Aerial choreographer Amelia Rudolph's performances take place in mid-air, with the performers suspended by harnesses and rigging from buildings, rock faces, and other structures. Because of its spectacular nature, the work has a tendency to draw crowds easily, but its success often depends on the vieweräs proximity to the action. So when Amelia applied to Creative Capital for Crossing, a project that would take place in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountains for an audience of cameras and wildlife alone, she knew she would have to re-think her relationship to how her work was seen. Through more than $32,000 in cash awards and significant Strategic Planning Support, Creative Capital helped Amelia gain massive exposure for Crossing, while helping her maintain control over the performance, presentation, and viewing of the work.

One of the first things Amelia did after receiving her initial $10,000 grant in 2000 was to meet with Alyson Pou and Ruby Lerner to discuss her production timeline. This extensive planning helped Amelia take the important step of what she describes as "unifying the process with the performances." With $5,000 in Supplemental Funding, Amelia also drew up a proposal for television and media production companies interested in covering the work.

After a close look at her timeline and her goals, Amelia decided to postpone Crossing by a year to ensure she could raise the funds to hire video artist Greg Bernstein to accompany her to the performances. Bernstein was a crucial element to the project. "Greg and I have worked together for five years," Amelia said at the time, Üand he was the perfect person to capture the entire project…its struggles and rewards.¹ In the summer of 2001, Creative Capital awarded Amelia a $7,500 Special Opportunities grant to help pay for Bernsteinäs services.

Crossing took place for 17 days in the summer of 2001. Amelia and her company, Project Bandaloop, crossed remote areas of the Sierra range and performed improvised aerial dances at the highest point of each traverse. The company, who are all expert mountaineers, traveled with Bernstein and violinist Zachary Carrettin. Through improvisation, Amelia and the dancers worked with Carrettin to create sound canvases and musical themes drawn from the performance environment. Bernstein shot over 50 hours of video, which is being used for both promotional purposes and as part of a multi-media work for more traditional performance venues.

Together with Bernstein, Amelia parlayed the performance of Crossing into massive media exposure as well as new funding opportunities. The work was covered everywhere from The New York Times to Sports Illustrated. Amelia also received a 2001-2002 fellowship from the James Irvine Foundation to create a new multi-media work using the video shot during Crossing. Recently, the Kennedy Center expressed interest in premiering the new piece. Amelia reports that, "It was because of Creative Capital that we received support for the continued life of Crossing as an urban/theatrical event."

As momentum and attention built for Crossing, Amelia needed a way to integrate the video into her live performances. In late 2001, Creative Capital awarded her $10,000 in Follow-Up Support to build a modular projection wall that allows the company to tour the work more easily. What was originally scheduled to be a three-week experiment in site-specific performance has become a three-year project that is crossing not just a mountain range but the entire country.

Amelia attended the 2000 Artistsä Retreat, which she calls "amazing, both for the contact with other artists, the word of mouth connections, and the staff.¹ She also says that Creative Capital significantly increased the visibility of, and demand for, her work. "The general word of mouth connections and the outreach we artists receive from the web page, and from the institution, is really helpful."