Battery Dance Festival is now accepting applications for its newest addition, Young Voices in Dance. Applications must be submitted online by June 1, 2021 at batterydance.org/youngvoices.

Young Voices in Dance celebrates the next generation of choreographers. The program highlights the intellectual curiosity, innovation, and artistic excellence of youth (ages 15-22) from around the world. Young Voices in Dance will feature live performances with original works made and danced by youth.

Battery Dance Festival, New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival, was established by Battery Dance as the Downtown Dance Festival in 1982. It draws audiences of approximately 2,000 people each night from the large downtown population of workers, residents, families, tourists, senior citizens and dance fans from the greater NYC metropolitan area and beyond. The Festival went virtual last summer and is planned to run as a hybrid model with live and streamed performances in August, 2021.

We encourage submissions that have a clear concept or theme, integrate interdisciplinary collaborations, and showcase a unique voice as a choreographer. All styles of dance are eligible to apply.

Selected pieces will perform at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park in NYC. If you are unable to travel to NYC and would like to submit a virtual dance film, the top dance film selections will be streamed as bonus content during the Festival.

Battery Dance Festival provides a unique opportunity for professional dancers and choreographers in any genre to present original works of high artistic merit in a free public forum against the backdrop of New York Harbor, Statue of Liberty and the sunset. Past participants have included Dorrance Dance, New York Theatre Ballet, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, Vanaver Caravan, Dancing Earth Indigenous Dance Company, Music from the Sole, and Jamal Jackson Dance Company alongside pre-eminent companies from Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

Watch recaps from the past two festivals to see the stage in which you'd be performing: 2020 Festival: https://youtu.be/RbUAqF3uLe0
2019 Festival: https://vimeo.com/356921433

COVID-19: If staged performances are not possible due to COVID restrictions, we may shift to a virtual-only festival. Please see below if you would like to submit a dance film for streaming consideration if this change were to occur.

*SUBMISSION DEADLINE: JUNE 1, 2021

Submissions will be reviewed by the Artistic Director of Young Voices in Dance, Tadej Brdnik, and a Youth Curatorial Panel.