This Weekend:
NIMBUS PRESENTS: SOURCE OF STRENGTH
JUNE 3-4, SALVATORE CAPEZIO THEATER, NYC

Dates:
Saturday, June 3, 8pm
Sunday, June 4, 5pm

Tickets: www.nimbusdanceworks.org
$35 - Premium
$25 - General
$15 - Dancer/Student

Venue: Salvatore Capezio Theater at Peridance, 126 East 13th Street, NYC

"Best Performances of 2016"
- Juan Michael Porter, Huffington Post

"Nimbus Dance Works helps define the American experience"
- Robert Johnson, Star-Ledger

In a world stretched thin, let us dig deep to our sources of strength.

Nimbus Dance Works presents Source of Strength, featuring Charles Moulton's renowned masterwork 18-Person All-Star Ball Passing Redux, Darshan Singh Bhuller's acclaimed Mapping, and Samuel Pott's Patch of Turf, plus: preview of new sections from Pott's Esther, in collaboration with Brooklyn indie-rock band Sky Pony, followed by artist talkback.

With Performers:
Samantha Barriento ? Shay Bland ? Maurice Dowell ? Tracy Dunbar ? Rony Lenis ? Robert Lewis ? Maeve McEwen ? Chloe Slade ? Hannah Weeks ? Alice Bacani ? Malcolm Jones ? Desiree Lovett ? Brooke Naylor ? Kaitlyn Nguyen ? Stephanie Beauchamp ? Sommer Gomez ? Lucy Reider ? Quincy Willingham

Quote:

If comparisons with New York City are tiresome for you - how about smaller New Jersey cities like New Brunswick who has recently announced a $215million arts center to be built in their Downtown area? - CLICK HERE FOR INFO. New Brunswick is a municipality with a $92million municipal budget (compared to Jersey City's $572million budget) - yet they are able to leverage city, county, state and other funding and partnerships to take on major capital projects for the arts.

Obviously the issues are deeper than asking city government to bankroll the arts - but where is the will to address the lack of arts funding in Jersey City?

I can vouch that in my interactions with Candice Osborne - which have been regular over the last year and involving relatively complex policy questions - she has been invariably accessible, honest, and solution-oriented.

- Samuel Pott

Tonight's the Night! Jersey City's White Eagle Reopens with performance by Nimbus Dance Works, presented by Jersey City Theater Center!

Friday 4/7 7:30pm

www.jctcenter.org" rel="noopener external" title="">Tickets: www.jctcenter.org

Is there anymore insight into this JCBOE appointment? The perception of power brokering/nepotism does not give confidence without clearer insight into the process.

I agree that there should be more transparency to the process for selecting JCBOE members who oversee a budget of over $660 million annually.

Does anyone have info about the new appointee - Amy Degise?

[quote]
DanL wrote:

why do we come up so short in the state funding?

is it the christie administration (the essex county executive has endorsed and supported him?)

has union city, because of the mayors support of the governor faired better than JC?

are JC elected officials failing us at the state level (and those pulling their strings?)

the jersey city administration should be concerned and working on getting our fair share.



[quote]

I wish it was so easy as to blame the governor. While I am sure there is increased advocacy that our representatives could be doing at the state level - for example, low funding to South Jersey was addressed several years back when the NJ Arts Council was required to direct 20% of their funding to counties in South NJ. Why not advocate for more funding to Hudson County - these are our tax dollars after all.

But the real issue is that there are almost no arts organizations in Jersey City who are big enough - and organized enough - to put together quality applications to the council for funding. The barrier for entry is high as it includes providing audited financial statements, a strategic plan, and competitive programs and materials.

Once funded, the amount is proportional to the size of the organization - so NJPAC (with a budget of $44 million) receives a huge grant while small Jersey City groups get very little. The system maintains the status quo by rewarding large established groups and makes it very difficult for new blood to break in.

Locally we have failed to build an environment where arts can grow and survive. Our local government, corporations based here, and local residents (especially those with means), largely do not support Jersey City arts organizations. The JCBOE spends dollars elsewhere for arts programming for the district. The few high profile arts events emphasize amateur artists. Lack of decent performance and exhbition space has diminished the quality and perception of local arts. Ultimately, professional arts organizations have not been able to get a foothold.

The NJ State Arts Council announced funding today for their new fiscal year at the annual meeting at the State House in Trenton. What was already an very disproportionately small amount of grants to Hudson County arts organizations in last year's allocations remained abysmally small. Hudson County arts non-profits received a total of $149K - compared to Essex County at over $5.5million - and Mercer and Middlesex got over $1million each. That's $.26/person in Hudson County compared to almost $7/person in Essex. And if every arts council dollar spent generates $8 in the local economy... Do the math.

