Dancing Earth Creations (2017 ITP Grant Partner) is so pleased to announce that our Founding Director and Choreographer, Rulan Tangen, has been selected for the Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow Recognition Award! While this information will not be released publicly by Kennedy Center until mid-April. We wanted to let you know how proud we are of our hardworking director, who says “this is an award that recognized the power of “WE” - anyone who has supported, encouraged, participated in our powerful movement for movement building, for indigenous embodied knowledge as central to ethical socio-cultural-environmental shift, can celebrate our victory of being seen, heard, recognized!
 
The Kennedy Center, a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, honors our 35th President everyday by uplifting ideals from his legacy (service, justice, freedom, courage, and gratitude) that live through the arts. As part of this celebration of legacy, the Kennedy Center launched the "Citizen Artist Fellow Recognition" in 2016, which recognizes emerging artists across the country who utilize their art form for positive impact on communities.
 
The recognized Citizen Artists Fellows will be mentored by Yo-Yo Ma, Kennedy Center Artistic Advisor at Large, among other Kennedy Center artistic partners. Additionally, they will receive national attention for their impact in their local communities and opportunities to showcase their voice and work on stage, through exhibition, and at national conferences.
 
Rulan takes this moment to reflect with gratitude of her forthcoming visions, as well as her legacy as an artist, including:
    •    Dancing Earth’s major eco production SEEDS RE GENERATION (selected for support by National Dance Project) awaiting touring
    •    Project GROUNDWORKS: THE RE STORY-ING (supported by MAP FUND and California Arts Council Local Impact grant) begins with cultural research and community engagement in Northern California. This is the foundation for a new work on renewable energy from cultural, spiritual, practical perspectives
    •    New Dancing Earth documentary made by Larry Blackhorse Lowe, award-winning Navajo filmmaker
    •    Media and tech design collaboration Ian Garrett ( et via the Center for Sustainable Practices in the Arts) for an entirely off-grid production design
    •    She is prepping for her next Our Summer Institute which began in 2012 in response to overwhelming requests for training from Indigenous artists/culture carriers across the globe, many of whom we had met on while touring, that was respectful and inclusive of their Indigenous heritage. Currently, there is no inter-tribal, inter-cultural Indigenous dance training within the United States outside of Dancing Earth’s trainings and workshops.  All these projects seek advocates, collegial recommendations, support, and in kind partnership so we hope this award will bring attention to the actual import work we are doing, and strengthen and expand relationships and resources for this work to be experienced out in the world!
    •    And, Dancing Earth’s legacy is sustained by year round dance training for youth in New Mexico and in Bay Area, as well as the important Summer Institute which provides much-needed training for Indigenous Artists, equipping them with professional development to empower their communities. Please feel free to visit our website to make a donation or learn more about  our Summer Institute. We will soon be introducing you to our 2018 Summer Cultural Artist Ambassadors, who will be joining us from First Nations across the United States, Canada, Haiti, New Zealand, Samoa, Australia--- and with many more on the waiting list to attend!
 
Rulan is honored for the recognition that this award brings to her whole circle, and grateful to continue to explore innovative ways that arts can provide purposeful service to Indigenous peoples, lands, and waters . Rooted in decades of lived cultural research and professional dance/choreography experience, Rulan can provide the Kennedy Center with cultural guidance to better host Native communities as well as leverage support for more equitable resources for artists.
 
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