Dance/NYC Announces 25 Recipients Of Dance Advancement Fund

Dance/NYC has announced the 25 recipients of the second iteration of the Dance Advancement Fund, made possible by the generous support of the Ford Foundation. The purpose of the Fund is to address the inequitable distribution of resources in the dance field and advance resilience by supporting dance makers with annual budgets between $25,000 and $1 million.

The Fund leverages Dance/NYC's capacity as a regrantor and responds directly to the organization's field research Dance/NYC's State of NYC Dance and Workforce Demographics (Dance.NYC/StateofDance2016), which shows that dance makers with annual budgets of less than $1 million comprise the lion's share (84%) of total groups but have access to only 10% of the total revenue. The research also found that organizations in this budget sector demonstrate the greatest capacity to adapt and have workforces that better reflect the racial diversity and presence of disabled and immigrant people in New York City's population than the workforces of larger organizations.

The recipients of the Dance Advancement Fund, which will each receive two-year general support awards of $5,000-$15,000 annually, from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2021, are:

Bergen
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company

Bronx
Arthur Aviles Typical Theatre/BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance
The Black Iris Project (fiscally sponsored by New York Live Arts and The Foundation for Independent Artists, Inc.)
Bombazo Dance Co, Inc.
Dancing in the Streets
Davalois Fearon Dance (fiscally sponsored by The Foundation for Independent Artists, Inc.)
Full Circle Souljahs

Hudson
Kyle Marshall Choreography (fiscally sponsored by The Foundation for Independent Artists, Inc.)
Nimbus Dance

Kings
Big Dance Theater
Fist and Heel Performance Group
Jaamil Olawale Kosoko (fiscally sponsored by New York Live Arts)
Jiva Performing Arts
LEIMAY
MBDance (fiscally sponsored by Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance [BAAD!])
Miguel Gutierrez (fiscally sponsored by UNIQUE PROJECTS, INC.)
Something Positive, Inc.

Nassau
Eglevsky Ballet Company of LI, Inc.

New York
Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company
Born Dancing
Dances For A Variable Population
Divine Rhythm Productions (fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas)
Elisa Monte Dance

Queens
Ayazamana Ecuadorian Dance Group

Westchester
Sidra Bell Dance New York (SBDNY, Inc.)

"We are so grateful that the Ford Foundation recognizes the significance of cultivating and supporting dance makers working within this segment," says Elissa D. Hecker, Chair of Dance/NYC's Board of Directors. "The impact of the Dance Advancement Fund will surely resonate throughout the field."

"Dance/NYC believes the dance ecology must itself be just, equitable, and inclusive to meaningfully contribute to social progress and envisions a dance ecology wherein power, funding, opportunities, conduct, and impacts are fair for all artists, cultural workers, and audiences," says Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director of Dance/NYC. "By intentionally providing general operating support to dance makers across the city, the Dance Advancement Fund aims to advance economic justice, while recognizing that dance makers with operating budgets below $25,000 also need support. There is certainly more work to be done as we endeavor to move the field from surviving to thriving and we are grateful for partners like The Ford Foundation who help to make this possible."

The 25 grantees include representatives from eight (8) counties in the metropolitan New York City area: Bergen (1), The Bronx (6), Hudson (2), Kings (8), Nassau (1), New York (5), Queens (1), and Westchester (1). Grantees are majority African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA)-led (21 of 25), and include twelve (12) companies with women leadership, one (1) with disabled leadership, eight (8) with immigrant leadership, and one (1) self-identified integrated and disability dance artistry company performing work by and with disabled artists. There are seven (7) fiscally sponsored dance projects among the grantees.

These grantees were selected by a review panel and were among a competitive pool of over 100 metropolitan New York City area dance groups who submitted applications in response to an open call. Key evaluation criteria included: clear artistic vision and excellence; a dedication to sustaining practice beyond the two-year grant period, with a well-articulated narrative for how the funds will help advance the organization, and a willingness to share learning with the field; commitments and measurable actions in alignment with stated values of diversity, justice, equity, and inclusion; a commitment to paying artist and arts workers a living wage; and a diversity of dance perspectives. Consultancy support for the Fund was provided by Ebony Noelle Golden of Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative. Golden's advisement helped to ensure that every aspect of program development, communications, application intake and review, and panel review aligned with Dance/NYC's values and that the organization remained accountable to its intended beneficiaries.