Dance/NYC

Are you a dance-making organization or group seeking general operating support? Expressions of Interest are now open for the fifth iteration of the Dance Advancement Fund! 🎉 Dance/NYC invites eligible dance-making organizations and groups based in the New York City metropolitan area to apply. Made possible by the generous support of the Howard Gilman Foundation and the Ford Foundation, the Fund supports dance makers with operating budgets between $25,000 and $250,000 through two years of general operating support and ongoing professional development. 💫 What will selected grantees receive? - annual grants of $6,000–$40,000 over a two-year period - ongoing professional development support - additional resources designed to support sustainability and capacity 💫 What is the application process? To help minimize applicant labor, the application process takes place in two parts: 1. Expressions of Interest (EOI) are now open and due June 2, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET. 2. Applicants selected through the EOI process will be invited to submit a full application available in June. 💫 Need support with your application? Application assistance includes: - virtual 1-on-1 technical assistance - live informational webinar on how to complete the EOI and full application + FAQs - 4 recorded professional development webinars 📅 EOI deadline: June 2, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET Learn more and submit your Expression of Interest at Dance.NYC/DAF5 (Link in bio) #DanceAdvancementFund #DAF2628 #DanceNYC Pictured: Tabula Rasa Dance Theater by Paula Lobo Image Description in comments.

As part of our multi-year strategic planning process, we’ve refreshed Dance/NYC’s mission to more clearly name our commitments and the principles that guide our work. ✨ Our new mission: Dance/NYC champions the New York City metropolitan area dance sector by fostering a more just, equitable, and inclusive landscape where dance workers and organizations can thrive. Rooted in research, Dance/NYC engages in advocacy, regranting, and knowledge-sharing that works toward establishing dance as a valued form of cultural expression and a common good. This update deepens our belief that justice, equity, and inclusion are not only embedded in how we work, they are the outcomes we strive for. It also makes clear what we do to get there: research, advocacy, regranting, and knowledge-sharing. Together, we continue to build a dance ecosystem where all can thrive. Learn more about our new strategic plan at Dance.NYC/StrategicPlan. 💫 Image description in comments.

Have you ever wanted to weigh in on arts funding in NYC but weren’t sure where to start? This one’s for you. Giving testimony at a City Council hearing is one of the most direct ways to put your experience on the record with the people making funding decisions. You can show up in person, join over Zoom, or submit something in writing. All of it counts. Swipe through for a play-by-play guide on how to participate, what to include, and how to make your testimony effective. The NYC Council Cultural Affairs Committee Executive Budget Hearing is May 26, 2026. So register to testify or submit written testimony today! Dance workers have shaped NYC’s cultural funding before, and this is how we do it. 💕 ✨ #OurNYCDance Image descriptions: All graphics consist of a background gradient purple to pink to orange with white text with the Dance/NYC logo at the bottom. Image descriptions continued in comments.

The NYC Executive Budget is out and we need the City Council to push for more. 📣 Every year, city legislators decide how to fund arts and culture alongside housing, parks, and childcare. Dance workers have shown up to this process before, and it's worked: last year, the city secured the largest cultural budget in its history. The Mayor's Executive Budget includes a $10 million baseline increase for the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA). That's progress, but it falls short of the $30 million that advocates and the City Council have called for. Here's how you can help close that gap: Testify at the NYC Council Cultural Affairs Committee Executive Budget Hearing at City Hall on May 26, 2026. You can show up in person, join virtually via Zoom, or submit written testimony within 72 hours of the hearing. What would fully funded arts and culture mean for your practice? Tell us in the comments and share this with someone who should testify. 🔗 Link in bio to learn more and take action. #OurNYCDance Image: Purple and magenta gradient background with white text that reads, ‘Advocacy Alert. Testify in Support of Arts and Culture Funding. NYC Council Cultural Affairs Committee Executive Budget Hearing on May 26, 2026’

Green Space in Long Island City is a part of the NYC Dance Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program! LIC dance makers, if you are booking your rehearsal at Green Space, make sure to take advantage of this $10 per hour rate! Visit their booking page for more info (more at the Resources linked in our bio). By addressing financial barriers to accessing artistic development space, the RSS Program aims to advance dance artistry in the five boroughs of New York City and contribute to the field's overall diversity, sustainability, resilience, and health. RSS is made possible by the Mellon Foundation. Photo courtesy Green Space.

