Cora Dance seeks a reliable, friendly, detail-oriented person to support the organization’s administrative and outreach team as a part-time Administrative Associate. The Administrative Associate will frequently be the first face that students, parents, and artists encounter when entering Cora Dance, engaging directly with the community and performing a variety of tasks in support of Cora’s programs.

Cora Dance provides free and pay-what-you-can recreational, pre-professional, and professional dance education programs primarily through its Red Hook, Brooklyn-based studio. Cora Dance works in partnership with professional arts organizations, community-based organizations, and a response-ready volunteer team of health care providers, social workers, and advocates to provide personalized support to students. Cora’s education programs prioritize NYCHA, Section-8, and unhoused families to ensure students who may be restricted due to financial circumstances are assured a lasting artistic community, excellent programming, and successful paths to careers in the field. No one is ever turned away from Cora’s education programs based on their ability to pay. Strong candidates must possess lived experience working in diverse settings that address equity; and be passionate, detail-oriented, highly-motivated collaborators with a sincere desire to work cooperatively with youth, parents, community partners, faculty, and staff.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Provide support and assistance to the Management Team and the organization at large via the following general duties:

     – Answering phones, checking voicemail, taking clear messages, and responding to email;

     – Entering and managing data in a variety of information tracking systems both hard copy and electronic; 

     – Registering and enrolling students in programs; 

     – Tracking and ordering supplies, issuing dance attire, and taking inventory; 

     – Taking payments and delivering invoices and receipts;

     – Welcoming students, families, artists, and guests to the space as they enter, directing them accordingly, and overseeing check-in and check-out processes;

     – Performing basic organizational and maintenance tasks to ensure presentable reception, lounge, and waiting areas;

     – Assembling and managing the dissemination of monthly newsletters and announcements about Cora events;

     – Updating general information on Cora Dance’s website and social media, as directed; 

     – Episodically participating in local flyering, tabling, and community outreach activities;

     – Other duties as necessary to support the successful function of the organization.

 

QUALIFICATIONS:

     – Bilingual English/Spanish strongly preferred;

     – Consistent, punctual, organized, and reliable;

     – Comfortability engaging with a diverse population of artists, community members, families, and groups of young children through teens;

     – Some manual labor, including light cleaning. Must be able to carry 25 pounds up and down a flight of stairs;

     – Basic computer skills, comfortability with email, and keyboarding proficiency of 35+ wpm with 90+% accuracy;

     – Experience with Google platforms preferred. Experience with Mailchimp, Salesforce, Squarespace, and/or Quickbooks Payments a plus;

     – Desire to work in a bustling, intimate, hands-on, grassroots, arts and service-oriented environment;

     – Fully vaccinated against COVID-19*.

This posting is intended to describe the essential job functions and requirements and is not an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. Cora Dance is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to maintaining an inclusive and equitable work environment and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected class. Cora Dance is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values community, teamwork, creativity, understanding, and appreciation. People of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

*Cora Dance employees must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless the employee cannot be vaccinated on the basis of disability or religious beliefs.

 

COMPENSATION & SCHEDULE:

     – Part-time, hourly; 20-25 hours per week at $20/hr.

     – Anticipated Hours: The position requires the employee to work Monday through Thursday, 1:45pm-7:45pm, respectively, with potential for additional hours per week pending need and mutual availability.

     – Limited free and discounted rehearsal space available for all Cora Dance employees.

 

Please send a resume and brief cover letter detailing interest and relevant experience to Managing Director Stephanie Queiroz at jobs@coradance.org with Administrative Associate in the subject line. Applications will be accepted until July 15 or until the position is filled. Preferred start date for this position: early/mid August.

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ABOUT CORA DANCE

Founded in 1998, Cora Dance began as the NYC-based professional modern dance company of choreographer and educator Shannon Hummel. For 25 years in NYC, Hummel’s work has been continually acclaimed for its humble sophistication and unflinching emotion, garnering high praise from critics, presenters, and community leaders as a “rare gem” (The New York Times).  Cora incorporated as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization in 2001 and expanded in 2009, opening a sliding scale studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Rooted in a community that serves as home to Brooklyn’s largest NYCHA public housing community surrounded by affluent waterfront, Cora committed to providing equal access to programs while using dance as a catalyst for community intersection. From its beginning, the studio served as a home for the professional company and a pay-what-you-can school for dance, offering exceptional training while addressing disparities that restrict engagement. Turning no one away based on ability to pay, NYCHA, Section-8, and unhoused families receive priority enrollment, and SEA/Supporting Equal Access Services – after-school pick-up; childcare; free food, dance attire, and shoes; among other services – help ensure equitable experiences. As a result of Cora’s continued growth, CYC/Cora Youth Company – an audition-based repertory company for students age 10-18 – was formed in 2011 to offer select advanced students opportunities to learn and perform the works of professional choreographers while having access to counseling services; parent workshops; internships; paid professional work opportunities; and audition/application assistance to MS/HS/College programs. To date, 90% of CYC students have gained entry into their top choice of college, most on scholarship.

Cora Dance continued to grow and, in 2018, opened a larger facility in Red Hook to accommodate the increased demand for equitable and accessible arts programs. Remaining home to the company and school – now serving 600+ students per year, over 80% attending free or reduced tuition – the space also housed pre-professional CYC/Cora Youth Companies,  satellite programs, guest/resident artists, sliding scale-space rental, a studio-theater, and presentation of 20+ live events annually, including Red Hook Community Prom, an annual pay-what-you-can high-school prom-themed dance party.

In 2020, as programs in NYC were diminished due to COVID-19, Cora expanded on its 25 years of episodic rural programming to establish a residency and office space in Clifton Forge, VA. Desiring to mirror the programs and practices of its Red Hook center in a rural “Cora South” hub, professional company work and weekly pay-what-you-can dance education programs will launch in January 2023 with expanded opportunities for urban and rural youth to intersect via The Crossroads Project, a transformative initiative using dance to create connections between rural and urban youth across America. Presently, Cora is restoring programs that were reduced during the pandemic in its Red Hook home – rehiring and growing staff and faculty positions while growing its presence in VA and WV – and predicts a return to full programming by 2024. For information, visit www.coradance.org or call 718-858-2520.