TITAS gets $250K from Duke

By Caroline Crocker

TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND is the only Texas organization to receive a 2021/2022 Performance Forward Fund grant from the esteemed Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF). The announcement was made this past week. This generous support will help TITAS continue its efforts to continue to bring the world’s best touring dance artists to North Texas within restrictions and guidelines brought about by the pandemic. TITAS has focused on finding ways to work and present during this pandemic. The organization is grateful for the opportunity to use this generous support to pivot toward the future and to continue to provide the opportunities for audiences to experience great art from across the globe, to get inspired and to experience the healing power of art. 

“The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is grateful to provide this responsive, flexible funding to TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND and other performing arts nonprofits through our Performance Forward Fund, with trust in their leadership to address their most critical opportunities as they navigate this moment and build toward the future,” said Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts at the DDCF. “Despite the unprecedented disruption, these organizations have continued to prioritize supporting artists and have come up with innovative ways to bring artistic work to audiences and the communities they serve.” TITAS is among the arts leaders in North Texas finding ways to continue to present great performing artists and to keep culture at the heart of our society. 

DDCF is awarding up to $250,000 each to contemporary dance, jazz and theater organizations nationwide to accelerate their ability to pivot from business as usual to executing new and promising ideas. Recipients have been identified for evidence of a track record of equity-focused values and practices, visible connections and relevance within their communities, strong leadership and innovative digital experimentation. 

“We are thrilled and extremely grateful to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for its faith in and support of the work we do,” said Charles Santos, artistic director and executive director of TITAS/DANCE UNBOUND. “As an international dance presenter, this generous Performance Forward Grant is especially affirming. Not only does it validate TITAS, one of only a handful of dance presenters in the country, but also the important role dance and the performing arts play in our global community and in our lives.” 

The mission of the DDCF is to improve the quality of people’s lives through grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being, and through preservation of the cultural and environmental legacy of Duke’s properties. For more information, visit ddcf.org.