Dance/NYC and its program partner Gibney have announced that they are now accepting applications for the Disability.Dance.Artistry Residency Program. The deadline for applications is October 10, 2021 and. Dance/NYC will award residencies to up to ten (10) disabled dance artists and/or disability-led integrated dance companies. While these residencies will be hosted in New York City by Gibney, eligible applicants may be based outside of the metropolitan area. Given the continued impacts of the COVID-19 coronavirus, both in-person and digital residencies will be available.
Dance/NYC is completely devoted to regranting programs that “address disparities in the dance field by continuing to fill gaps in the availability of resources where they are most needed”. The Residency Program is made possible by the generous support of foundations such as the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation. The purpose of the residency program is “to expand opportunities for dancers with disabilities, including spinal cord injury (SCI) and other impairments, and to advance accessibility and equity for disabled dance artists within the larger dance, residency, and presenting communities”.
In a press release put out by Michelle Tabnick Public Relations, it noted that the Residency Program “responds directly to Dance/NYC’s research, Performing Disability. Dance. Artistry. (Dance.NYC/PerformingDDA18), which underscores the need and opportunity to engage residency centers in the professional development and training of disabled artists and to provide critical training to presenters, driving mentorship and shared learning among artists and presenters. It also recognizes the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on disabled dance workers, as highlighted by its recent publication Coronavirus Dance Impact Informational Brief .”
Dance/NYC has made great efforts to ensure that the program is informed and led by disabled dance artist. It has collected important feedback from disabled dance workers across its network and continues to work with disabled choreographer and artist-engineer Laurel Lawson of Rose Tree Productions who has expertise in disability arts, access, mentorship programming, and facilitation.
“2019 Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency Program grantee Kinetic Light”
Laurel Lawson, a white woman, balances on Alice Sheppard’s footplate, with arms spread wide, wheels spinning. Alice, a multiracial Black woman with coffee-colored skin, opens her arms wide to receive her in an embrace. A starry sky fills the background, and moonlight glints off their rims. Photo by BRITT / Jay Newman.
“As we continue to respond to the tectonic shifts that the global pandemic has wrought on our sector, Dance/NYC remains focused in our efforts to ensure that disabled artists can continue to develop their artistry and have access to the resources they need to thrive. ,” said Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director, Dance/NYC “The time is now for our sector to seed the current and next generation of disabled arts workers, as we continue to center disability as a positive artistic generative force.”
The Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency program has consistently led in service to disabled dancers and I am happy to bring my work as an artist, researcher, and organizer in support of the program’s continued growth, in support of disabled artists, and in support of the field as a whole,” said Laurel Lawson, Director, Rose Tree Productions.
“Gibney is proud to partner with Dance/NYC on this important program and to continue our work supporting disability artistry. We are committed to making our space and resources accessible to all, and this initiative plays a key role in supporting disabled artists in our field,” said Gina Gibney, Founder, Artistic Director & CEO, Gibney.
Benefits include an honorarium of $5,000 per participant, an additional stipend of $1,000 for personal care assistant(s) or any accessibility needs, up to 36 hours of rehearsal time, a ten-class card at Gibney, an informal public engagement opportunity, ten hours of goal-directed mentorship or professional development consulting from an expert in the field, participation in cohort convenings, and marketing support.
Applications will be considered for only one residency program, per applicant. A copy of the applicant’s U.S. IRS Determination Letter, which proves the entity’s 501(c)(3) designation or tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 170(c)(1) is required, or proof of fiscal sponsorship. The program’s goals are artistic, and applicants with primarily therapeutic or educational goals will not be considered. Additional information about eligibility and application requirements are now available on Dance/NYC’s website at Dance.NYC.
The deadline for application submission is October 10, 2021 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
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For more information and to learn about Dance/NYC, click HERE.
To learn more about Gibney, click HERE.
To visit the Rose Tree Productions website, click HERE.
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Written and compiled by Jeff Slayton from a press release by Michelle Tabnick Public Relations.
Featured image: Inside a large fabric cube lit in magenta with a white projection, Yo-Yo Lin kneels on the ground beside an open laptop – Photo Credit: 2019 Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency Program grantee Yo-Yo Lin by Zack Filkoff
