The inaugural edition of PADAS has recently been completed, successfully introducing presenters from outside the United States to artists representing quintessentially American music – traditional/folk, Native American, jazz, blues, Gospel, zydeco, country, bluegrass and more. PADAS is a project of South Arts, in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation and New England Foundation for 
the Arts, with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and with consultation by Performing Arts Strategies.
Performing Arts Strategies was selected as a consultant on the project due to the team’s experience with introducing international programmers to American artistry through American Dance Recon – an intensive symposium that enables programmers to engage with the local dance community through attendance at performances, visits to company rehearsals, focus groups and discussions, and conversations with local dance leaders, in U.S. cities with strong and vibrant dance scenes.
Two PADAS cohorts of invited presenters from abroad attended showcase and festival performances in the South Arts region in fall of 2016 and spring of 2017. During multi-day, immersive visits, these presenters met and experienced the work of traditional and jazz musicians and their management, talked with scholars and folklorists about these unique musical forms, engaged with other U.S. presenters, and shared their own programming visions.
Locations included:
- The Performing Arts Exchange, in Orlando, FL
- International Bluegrass Music Association Conference and World of Bluegrass Festival, Raleigh, NC
- Merlefest music festival, Wilkesboro, NC
- Nashville, TN
The goal of Performing Arts Discovery is to build and expand relationships that result in new opportunities for American musicians to tour abroad. Several engagements are already in the planning stages, due to connections made during PADAS!
Performing Arts Strategies 