Dance/NYC announced the launch of the Dance. Workforce. Resilience. (DWR) Initiative, which aims to address economic inequity in the metropolitan New York City dance industry and, in turn, act on its commitment to foster a just, equitable, and inclusive dance ecology.
To celebrate the launch of the Initiative, join Dance/NYC at the Mark Morris Dance Center for a party with community members, industry leaders, politicians, funders, and advocates in the field. The gathering commemorates ten years of Dance/NYC’s service as an independent nonprofit in the City and marks its first in-person gathering since 2020. The evening includes interviews with dance workers and performances by Dance/NYC grantees, and concludes with a dance party.
When: Wednesday, July 20, 2022 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. ET
Where: In-person at Mark Morris Dance Center, 3 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217, with some elements live streamed via YouTube Live
Registration: REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. This event will be held in-person, with some virtual elements, and is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Limited capacity, entrance granted on a first-come, first-served basis. If you need assistance with your ticket, please email info@dance.nyc.
Mark Morris Dance Center is an accessible venue. The main entrance to the venue, located at 3 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217, is street-level and is equipped with automated doors. The building’s main lobby includes an elevator, which provides direct access to the event spaces on floors 4 and 5. Dance/NYC staff and volunteers will be on site to guide attendees to the appropriate space(s).
Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located in the lobby, and on the 4th and 5th floors. All restrooms on these floors are gender inclusive. Drinking fountains are located in the lobby and on floors 4 and 5. Rooms are lit by a combination of fluorescent lights and incandescent lights. ASL interpretation and Audio Description will be provided in person, and live CART and ASL will be provided in person and in the livestreamed portion of the program. Dance/NYC will not be able to provide child care or health care for this event.
If you require additional reasonable accommodation, please contact Izzy Dow at least two weeks prior to the event via email at idow@dance.nyc or call 212.966.4452 (voice only).
Dance Advocate Award
Presented to Jody Gottfried Arnhold
Photo Credit: Arthur Elgort
Dance/NYC is thrilled to honor luminary dance educator and advocate, Jody Gottfried Arnhold, with the Dance Advocate Award for her integral work in creating and nurturing a more just and equitable dance workforce.
From founding Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at the 92Y, the catalyst for countless efforts to train the next generation of dance educators, to producing the New York Emmy Nominated PS DANCE! and its sequel PS DANCE! Next Generation highlighting the importance of dance education in public school curriculum, Jody’s investments have created countless opportunities. Today, she continues to shine the light on the importance of dance and dance education for every child in every school.
Program
Music by DJ Monday Blue
Video feature of Zazel O'Garra and ZCO Dance Project:
Episodes of the Soul reflect the inner demons, turmoil, joy and anger that we struggle with everyday as we travel through life. Dancers: Zazel-Chavah O'Garra, Wendy Ann Powell, Colleen Roche, Jessica De La Rosa, Nanette De Cillis, Ghali'l Rhodes Benjamin
Video feature of Ayazamana Dance Group
The Ayazamana Dance Group, directed by Jose Rivera, performs traditional dances from
different regions of Ecuador. The fundamental goal of the group is to showcase the cultural
richness and diversity of Ecuador through dance. Dancers: Shenyle Acosta, Katlyn Chauca, Marie Chauca, Janeth Cuzco, Alexandra Guaigua, Nataly Jaramillo, Ashley Linares, Sonia Lema, Danna Mendoza, Brittany Misacango, Katherine Kelly, Lilybeth Panora, Darwin Paucar, Viviana Peralta, Jose Rivera, Randy Rivera, Angel Romero, Junior Romero, Luis Salazar, Justo Santos, Nadia Suquinagua, Carlos Tacuri, Ashley Zumbana, Nicole Zumbana.
Live Performance by Rovaco Dance Company
Set to the iconic wedding song "Canon in D Major" by Johann Pachelbel, Waada (Promise) is a piece by Rovaco Dance Company that highlights themes of love, trust, and commitment through a South Asian queer lens. Choreography is by Artistic Director Rohan Bhargava in collaboration with dancers Nico Gonzales & Siddharth Dutta.
