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| Harkness Foundation for Dance | |
|---|---|
| Name | Harkness Foundation for Dance |
| Formation | 1964 |
| Founder | Rebekah Harkness |
| Type | Philanthropic foundation |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Dissolved | 1997 |
| Purpose | Support for modern dance, choreography, performance, preservation |
Harkness Foundation for Dance was a philanthropic organization established in 1964 by Rebekah Harkness to underwrite the creation, presentation, and preservation of modern and contemporary dance. The foundation provided grants, fellowships, touring support, and archival funding that influenced institutions and artists across New York City, the United States, and internationally, intersecting with major cultural organizations and companies during the late 20th century.
The foundation was launched in 1964 by philanthropist Rebekah Harkness following her patronage of companies such as the Harkness Ballet and collaborations with institutions including the New York City Ballet, Juilliard School, American Ballet Theatre, and Martha Graham's company. Early activities connected the foundation to venues and festivals like Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Theater for the New City, and the American Dance Festival, while engaging artists associated with Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey, José Limón, and Twyla Tharp. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the foundation’s grants interacted with organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Dance Theater Workshop, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Jacob's Pillow, and international festivals including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Avignon Festival. Administrative changes in the 1980s and fiscal shifts during the 1990s, amid conversations involving Gordon Walker, Charina Endowment Fund, and other trustees, preceded the foundation’s closure in 1997, when many assets and responsibilities were transferred to entities like the Baryshnikov Arts Center, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and regional presenters such as Spoleto Festival USA and Walker Art Center.
Grant programs supported choreography, performance tours, commissions, residency programs, and preservation projects, aligning with presenters such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Kennedy Center, Museum of Modern Art, Smithsonian Institution, and university departments at Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, and University of California, Los Angeles. Fellowship awards aided individual choreographers and dancers whose careers intersected with companies and artists including Paul Taylor Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Touring support enabled engagements at venues like Sadler's Wells Theatre, Teatro alla Scala, Sydney Opera House, and presenters such as Sundance Institute and National Theatre. Preservation grants funded collaborations with Library of Congress, the Dance Heritage Coalition, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and archives connected to artists including Isadora Duncan, Rudolf Laban, and Loie Fuller.
Recipients and collaborators encompassed a wide range of influential figures and ensembles: choreographers Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey, Twyla Tharp, Pina Bausch, Mark Morris, Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Joe Goode, Yvonne Rainer, Eleanor King, Murray Louis, José Limón, Paul Sanasardo, Jerome Robbins, Balanchine-associated artists, and companies such as New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Batsheva Dance Company, Joffrey Ballet, Harkness Ballet, MKM Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Pilobolus, Trisha Brown Company, Limón Dance Company, Battery Dance Company, Pilobolus Dance Theater, and numerous regional ensembles that performed at Jacob's Pillow and Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The foundation’s archival activities supported the transfer, cataloging, and digitization of choreography notations, performance videos, programs, and correspondence to repositories such as the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Library of Congress, the Dance Heritage Coalition, and university archives at University of California, Los Angeles, Harvard University, and Stanford University. Holdings included materials related to Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, José Limón, Alvin Ailey, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Rudolf Laban, Jerome Robbins, and photographic records by photographers linked to dance documentation like Martha Swope and Gjon Mili. These collections have been used in exhibitions at institutions such as Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Smithsonian Institution, and research initiatives at Dance Studies Association and Society of Dance History Scholars.
The foundation catalyzed choreographic innovation, enhanced touring infrastructure, and contributed to the preservation of 20th-century dance repertory, influencing cultural policy discussions involving the National Endowment for the Arts, arts presenters like Lincoln Center, and training institutions including Juilliard School and Bates College. Its legacy persists in archival access at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, continuing repertory of companies such as Paul Taylor Dance Company and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the careers of artists who received early support, including figures who later collaborated with Kennedy Center, Sadler's Wells Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and international presenters. The foundation’s model informed later philanthropic efforts by organizations like Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, and regional arts endowments, shaping practices in commissioning, touring support, and preservation across the performing arts landscape.
Category:Foundations based in the United States Category:Dance in the United States