The National Center for Choreography-Akron to Kick Off 10th Anniversary

The National Center for Choreography-Akron (NCCAkron) will celebrate 10 years as a national hub for dance research and development: an incubator for artists and a hyperagent for the national dance field. This milestone anniversary kicks off in December 2025, launching an 18-month celebration filled with public events, research and development residencies, and national convenings in Akron, OH; Houston, TX; Memphis, TN; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN; and Boston, MA. A detailed programming and events list is below.

Established in 2015 with lead support from Knight Foundation, NCCAkron is one of only two national centers for choreography in the U.S. Nationally recognized for redefining support for dance artists and thought leaders, to date, NCCAkron has worked with 800+ choreographers from 100 U.S. cities as they explore, experiment, and shape the future of the art form. The organization also offers audiences opportunities to experiment with and understand dance through conversations, events, podcasts, and books.

Over the past decade, NCCAkron has invested nearly $3 million in dance artists, performing arts thought leaders, and arts workers. The organization has hosted 105 Research, Creative, Technical, and Dancing Lab residencies for artists across the U.S., in addition to 62 Creative Admin Research Investigative Retreats. NCCAkron has facilitated activities and convenings in Akron, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Albuquerque, NM; Miami, FL; Houston, TX; Seattle, WA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and Nashville, TN.

Under the NCCMedia umbrella, NCCAkron co-created the NCCAkron Series in Dance, working with the University of Akron Press to publish Artists on Creative Administration: A Workbook from the National Center for Choreography (2024) and Shifting Cultural Power: Case Studies and Questions in Performance (2021). NCCMedia podcasts include the short-form Inside the Dancer's Studio (Seasons 1-6) and the long-form research series How People Move People (Series 1-4).

"Ten years ago we asked ourselves: what is possible for a center focused on research and development in dance? We set out to redefine creative investment by reimagining how we support choreographers and dance as an art form. By committing time, space, and resources to try things in the studio, pursue new research topics, or have coffee with a thought partner-all with zero pressure for a final product-NCCAkron has strived to create transformational experiences for artists, not just transactional exchanges," shares Christy Bolingbroke, Founding Executive/Artistic Director of NCCAkron. "Artists help us process the world around us-something more important than ever-and dance is not some niche art form; it is an intrinsic part of our culture and daily lives. As a connector, cultural matchmaker, and hyperagent for the field, NCCAkron continues to learn as we champion the artists shaping the future of dance."

10th Anniversary Programming

NCCAkron will continue to host research and development opportunities for artists from across the U.S. Upcoming collaborations include Ashwini, Aparna, and Ranee Ramaswamy (Minneapolis, MN), Shamel Pitts/TRIBE (Brooklyn, NY), Michael J. Love (Philadelphia, PA), Yayoi Kambara (San Francisco, CA), and Angelina Ramirez (Tucson, AZ) with Carlos Menchaca (Albuquerque, NM).

NCCAkron will host open-to-the-public events in Akron, OH, as well as nationally. Dancing Conversation talks will continue on April 17, 2026 (The Creative Process in Nature, F.A. Seiberling Nature Realm, Akron, OH), and on May 7, 2026 (Aging as Action, Location TBA, New York, NY). NCCAkron plans to host Making Moves events in Boston, MA; Memphis,TN; Houston, TX; and beyond.

In Akron, a 10th Anniversary Dance Party Through the Decades fundraising event will take place June 20, 2026. Dance Club: A Social Experiment for Dance Audiences will return August-November, 2026.

NCCAkron's Creative Administration Research program continues with investigative retreats for artists Amy O'Neal (Seattle, WA) with Thought Partner Michele Byrd-McPhee (Jersey City, NJ), Deneane Richburg (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN) with Thought Partner Francine Sheffield (Richmond, VA), and Jasmine Hearn (Houston, TX) with Thought Partner Conrhonda Baker (Atlanta, GA).

NCCAkron will host its fourth CAR Learning Journey in Minneapolis-St. Paul in March 2026, and its third National Summit Convening for invited Creative Administration Research artists and their Thought Partners in Akron, June 20-22, 2026. This national think tank will take place over the course of three days and include the Dance Party Through the Decades event open to the greater public on Saturday, June 20.

NCCAkron will add to its digital publishing umbrella NCCMedia, an artist-centered and artist-driven platform for telling stories and elevating the voices of dance artists and genres historically left out of the codified dance canon. The short-form Inside the Dancer's Studio (season 7) will drop in Summer 2026; and the long-form serial How People Move People (series 5) in Fall 2026.

The newest recipient of the Knight Choreography Prize will also be announced in Fall 2026.

Additional programming to be announced.

10th ANNIVERSARY PROGRAMMING CALENDAR*

Bold events will be open to the public.

January 14, 2026 | Making Moves: Houston, TX (Brazos Bookstore)

January - February 2026 | CAR Admin Experiment: Leveraging Revenue (virtual)
February 7, 2026 | Midwinter Event, NCCAkron curatorial partner (Akron Art Museum)
February 2026 | Research Residency | Ashwini, Aparna & Ranee Ramaswamy (Akron, OH)
February-May 2026 | CAR Admin Experiment: Tech Support (San Francisco, CA and virtual)
March 2026 | CAR Learning Journey: Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
April 17, 2026 | Dancing Conversation: The Creative Process in Nature (Akron, OH)

April 25, 2026 | Making Moves: Memphis, TN (Crosstown Concourse)
May 3, 2026 | Making Moves: Boston, MA (JAE Dance Center)
May 7, 2026 | Dancing Conversation: Aging as Action (New York, NY)

May-June 2026 | Creative Residency | Angelina Ramirez & Carlos Menchaca (Akron, OH)
June-July 2026 | Inside the Dancer's Studio Season 6 (podcast drop)
June 2026 | CAR Summit Convening (Akron, OH)
June 20, 2026 | Dance Party through the Decades (Akron, OH)
August - November 2026 | Dance Club: A Social Experiment for Dance Audiences (Akron, OH)

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