New York City Center, Inc.

For many dancers and choreographers, living and working in New York City presents incredible collaborative opportunities but also immense logistical challenges. Many of the city’s dance studios are repurposed from other building types and don’t meet the needs of their creative processes. When working in a small rented space, a choreographer may only be able to create solo works or be limited to rehearsing with small groups.

To help bear these New York City-specific burdens, New York City Center’s Choreography Fellowship provides three choreographers, each at critical stages of their careers, with an opportunity to spend a year honing their art and greater flexibility to work with peers. Fellows can focus their energy on movement, rather than worrying about finding rehearsal space, raising funds, or marketing their performances. Having access to City Center’s studio space—gigantic by the standards of contemporary dance—choreographers have room to work with larger ensembles of dancers. In addition to a well-outfitted place to practice, City Center provides Fellows with a stipend, the expertise of its administrative support staff, as well as an opportunity to present their works on City Center’s stage at the end of the Fellowship.

Past participants have returned to City Center to present at its Fall for Dance Festival, or as choreographers for other productions. Others have gone on to present site-specific works worldwide with their own dance companies. By offering dance artists a full year’s peace of mind amid the stresses of creative life in New York City, the Fellowship contributes to the critical efforts made to support the city's renowned artistic community.