About Us

The mission of Philadelphia Dance Projects is to support contemporary dance through Projects that encourage artists and audiences to more fully participate and engage in the experience and pursuit of dance as an evolving form.

PDP achieves its mission by presenting stimulating performances, workshops/classes, and forums for artists, aspiring artists, students and a broad-based audience. It keeps its eyes open to see current trends in content and style, as well as appreciate the depth of work being created today which plumbs dance precursors’ traditions. In this, both process and its outcome are important.

History

Board Members

Terry Fox

PDP Executive Director
Terry Fox is the former Artistic /Managing Director of the Danspace Project at St. Mark’s In-the-Bowery, NYC (84 thru 89) and the founder of Dance With The 
Bride series at the Painted Bride Arts Center, Philadelphia. She is on the Faculty, MA in Arts Administration Program at Rowan University, Dept of Theater & Dance. She has been involved in the dance field for many years as artist, curator/presenter, administrator, consultant, educator, panelist and advocate.

Jeff Cain

PDP Chairperson

Christopher Deephouse

Treasurer

Tommie-Waheed Evans, Curt Haworth, Alexis Pappas, Paige Phillips, Jonathan Stein


Members Emerita: Joan Myers Brown

Contracted for PDP

Publicist Deborah Fleischman, Fleischman Gerber & Associates

PDP History

See Our Chronology

From its inception in 1993, Philadelphia Dance Projects (PDP) has engaged stellar dance artists many of whom were enlarging the modern and postmodern vocabularies with personal and or cultural explorations in both technique and content.   

 

Under the aegis of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 1993-96 the Projects included local, national and international guests in creative residencies and performances. When The Pillow concluded its aegis, Terry Fox, then PDP Coordinator, and Joan Myers Brown Executive Director of Philadanco, a renowned repertory company in the original PDP, decided to keep what was the most valuable of the Projects for the dance community at that time.  PDP, as an independent organization, was set in motion to provide creative and learning opportunities that most often involved artist to artist interaction. These activities included workshops and classes, commissioning work and providing low cost rehearsal space along with several presentations including a photographic exhibition, film series, forums and performances.  PDP incorporated in 1999.

 

In 2008 PDP initiated a pilot series of “Informances” (artist/audience conversations with live performance and video presentations) which paved the way for a more fully produced presenting series, PDP Presents, DANCE UP CLOSE launched in 2009.  From 2009 to 2015 PDP Presents successfully produced an annual series, DANCE UP CLOSE, that highlighted local dance artists on the same program roster as their national and international peers.  The series grew in attendance and garnered positive acclaim from both press and audience.  Other PDP presenting programs, SCUBA National Touring Network for Dance, Motion Pictures and workshops and classes, and Informances were incorporated into DANCE UP CLOSE to provide a full and rich program offering.  PDP’s series was unique in its dedication to Philadelphia dance artists by providing production, learning and touring opportunities.  DANCE UP CLOSE re-started in 2020.

 

Artists presented over the years have included; Leah Stein Dance Co., Nichole Canuso, Jennifer Monson, Bebe Miller, John Scott Dance, Douglas Dunn, Deborah Hay, Miguel Guiterriez, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Nora Gibson, Lisa Kraus with Eva Karczag and Vicky Shick, Subcircle, Shinichi Iova-Koga, Carmella Vassor-Johnson, Headlong Dance Theater, Christopher Williams, Chris Yon, Tania Isaac, Gabrielle Revlock and Jumatatu Poe among many others.

As corollary to presenting, PDP maintains educational Projects each year. Through DanceTAG (Teaching Artists Group) a collegial gathering of teaching artists can share movement ideas, information, discussion, and networking. Artists at all stages of their teaching participate in these free sessions, which tend to be very inspiring and relevant for artistic inquiry as well as teaching.  Since 2002 PDP has placed a substantive dance artist residency in a Philadelphia public high school.

Through support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding PDP has participated with DanceUP and now managing the BILATERAL: Budapest/Philadelphia Dance Artist Exchange. In alternate years the cities host two dance artists in a three week creative and cultural residency in partnership with the Műhely Alapítvány/Workshop Foundation.

In addition PDP has developed two artists history initiatives; the Local Dance History Project  and the Old City Arts History Project with the intent to reveal the impact of dance artists in contributing to culture and urban development. Archiving this history is in progress in partnership with the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries.   PDP has created a digital archive of 11 Philadelphia artists circa 1980’s and created an archival website, OldCityArtsHistory.com.

Dance artists are engaged in a “time sensitive” transitory art form that merits support and response in the present.   The sampling of Projects highlighted here from PDP’s history illustrate a responsiveness to community and a dedication to consider the value of dance in our society, with an emphasis on contemporary exploration. PDP’s programs serve artists, audiences, and students in various locales throughout the city. The projects greatly enhance the capacity of dancemaking, and the presence of dance in Philadelphia, thus fulfilling our mission