DDP Talks To Diane Coburn Bruning – Founder of Chamber Dance Project
DDP: You founded the Chamber Dance Project in 2000 to employ dancers during common layoff periods. Do you think, since then, that the dance industry’s needs for this have shifted?
Diane Coburn Bruning: “I believe the need for more employment for dancers has remained steady. Contracts with ballet companies in the second tier do not seem to have lengthened. However, there are more fantastic and established ballet companies across the country than in 2000, so there are likely more professional ballet dancers employed. That is a great thing!”
DDP: Your second stated objective was to emphasize new works performed in intimate spaces to live music. Do you think this need has evolved?:
Diane Coburn Bruning: “There is much more support for new work in general in the U.S. today—many ballet companies were still heavily reliant on wonderful Balanchine restagings back then, but doing so took a slot that might have been given to a living choreographer. This has shifted. There are many more new commissions and restagings. The caveat is that there are no longer National Endowment for the Arts fellowships for choreographers (or any individual artists), as those ended in 1996. Those grants were important beyond the financial support. The imprimatur of receiving a two-year NEA fellowship was huge. And the NYFA fellowship has only increased by $500 since the time I received these grants over 25 years ago. So yes, the need to support talented and powerful voices in choreography in this country has actually increased.”
DDP: You’re leaving an incredible legacy following over two decades with Chamber Dance project. What accomplishments leave you most proud?
Diane Coburn Bruning: “After over twenty years of focusing on my own work as a freelance choreographer—work that took me all over the country and abroad and framed my perspective—I decided to focus on what I could give back to the profession and to other artists in the art form. I love that the Chamber Dance Project is comprised of my values and beliefs, but also reflects the collaborations I wanted to foster. I am most proud of the opportunities given to artists and audiences, and my realized commitment to live music. From the beginning, I have committed to supporting work by artists of our time. This included a home to my own work within the repertoire. My conviction is that dance should be a collaboration between dancers and musicians (or poets or other artists). That performances in smaller venues heighten the experience, and sharing the creative process with audiences deepens their experience. I believe we have made a meaningful contribution to the profession and to the artistic lives of many performers and creators through our support of artists and through our commitment to dance as a living collaboration among musicians, designers, and other creative voices.”
DDP: How does modeling leadership in the organization create opportunity?
Diane Coburn Bruning: “I try to lead boldly and collaboratively. I embrace a modicum of risk, and though there have been naysavers in advance of some commissions I set out—with slam poets, a street brass band, Gregorian Chant—this risk has been rewarded. I am not dissuaded when I believe in something or someone. It is my vision we are serving, and I make the final decisions, but those decisions are informed by artists and staff. It has been tremendously rewarding to give opportunities, but then to see people grow in their own work, whatever that may be, is the most rewarding. I value our artists and our staff. I believe we have created opportunities for dancers, musicians, designers, and administrators to grow, take risks, and develop lasting professional relationships.”
People's Summit, Photo by Midia Ninja