Embodied Land Acknowledgement
by River Whittle
Remarks by
Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Candace Thompson-Zachery, Carla Hoke-Miller, Elissa D. Hecker, Judith Fischman, Jody Arnhold, Sarah Cecilia Bukowski
Premiere of Dance Census Campaign Video
Conversations with the Dance Workforce Resilience Initiative Task Force Members
Antuan Byers & Vanessa Hernández Cruz
Antuan Byers, Lucy Sexton & Pavan Thimmaiah
Live Performance by Imani Arrington of Ladies of Hip Hop
Speakers and performers will be announced as they are confirmed.
Please check back regularly for updates.
Click participant names to access their bios:
Speakers
Antuan Byers, dancer, model, creative entrepreneur, and arts organizer
Antuan Byers (he/him) is a dancer, model, creative entrepreneur, and arts organizer. Basing his multidisciplinary practice in Lenapehoking, Manhattan, New York, he is using movement as a catalyst for societal change. As a freelance dancer, he regularly works with prestigious institutions as a performer and teacher; however, he shares his time building communities, creating resources, and finding innovative avenues to support his community.
Carla Hoke-Miller is Founding Director of Theatre Programs and Partnerships at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. She has collaborated with government colleagues and those in performing arts on 50 theatre partnerships and initiatives to further diversity and create career opportunities within the industry. Among them is Made in NY Stagecraft Bootcamp in Roundabout Theatre's Theatrical Workforce Development Program, Broadway in the Boros/Off Broadway in the Boros outdoor performance series, and JanArtsNYC Festival partnerships in association with APAP. Hoke-Miller proposed and oversaw the 2019 ground-breaking report, All New York’s A Stage: NYC Small Theater Industry Cultural and Economic Impact Study. Her efforts ensure performing artists and organizations are included in government funding streams and receive recognition through multi-agency initiatives, and she assisted in building designated vaccination/testing sites for arts worker safety while aiding industry pandemic recovery. A cultural programs NYC government veteran, Hoke-Miller's background is in theatre studies, playwriting, production, political science and urban studies. She developed a juried arts awards and leveraged government funding for artists in Manhattan Borough President's David N. Dinkins Office, leading to a pivotal position in Mayor Dinkins’ Administration. Her work includes funding education reform, real estate preservation, museum publicity, new media, and social justice policy.
Lucy Sexton, Executive Director, New Yorkers For Culture & Arts
Lucy Sexton is a Brooklyn-born choreographer, producer, administrator, and performing artist who works in the fields of dance, performance, film, and public advocacy. She is the Executive Director of the cultural advocacy coalition New Yorkers for Culture & Arts. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the NY Dance and Performance Awards, The Bessies, where she worked for ten years with Heather Robles to build The Bessies into an independent organization. From 2013-16 she served as a Consulting Associate Artistic Director of the planned performing arts center at the World Trade Center. As a dance artist she works with Anne Iobst creating and performing the dance performance duo DANCENOISE which was founded in 1983, had a retrospective exhibit and performance at the Whitney Museum in 2015, and premiered a new piece at NY Live Arts in 2018. She has also directed and dramaturged plays by Spalding Gray, Tom Murrin, Nora Burns, and Heather Litteer; and produced documentaries by Charles Atlas for the BBC and Arte. Sexton is currently developing and directing Eszter Balint's anti musical "I Hate Memory."
Pavan ‘PMT’ Thimmaiah, founder of PMT House of Dance (est. 2001), is an award-winning artist who broke with tradition to realize his dream of becoming a professional dancer. Pavan has since enjoyed a career highlighted by being the first Indian American to choreograph for a major recording artist and for network TV. He has been featured in Dance Teacher Magazine, Dance Magazine, NY Times, Dance Europe, The Dance Gazette, Staten Island Advance & more.
