In 2010, as part of its policy to promote the dance heritage and facilitate research, the Centre National de la Danse set up a grant programme called Aide à la Recherche et au Patrimoine en Danse.
Calls for projects 2025
— Applications open: 4.11.2024
— Online registration closes: 11.02.2025
— Meeting of the selection committee: April 15 & 16, 2025
Useful documents to help you prepare your application
— Template for the online form
Prepare your application
— Budgeting template
pdf file / excel file
— Previous calls
Summaries of the projects which received a grant; Results for previous grant programs
Research funding Section
Aims
The purpose of this program is to support the design, development and dissemination of dance resources developed by dance professionals. Its primary mission is to create tools in the field of dance (choreographic composition, movement analysis, …), and more broadly in the field of body and movement, that can serve the artistic community in its evolution, and the general public for its information.
This grant must allow the exploration of the constituent elements of dance, to experiment with new choreographic writing tools, or to constitute the choreographic heritage and to keep the repertoire alive, independently from any immediate objective in terms of the production or the creation of a show.
The project may be in the fields of research (fundamental research on the body and movement, applied research on the development of a choreographic language, etc.), heritage (notation of choreographic works, constitution of other resources, etc.) or pedagogy (transmission of dance knowledge, etc.).
This grant must encourage the broadening of the field of research, both in terms of the subjects considered and the methodologies deployed. In the field of heritage, it must focus on the conservation and documentation of works from the French and foreign choreographic repertoire, in order to eventually build up a collection of choreographic scores as a reference, in particular to facilitate their reconstruction for the stage.
All dance aesthetics are concerned: baroque dance, classical dance, contemporary dance, urban dance(s), jazz dance, world dance(s), traditional dance(s)...
The grant for research and heritage in dance is attributed to one or more identified project leaders: choreographer(s), dancer(s), researcher(s), author(s), movement notator(s), dance teacher(s), specialist(s) in functional analysis of the body in danced movement or in somatic techniques. In the case of a project that is co-directed by several applicants, they must indicate the percentage of funding to be allocated to each applicant (see required documents, letter of allocation). Only one person will be designated as project leader, and they will liaise with the CND throughout the application process.
Eligibility criteria
The project must fulfil all of the following eligibility criteria:
a. project developer(s)
1. Must be a choreographer, dancer, researcher, author, movement notator, dance teacher holding a certificate of aptitude, specialist in functional analysis of the body in dance movement or in somatic techniques..., with recognized professional experience in these fields;
2. Must be a European citizen or reside in Europe.
N.B. Persons enrolled in university or other curricula are not eligible for support for projects corresponding to the subject of their dissertation, thesis or graduating project.
b. description of the project for which financial assistance is requested
3. statement of a clear research or notation approach, with strong arguments and references (rationale and research protocol, state of the art of the work carried out on the subject, description of the work, resources used, phasing of the project, updated point of the work carried out on the subject in question);
4. singularity of the scope, of the research methodology, why is that work necessary,…
5. construction of the work in partnership with a research or publishing team. For collective projects, please provide details on the role of each project developer.
6. completion outside of any direct process of creation or production of a performance.
c.usefulness of the project
7. list existing relevant institutional or private partners, putting their skills and professional resources at the service of the project (university, research laboratory, etc.) or a group made up of associated artists or researchers, dance or ballet companies, schools and training centers, etc;
8. develop a synthesis and a resource for the artistic community and/or the public;
9. relevance of the support for the resource created for the project (publication and various communications, DVD, computer software, score, Web site, printed or audiovisual edition, etc.)
10. access and dissemination of the resource (distribution methods chosen: specialized or public library, etc.), conditions of royalty-free dissemination for the CN D (media library, portal, etc.).
d. project finances
11. provisional budget and timetable of the project consistent with the project;
12. List all other expected financial contributions outside of this grant program (including contributions in kind or in industry from private partners, local authorities, etc.).
N.B. Projects for which the request for CN D financial assistance is equivalent to the entire projected budget are not eligible.
For projects involving works by choreographers whose company receives government support, a financial contribution from the company is an element of appreciation in the examination of the application. This contribution is imperative for the works of a choreographer who is the director of a National Choreographic Center and its level in relation to the total budget of the notation project is a criterion in the examination of the request.
Terms and conditions for the award of the grant
The Dance Research and Heritage Assistance Program is implemented by CN D, which disburses the grant after the validation of the commission’s minutes and once all the administrative documents signed by the beneficiaries (RIB, letter of agreement) have been received.
Grants may be awarded to :
- one or more individuals (paid to the grant recipient or to each of the co-developers on their personal bank account) a legal entity (structure). For each project, only one relay structure must commit itself by detailing the redistribution of the grant to the (co)promoter(s), after deduction of any costs (VAT and administrative costs) and/or any social charges (see required documents, administrative documents and letter of commitment).
