Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers Receives $30,000 Grant from H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation
CINCINNATI, OH — Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers (MDTAC) has received a $30,000 grant from H.B., E.W. & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Trustee. The grant will support MDTAC’s 2025-2026 season, Embrace: A Season of Connection. The H.B, E.W., & F.R. Luther Charitable Foundation supports arts and educational organizations, as well as environmental and historical preservation efforts in the Cincinnati area. The grant will significantly help MDTAC sustain nationally recognized performances and education programs. MDTAC continues to seek funds in order to fully meet our goals of ensuring quality, efficacy, and equity in pay scales.
“This grant comes at a critical time for our organization and the Cincinnati community,” said Jeanne Mam-Luft, Artistic and Executive Director of Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers. “The Luther Charitable Foundation’s investment ensures we can continue to bring extraordinary dance experiences to Cincinnati, commission new works, and make the art form accessible to people of all backgrounds. It is more than funding: It’s a reflection of the importance of modern dance to our city’s cultural life.”
Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers — formerly known as Contemporary Dance Theater and MamLuft&Co. Dance — is Cincinnati’s second-largest dance organization. It is distinguished both by its virtuosic resident company and being the region’s only presenter of Modern and Contemporary Dance companies.
The $30,000 award supports Mutual’s mission-driven strategic goals to:
- Create access to Modern Dance for diverse audiences, including 1,000 individuals from low-income families who would otherwise face barriers to cultural experiences.
- Contribute to the vibrancy of Cincinnati by cultivating a thriving Modern Dance presence and connecting local audiences to artists from more than 25 U.S. cities.
- Support personal and professional development through meaningful opportunities for both dancers and non-dancers to engage in art-making.
Mutual’s 2024–25 season, Embrace: A Season of Connection, will feature four professional productions, commissions for six new works developed locally, and two nationally celebrated guest companies appearing in Cincinnati for the first time. The organization’s programming brings together residents from across 90% of Cincinnati’s zip codes and beyond, deepening public understanding of the art form and fostering connections.
For more information about Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers, visit mutualdance.org
###
About Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers
Mutual Dance Theatre is the city’s longest-running and most consistent Modern Dance organization, both as a presenter and a resident company. MDT was formerly known as Contemporary Dance Theater (est. 1972 by Jefferson James) and MamLuft&Co. Dance (est. 2007 by Jeanne Mam-Luft) until their merger in 2021. Both organizations began as performing troupes, but in the early ‘90s, CDT dissolved its company and subsequently focused on presenting guest artists. The two organizations joined to create the aptly-named Mutual Dance Theatre and Arts Centers, taking enumeration from its elder half and thus celebrating its 54th season in 25-26. Mutual has honored and combined the priorities of both founding organizations: investing in a virtuosic local company with the aim of becoming a significant presence both locally and nationally, as well as the continued presentation of Modern and Contemporary Dance from across the States (and sometimes, beyond). Mutual also reaches thousands of children each year through education and its academy, as well as charity-supported outreach. Learn more at mutualdance.org.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 