Our Projects
Philadelphia Dance Projects
Philadelphia Dance Projects supports 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, informances, workshops/classes, and film/video, screenings – for artists, aspiring artists, students and a broad-based audience. PDP also appreciates the depth of work being created today which plumbs dance precursors’ traditions.
BILATERAL and TRILATERAL Exchanges
TRILATERAL Dance Artists Exchange (formerly the BILATERAL: Budapest/Philadelphia Dance Artists Exchange) is a new model for dance artists to explore dance and other cultural resources, as research for their own creative work and professional growth. Since 2012 the BILATERAL offered two artists from each city a 3 week residency in alternate years. In the 2023-24 TRILATERAL Exchange, one artist from each city – Budapest Philadelphia and Sofia, Bulgaria – are together in each city for a 10 day residency. They continue to communicate virtually between residencies throughout the year. All the artists receive housing, per diem and a small stipend. Roundtrip airfare is provided.
The Exchange is artist centered, but the intent is to reveal some of the experience of dance artists in the three cities as well as build connections between artistic communities. The organizational partners are Philadelphia Dance Projects, BodyMeld and Műhely Alapítvány / Workshop Foundation. It is made possible with support from the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
Education Projects
For over 10 years PDP maintained two educational projects; a Guest Dance Artist in a public school and DanceTAG for Dance Teaching Artists. Postponed due to Global Pandemic these Projects may be continued in the future, if resources become available.
Old City Arts History Project
Old City Arts History Project looks at a neighborhood in Philadelphia that was crucial to an emerging generation of artists where they created a center for cross-disciplinary arts activities, epitomized by a collection of watershed public events that took place from 1975 through 1980.
With a Discovery Grant from The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage in 2018, Philadelphia Dance Projects began to research the legacy and history of artists and their activities, who were living and working in Old City circa 1975-1980.
Local Dance History Project
Through the Local Dance History Project, PDP has created an opportunity to share and preserve a history largely undocumented at present. The Local Dance History Project is designed to be a resource of a cultural/dance history stemming from the work of independent dancers in Philadelphia beginning circa 1975-85, but with the potential to move forward and backward in time adding the many artists who have contributed to the transformations in Philadelphia dance in recent history.
The LDHP was developed with support from the William Penn Foundation, the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the Dolfinger McMahon Foundation, the PA Humanities Council, and many more individual participants and donors.
PDP Presents
In 2009 Philadelphia Dance Projects launched PDP Presents DANCE UP CLOSE a presenting series featuring dance performances, workshops, and “Informances” by individual dance artists and companies. PDP Presents provided an adventuresome series in contemporary dance within a broader local and global context through 2014.
From 2015-2018 PDP there were special presentations under PDP Presents, and in 2020 we re-launched PDP Presents DANCE UP CLOSE with a Mid-Winter/Mid-Week Dance Series.