At least we got a few thousand more than Gloucester County...

Maybe if Jersey City took a hard look at what government policies and civic climate is needed to build a truly sustainable arts sector - rather then get distracted by mundane monopoly murals or other art endevours high on publicity but low on professionalism, we might begin to move towards the notion we have of Jersey City as an artistic, cultural community.

If the NJ Arts Council's grant funding is one indication of where excellence in the arts is happening in NJ, and which regions of our state are investing and building an environment for arts to grow, then Hudson County is far, far behind.

Samuel Pott
Artistic Director
Nimbus Dance Works

As a matter of fact: Yes!

Nimbus Dance Works is opening our new studio space at 209 3rd Street between Erie and Manila. Starts start on April 21 including evening and weekend adult classes. Check out our schedule on our website at www.nimbusdanceworks.org.

Hope to see you there!

Quote:

I agree with your sentiment, Oneskirt, but I believe your proposal is also problematic. As a large capacity theater, Loew's does share similarities with established theaters such as BAM or NJPAC (not SOPAC which is something like 400 seats). However, in terms of viability for non-commercial performance, there are important differences that would be not be easy to address.

First: building funding sources to carry to the ongoing operating costs - productions at BAM and NJPAC are highly subsidized mostly by an extraordinarily large number of high level donors - mostly individuals, along with some business and much smaller percentage of government. This funding structure has been developed over decades for BAM and BAM is able to pull from a vastly more wealthy target audience in New York City. For NJPAC, this theater was developed in a kind of singular master plan of urban development and focused arts funding. Is that possible to recreate in Jersey City? Possibly, but don't underestimate the vision and ability of NJPAC's founding CEO Larry Goldman to bring people and funders together and guide that organization. Also let's bring attention to the vast discrepancy in New Jersey State Arts Council funding between Essex County, over $5million, and Hudson County, approximately, $150,000.

Yet another consideration is that a venue like BAM exists in one of the world centers of culture and wealth - the density of arts lovers who can afford a ticket is a major part of BAM's success. Though that exists to a certain extent in Jersey City and the region, Loew's would face hurdles in drawing audiences who have many other arts venues to choose from and who may have negative connotations with Jersey City. NJPAC runs into this difficulty when drawing audiences to even their most celebrated and well-known performers such as Alvin Ailey, Joshua Bell and others.

I truly don't mean to be a wet blanket about this new venture and would love to see Loew's flourish as a premiere arts venue. But I also think it is important to be a realist, take a cold hard look at the reality of non-profit theater management, and stop using blanket terms like "support for the arts" when there is large difference between a non-profit theater like BAM and a venue such as those that Live Nation books like NY's Paramount Theater, or MSG. No value judgement but not the same animal. I would love to be proved wrong in my sense that Jersey City is not ready or positioned to support a large-scale BAM or NJPAC-like arts theater.

Wouldn't it be better in the short term to focus on smaller, more targeted projects that are more in line with the scale of local arts organizations and the funding prospects of today's Jersey City? A flexible-use 150-300 seat theater for example?

Best, - Sam Pott

New Weekday Mommy, Poppy & Me class offered: Thursdays 11am. At Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne Street.

http://nimbusdanceworks.org/school/

Jersey City Nutcracker is this weekend!
Reserve you seats Now!

Don't Miss one of the highlights of Jersey City's Cultural Calendar: Jersey City Nutcracker. This weekend: Saturday/21st 1pm & 5pm and Sunday/22nd 1pm & 5pm.

Sponsored by Goldman Sachs and performed by Nimbus' professional company of dancers, and over 100 youth performers from throughout Jersey City, Jersey City Nutcracker tells the story of two children's urban Christmas adventure leading them through fantasy, adversity and celebration and teaching them lessons about friendship and community along the way. This adaption of Tchaikovsky?s holiday classic ballet includes full professional sets, costumes, and lighting and features beloved aspects of the original ballet ? the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Arabian Princess and Drosselmeyer, and a ferocious battle between Nutcracker and the Rat King ? all with a Jersey City twist!

Performances take place at Frank R. Conwell Middle School #4, 107 Bright Street.

Buy Your Tickets Today! www.nimbusdanceworks.org

I have always thought this statue sends a strange message -- an extremely impersonal and authoritarian-looking officer with his hand on his gun. It reminds me of the police officer statues I saw in remote areas of China which served no other purpose than to reinforce blind fear of authority among people. Is this really the way that Jersey City wants to represent it's police force? -- and is this what should pass for public art and statuary in our city?

Can anyone recommend a licensed contractor who can do wood exterior work to historic standards? It's a permitted job and working from architectural drawings.

Thanks!