Margaret Jenkins Dance Company

Since its founding in 1973, the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company has been an essential part of the cultural fabric of San Francisco and has built a reputation for innovative collaborations and for its initiation of programs that support and encourage new work. One such program is the company’s “Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange” initiative (CHIME), a mentorship program for California choreographers with an overarching goal of encouraging and enriching the development of dance in California. During its two-year pilot phase, CHIME provided
Bay Area-based mentorship pairs (one established and one emerging choreographer per pair) with studio time and artist fees to advance their work and the choreographic process.

In December 2006, Irvine provided a $300,000, three-year grant to the company to expand CHIME, both programmatically and geographically. Envisioned from its conception as a program to serve choreographers across the state, the Company is now working to implement a new pilot CHIME program in southern California, tailored specifically to the needs of the local dance community. The Company is also expanding the breadth of its program in the Bay Area beyond its originally conceived constituency of modern dance choreographers, to embrace all professional choreographers including those working in traditional and ethnically-specific dance forms. The CHIME program aligns well with the goals of Irvine’s Artistic Creativity priority as it provides direct support to working artists throughout California to further their craft in such a way that could potentially benefit the dance field as a whole.