The dance program at Northwest Vista College has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces: Dance initiative administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts with Dance/USA. Northwest Vista College is the only community college in Texas, and one of only two in the nation, to receive such a gift.

The grant check was officially presented to the college on Thursday, November 29, 2007, by U.S. Congressman Charles A. Gonzalez who said, “This recognition is very special. There is tremendous competition for every dollar these days and getting $10,000 is a lot of money, especially because for the longest time, we’ve had to endure cuts for NEA funding.” He went on to say that he himself has always enjoyed dance because “it gives culture wonderful richness.”

The event was broadcast on WOAI TV News, during the 6:00 p.m. newscast. Receiving the grant were: assistant professor and dance program coordinator, Jayne King, and her students, as well as Northwest Vista College President Dr. Jackie Claunch.

The grant is for a project that will be launched next semester to help Northwest Vista College students reconstruct an American Masterpiece, Frida by Anna Sokolow, which is the last piece she choreographed prior to her death.

"It is interesting to note that the piece has never before been performed in Mexico, yet it was inspired by Anna Sokolow's time spent in Mexico City in the 1930s," says Jayne King. "The funding for this project will provide a rich cultural exchange for Northwest Visa College students to perform the piece in San Antonio and Mexico City." NVC students, who will travel to Mexico and partner with students from La Escuela Nacional de Danza Clasica y Contemporanea in Mexico City, will also visit the museum of Frida Kahlo and the Palacio Nacional de Bellas Artes, where Sokolow’s original company first performed in Mexico City.

In preparation for the performances, Northwest Vista College students will receive dance instruction from a renowned professional dance artist and Fulbright scholar, Jim May, who is the artistic direcctor of Sokolow Theatre Dance in New York. He worked directly with Anna Sokolow as one of the original cast members of Frida. He will conduct a three-week residency with Northwest Vista College during Maymester 2008. The College has also partnered with the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, where some of the performances will be conducted.

"This is about enriching the lives of students," said Congressman Gonzalez. "The beauty is that the National Endowment for the Arts is recognizing it and bringing it to our community."