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hottest ticket The Bang Group, which performed at The Yard last summer continued from page 63 David White brought The Yard back from the brink. sources of funding for the residencies, White decided to organize them conceptually for creative focus and to help with selecting participants. The concept or theme of this summer's Bessie Schönberg mentorship program is "1+1(=)," meaning choreographers will pair with dancers to refine their craft. "These are people who have been powerful performers on their own and are moving out of the performing mode into a genera- tive, choreographic mode," White says. White's fundraising prowess is allowing him to implement another part of his strategy: multiseason residencies. (He just secured a gift of $150,000 and is challenging other donors to give by prom- ising to match total donations two to one.) He explains, "We're building long-term relationships with certain artists," giving them "quasi citizen- ship" on the Vineyard in terms of community engagement and audience connection. For example, Doug Elkins, dubbed one of the most innova- tive choreographers of his generation by The New York Times, had a residency at The Yard last year and will restage his Fräulein Maria this summer. (The Boston Globe called it one of the 10 best dance performances of 2009.) Afterward, he'll stay to work on a new piece for the 2013 season. The Yard's more solid financial footing allows White to plan an espe- cially ambitious 40th anniversary. "It's more useful to look ahead than back," says White, but he felt the company milestone provides an opportu- nity to honor the local history of choreography, which he calls "one of the least well-known arts." This summer's schedule includes a new version of From the Horse's Mouth, the dance-world oral- and performance-history sen- sation developed by choreographers Tina Croll and James Cunningham, who are noted internationally for their avant-garde compositions. Staged dozens of times in different cities since its conception in 1998, the work has brought together dancers of every age and aesthetic tradition— from ballet to ballroom to the classical Indian dance form bharatanatyam—at a particular destination. Each dancer reprises a passage of a favorite or meaningful past performance and relates an anecdote about life in dance. The Yard's version this summer, From the Horse's Mouth: The (Hidden) History of Dance on the Vineyard, will nod to The Yard's history the island's diverse population. In recognition of its Brazilian community, Capoeira—the Brazilian martial art that incorporates music and dance—will be included, as well as salsa and contemporary dance. The inclusive nature of Croll and Cunningham's oeuvre means nonpro- fessionals get in on the act, and here that involves Yard staff, alumni, and retired performers who live on or visit the Vineyard taking part in the dance. Patricia N. Nanon Theater at The Yard 64 bostoncommon-magazine.com More Island draMa nantucket's dreamland theater is reborn. More than five years ago the Dreamland, which is about to reopen as a year-round movie theater, was shuttered. Built in 1832 for Quaker meetings, the building also had been a hotel and a hat factory. It was repurposed in 1907 for films and "polite vaudeville." But by 2005 it was dilapidated, its owner unable to finance its rehabilitation. Then New York financier Philippe Laffont, hedge fund manager and Boston Celtics co-owner James Pallotta, president of the Schmidt Family Foundation Wendy Schmidt, and former Starwood Hotels & Resorts chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht, all summer residents, founded the nonprofit Nantucket Dreamland Foundation to recreate it as a venue for films and other performances. The historic building has been replaced with one that incorporates architectural elements salvaged from the original. The new LEED Silver certified structure also features state-of-the-art and handicap-accessible facilities, and it debuts this summer. nantucketdreamland.org White's ideas and energy are infectious, but challenges remain—finan- cial ones included. The Yard's buildings "have the rheumatoid condition of deferred maintenance," he jokes. "There are no institutional funders on the Vineyard. Everybody sees it as rich. It's rich for two months, but then it's 15,000 people living in a rural, sparse, agrarian fishing situation. We really have to go off-island, not only for funding but as part of a national infra- structure in support of artists and the modeling of artistic citizenship." Tap the Yard: July 12–14 at 8 pm (3 pm matinee on July 14); Fräulein Maria: July 25 at 8 pm, July 26 at 6:30 pm; Geoff Sobelle in The Object Lesson: 8 pm (3 pm matinee August 4) BC July 27–28 at 8 pm (3 pm matinee on July 28); From the Horse's Mouth: August 2–3 at photography by peter simon (white); sally cohn (bang group); Kit noble photography (dreamland); samone pittman (nanon)