PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2025
Contact: Dana Whipkey
grantsandprojects@hocoarts.org
(410) 313-2787
Howard County Arts Council Accepting Applications for the Mark Ryder Original Choreography Grant
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Applications for the Howard County Arts Council’s FY2026 Mark Ryder Original Choreography Grant (MROC) are now open. The MROC grant program recognizes individual creative expression and provides financial assistance to choreographers to create new original work.
Interested applicants should visit hocoarts.org/grants for guidelines, additional information, and to apply. Applications are due June 19, 2025.
About Mark Ryder
Mark Ryder was an established dancer, choreographer, and leader in the dance community. He danced alongside Martha Graham in the 1940s until founding the Dance Drama Duo, later called the Dance Drama Company, with Emily Frankel. Mr. Ryder went on to teach dance in the 1960s at Goddard College in Vermont before becoming chairman of the dance department for two years at University of Maryland, College Park in 1974, and retired from teaching in 1988. After moving to Howard County in 1975, Mr. Ryder also became very involved in choreographing local productions in his community. He passed away in July 2006 and is survived by his wife and family who wish to honor his legacy by offering an annual competitive grant award in the minimum amount of $500 to choreographers through the Howard County Arts Council. Mr. Ryder believed individual expression is the most important part of the creative process for both choreographer and dancer and that more is learned through being a part of the process and actively participating in it than by simply being taught the movements or viewing the final product.