadership Conference. 2021 Women in Dance Leadership Conference will take place from 10/21 – 10/23 in Chicago, IL, and the conference will focus on the theme of Gender Equality for Now and the Future Generations to continue advocating and promoting female leadership. Women in Dance’s project is among 1,073 projects across America totaling nearly $25 million that were selected during this first round of fiscal year 2021 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects funding category.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support this project from Women in Dance,” said Arts Endowment Acting Chairman Ann Eilers. “Women in Dance is among the arts organizations across the country that have demonstrated creativity, excellence, and resilience during this very challenging year.”

“Women in Dance has curated an effective, comprehensive, and safe way to address female leadership, entrepreneurialism, and empowerment through the Women in Dance Conference. The conference’s relevance and level of informative dialogue has and will help to shape leadership, effective advocacy, and recognition for women in dance and related creative industries. Additionally, the biannual meeting has birthed an extended networking between conferences, ratifying WID’s value for the global community.” By Renee Chatelain, President of the Board of Directors, Women in Dance.

2021 Women in Dance Leadership Conference – Gender Equalities for Now and the Future Generations will present speeches, workshops, and live performances by internationally renowned female leaders in dance as well as selected performances, dance on films screenings, scholarly paper presentations, and panel discussions from more than 250 submissions, representing 20 different countries.

For more information on projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Women in Dance L.L.C. was founded in 2013 by Sandra Parks, Assistant Teaching Professor and Program Director for Dance, to celebrate and promote female leadership in dance. Parks is also the director of the international Women in Dance Leadership Conference. The 2019 Women in Dance Leadership Conference was held in Philadelphia on Drexel University's campus.