Calling all dance organizations with operating budgets between $25,000 and $250,000! You can now apply for general operating support to sustain your practice. 🕺🏻 The Dance Advancement Fund's fifth iteration is now accepting Expressions of Interest (EOI). 📅 Due Tuesday, June 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET ⏰ That’s only three weeks away, so start your application today! 🤔 Need help? Check out the Get Help page on our website for FAQs, guidance, and to sign up for 1-on-1 technical assistance 🔗 Link in bio to begin your EOI today #DanceAdvancementFund Photo: General Mischief Dance Theatre. Photo by Peter Yesley Image: Three dancers - from top left to bottom right a Colombian man, a White woman, and a Black woman wearing pants and shirts in blue and black. They hold smooth sticks in both hands and reach forward to touch the sticks to the arms of the dancer in front of them. A pink overlay on the image. Text reads ‘Dance Advancement Fund general operating support for small-budget dance makers. Expressions of Interest due June 2, 2026’.

From Symposium Coordinator to Senior Producing Coordinator, and now Interim Advancement & Programs Manager, Brinda Guha (she/her) has grown with us. 🌱 Since joining Dance/NYC in 2019, Brinda has shown up for this community with care, creativity, and vision. A Bessie-nominated artist and longtime NYC dance ecosystem presence, she brings all of that into her expanded role supporting our events, partnerships, and programs. Congratulations, Brinda! We're so proud. 🧡

"This is our instrument for income." devynn emory puts it plainly… dancers and choreographers put their bodies on the line, and the industry needs to show up for that reality. devynn is a multi-modal dancer/choreographer and also a registered nurse. That dual path isn't just a passion project—it's how they access the healthcare, stability, and rest that their work as a dance artist alone cannot provide. No one building our culture should have to piece together a second career just to see a doctor or plan for retirement. At the Our New York City Dance launch, devynn called for a dance ecosystem that funds rest, covers healthcare, supports housing, and reduces administrative burden on artists so cultural workers can keep doing what they do. This is why we advocate for fair pay and real protections for dance workers. Because the ecosystem should sustain the people who build it. Learn more about how you can take action at Dance.NYC/OurNYCDance #OurNYCDance

Applying to the Dance Advancement Fund? You've got resources! Before you submit, check out our free professional development webinars on YouTube, covering everything from financial planning and fundraising strategy to building your organization's vision and creating accessible work samples. A great place to strengthen your application and your practice. Need more personalized support? Book a free 30-minute one-on-one Technical Assistance Session via Zoom or phone. Our team is available to help with eligibility questions, required materials, navigating Submittable, and more. Spots are limited, so sign up early! And don't forget: our DAF Info Session is this Thursday, May 7, 4:30–6:00 p.m. ET on Zoom. Registration link in bio. 📅 Photo: Diversity in Arts and Nations for Cultural Education, Inc. Photo by Juan Ramirez Image: A group of 12 dancers, are lined up in traditional Puerto Rican Seis outfits. The women wear colorful, flowing dresses in various colors, including purple, pink, red, blue, and yellow, with ruffled details along the edges. Their hair is neatly styled, and they smile while gracefully holding the edges of their dresses with one arm raised. The men wear white outfits with colored belts and straw hats, which they are raising in their hands as part of the dance. Green foliage is visible in the background. There is a pink overlay on the graphic and text over the image reads ‘Dance Advancement Fund. general operating support for small-budget dance makers. Application Assistance Available.’

Welcome, Lines! 🎉 We're so excited to have Lines Sultzer (they/them) join Dance/NYC as our new Operations Coordinator. An artist-engineer with a BFA from The Cooper Union and a background in software engineering, Lines brings a mix of creativity and systems thinking to our team. They're already helping us build smoother, more equitable workflows behind the scenes so our team can focus on what matters most: supporting NYC's dance community. Say hello! 👋 Image: A portrait photograph of a smiling person with light skin and long, dark curly hair, sitting in an office chair at a desk with a mechanical keyboard. A white Dance/NYC logo rests in the bottom right corner.

The April Dance Worker Digest is here. This month: union negotiations at New York Live Arts, NYC's long-overdue Preliminary Racial Equity Plan, a City Council budget response calling for more arts funding, and federal proposals to gut the NEA. Link in bio. 🔗 Image descriptions: All images consist of a gradient pink to red with white text and a photo overlay that matches the text. Images 2-5 have ‘Dance Worker Digest’ and the Dance/NYC logo at the bottom. Image descriptions continued in comments.

Happy International Dance Day! 🌍✨ Dance is joy. Dance is culture. Dance is community. Today, we celebrate the art form that moves through every neighborhood, every tradition, and every body in this city. Here in NYC, we hold dance close, because we are New Yorkers for Dance. 🧡 #WeAreNYCDance #NewYorkersForDance #InternationalDanceDay Video: Guests at New Yorkers for Dance event doing the electric slide on the dance floor. The lights are turned low giving everything a blue-purple tone. Cover image: Guests at a New Yorkers for Dance event leaning forward as if to take a step. Overlaying is white text that reads ‘Happy International Dance Day’