CUNY Dance Initiative Unveils New Partnerships With Works & Process And The Pocantico Center

The CUNY Dance Initiative, a citywide program providing New York City choreographers and dance companies with creative residencies on CUNY campuses, will launch new partnerships with Works & Process and The Pocantico Center during the 2025–26 season. These collaborations extend CDI’s mission of supporting the creative process for dance artists while expanding opportunities for artistic development beyond the five boroughs.

2025–26 Partnerships and Residencies

For the current residency cycle (July 1, 2025–June 30, 2026), each partnership will offer a selected artist a week-long residency outside New York City in addition to their CUNY-based studio residency. Works & Process and the Queens College review panel jointly selected whacking artist Nubian Néné, who will receive a CDI residency at Queens College and a Works & Process residency at Bethany Arts Community in Ossining, NY, in May 2026. Kayla Farrish, also participating in CDI through Brooklyn College, has been invited for a residency at The Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, NY, in February 2026 and will share a work-in-progress at the David Rockefeller Creative Arts Center on February 26, 2026.

“Providing time and space for artists to engage in the creative process is at the core of Pocantico’s mission,” said Elly Weisenberg Kelly, Manager of Public Programs and Residencies at The Pocantico Center. “Partnering with CDI to expand access for dancers and choreographers outside of New York City is an important step in offering expanded opportunities in the field.”

These new partnerships build on CDI’s ongoing collaborations, including the Arts & Social Justice Residency, launched in 2021 with Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX). This cycle welcomes Chrybaby Cozie and The Breakfast Club E.A.T., led by Daniel Holloway, the Harlem-born pioneer of the Hip-Hop freestyle style Lite-Feet. CDI also continues partnerships with Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Staten Island and Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning with York College in Queens.

About the Organizations

CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) marked its 10th anniversary in 2024. Developed in response to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s 2010 report We Make Do, CDI addresses the shortage of affordable rehearsal space in New York City. Since its 2014 launch, CDI has grown to include 14 CUNY colleges and four arts organizations, supporting more than 275 residencies for NYC choreographers. The initiative is led by the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College and receives major support from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and the Howard Gilman Foundation, with additional funding from the SHS Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture program, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Harkness Foundation for Dance. www.cuny.edu/danceinitiative

Works & Process, founded in 1984 by Mary Sharp Cronson at the Guggenheim Museum, champions performing artists and the creative process from studio to stage. The organization presents performances and artist discussions at venues including Guggenheim New York, National Sawdust, and the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. www.worksandprocess.org

The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, located in the Hudson Valley, serves as a hub for residencies, performances, exhibitions, and convenings on the historic Rockefeller estate. www.rbf.org/pocantico