Selection committee
Under the chairmanship of the CN D Executive Director (or her representative), the volunteer selection committee consists of
Voting members
— The Executive Director of the National Dance Centre ;
— The dance delegate of the General Directorate for Artistic Creation (DGCA) of the Ministry of Culture, or their representative
— An advisor in charge of dance in a regional directorate of cultural affairs (DRAC);
— Between 6 and 9 personalities from the world of choreography, research or heritage in dance.
Expert, non-voting member
— The coordinator of the dance college of the DGCA's inspection and evaluation department, or their representative.
In the event of a tie, the president of the commission has the casting vote. The choreographic personalities are appointed for three years by the CN D and are renewable annually by thirds.
The selection committee meets and reviews the proposed projects, ensures that they meet the eligibility criteria, and selects the projects in order of priority within the limits of the funds available for this assistance program. The CN D Executive Director awards the grants and makes the payments. The CN D informs all the applicants of the decision to award grants. CN D makes use of the resources created by its missions and departments.
Progress report
Recipients of the grant agree to:
— Produce a summary of the project's challenges and the resource. This summary will be published on the CN D website. It should be sent to the Research and Choreographic Repertories Department by December 15, N+1 (for projects selected in 2025: summaries due by December 15, 2026 at the latest);
— present their research and/ or their score publicly and freely during the presentation days of the selected projects. These days take place in January/February, one and a half years after the commission (for projects selected in 2025: presentations in January/February 2027).
— Submit the resource produced following the presentation days to CN D.
Funding for a project is not renewable for an identical project. Any applicant who has been awarded a grant may, in subsequent years, apply for a new grant for a different project (provided that the resource for the previous project has been returned).
Any project submitted for the second time but which has not undergone any substantial modification in its content and which has been unanimously rejected by the committee, will not be examined a second time.
Form to be completed and documents to be uploaded to validate the online registration
Applications must be submitted and filled out online.
The Dance Research and Heritage Grant application includes:
a. An online form to fill out, featuring:
— information on the project leaders: last name, first name, address and contact information (telephone numbers, e-mail, website address if applicable);
— the detailed outline of the project: field, scope and research protocol or description of the work noted, resources used, phasing;
— information on the project's partners: list, description of the role and brief curriculum vitae or biographical note of the members of the project team (choreographer, dance company or ballet, researcher, editor, notator, dancers...)
— a timeline for the completion of the project's various stages;
— the project's output: a description of the resource produced at the end of the project, its recipients, its medium, and its planned modes of accessibility for dissemination.
We advise you to prepare the application in advance using the attached pdf template.
Prepare your 2025 application file
b. Mandatory documents to be uploaded
— copy of an official ID of the project leader (if applicable, of each co-leader) ;
— curriculum vitae or biographical note (if applicable, of each co-sponsor) specifying the previous research carried out, or the choreographies created, or the system of movement notation used and the choreographic works previously noted and/or reconstructed;
In the case of a collective project, please attach:
— a certificate of distribution of the percentage of the grant duly signed by each co-sponsor, and indicating their name and address (one letter only).
— A projected budget for the project, including the amount of Dance Research and Heritage Funding requested and specifying other financial contributions. It is advisable to use the proposed budget template. The steps taken to seek additional funding must be specified by indicating "application in progress" / "obtained" in the budget.
Matrix : pdf file / excel file ;
In the case of payment of the grant to an individual or individuals, please attach:
— a bank statement from the project sponsor (and, where applicable, from each co-sponsor).
In the case of a grant to a legal entity, please attach :
— all administrative documents identifying the structure; in the case of an association, a copy of the publication in the Journal officiel or the receipt of declaration at the Prefecture, and RNA and SIRET numbers; in the case of a company, an extract of the Kbis ;
— a bank statement of the structure;
— a letter from the organization, signed by the legal representative, committing to distribute the aid to the project leader(s), in proportion to the distribution chosen by them, after deduction of any costs (VAT and administrative costs) and/or any social charges, to be specified in the letter.
— if applicable, a copy of the agreements between the different partners of the project; or include letters attesting to the partners’ interest in joining the project.
— For notation projects: a letter of agreement from the choreographer, or their beneficiaries, agreeing to the notation of his or her work and the deposit of the score in the CN D media library;
Any element (files, articles, etc.) deemed useful for the assessment of the project by the selection committee, may also be uploaded.
Please attach any document that will help to assess the feasibility of the project, such as letters of interest or commitment from institutional partners or prospective collaborators, letters of authorization to access archives, letters of intent from prospective publishers, letters of availability of premises, letters justifying financial contributions, etc. These elements can also be sent directly to the dedicated email address (aide-recherche-patrimoine@cnd.fr).
Please send any letter of refusal or confirmation of these grants to CN D before the committee meeting.
Application form
Link to the online application form
The application form will be accessible from November 4, 2024.
The creation of an application file generates an identification code sent by e-mail.
This code allows you to access the application at any time to complete or modify it until it is validated. All the documents to be provided must be uploaded.
The application will not be validated if any of the documents mentioned as "mandatory" are missing.
Closing date for online registration: 11.02.2025