Pavan is best known as the resident choreographer for the Today Show since 2010. Additionally, Pavan has choreographed for artists Vanilla Ice, Macy Gray, Harry Connick Jr, Alex Feder, Matt Palmer, Zia Victoria, Apache Indian & others. His other choreography credits include New Year’s Eve in Times Square, 1st Place Apollo Champion (choreographer), Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central & MTV and NBA halftime shows since 2014. He choreographed the first ever NY Fashion Week Runway show at the USS Intrepid for fashion designer Chi-Zhang.
Pavan’s proudest achievements have come through his work with the dance community as a practitioner, teacher and leader. He helped usher in Sessions and Jams as essential elements of dance education – with culture and history centermost in that effort. Those sessions are world renowned as a creative space for dancers to express, create and train. His partnerships with legends like Ken Swift, Don ‘Campbellock Campbell and James ‘Cricket’ Colter created opportunities for the Street Styles at a time when stereotypes lead many to avoid these types of events and classes. As a teacher and practitioner, he has proudly ushered in countless dancers, of all levels, to experience the culture and energy of Hip Hop.
PMT Dance Company, his performance group, has presented original work for The International Dance Festival, the Bollywood Movie Awards & for Sundance Channel’s “Young Revolutionaries” - performing across the US & Canada. As an educator, he has helped students at New School University, UC Irvine, Peridance, Joffrey Ballet, NYU, Alvin Ailey Extension, PMT & schools nationwide.
Pavan is also the founder of the Dance Studio Alliance NYC - an advocacy group of Dance Studios and NYC Arts Institutions - advocating for dance organizations & arts workers.
River Whittle (They/Them/Theirs) is a Caddo, Lenape, and Irish-American interdisciplinary artist and youth mentor. River currently lives in occupied Tiwa territory in Albuquerque, New Mexico and is versed in photography, printmaking, and experimental video, and is learning jewelry (silver, copper and beadwork) and pottery. River’s work focuses on the fluid and giving relationship between ancestors and future, beyond binary colonial structures.
Dance Artists National Collective, Communications & Social media Co-Coordinator
Vanessa Hernández Cruz (she, her, hers) is an emerging interdependent Chicana disabled dance artist & Disability Justice activist. She is from the unceded lands of the Tongva & Kizh territories colonially known as Los Angeles, California. She graduated from California State University Long Beach with her BA in Dance Science. In 2022, she was selected into the first national cohort for LatinXtentions Dance Mentorship Program led by David Herrera. She was also accepted for The Box LA & Pieter Parking Space Residency. In 2021, she was a part of the Arts Unchained International virtual residency where she developed a dance film titled “11th Hour”. Vanessa has been implementing the Disability Justice framework (Sins Invalid) through her activism & dance work. She is currently working with DANC (Dance Artists’ National Collective) as their Communications & Social Media Co-Coordinator. She also serves as a consultant in their BIPOC & Disabled Circle. In the past, she guided Cal State Long Beach Department of Dance to adopt Disability Justice elements into their dance productions and curriculum with the support of CSULB Affinity AIDE (Advocates for Inclusion & Dancer Equity). She has developed two workshops: Dismantling Ableism in Dance & Accessibility at the Forefront of Dance Making Series. Vanessa is committed to generating substantial changes in the dance field and making the dance field an equitable space for our multi-marginalized disabled communities.
Imani Arrington, a Brooklyn Native movement artist, started her career studying under Angel Chin and performing with her company NonaLee Dance Theatre since 2014. Imani continued her training at Queensborough Community College. During her time there she worked with resident teaching artists Emily Berry, Aviva Geismar and Marjani Forte Saunders. Imani decided to shift her focus from college to pursue her passions and purpose within New York’s street dance culture. She spent that time exploring outside of Eurocentric structures and dance forms to then nurture the dances she experienced in her upbringing. Since then, she has had the opportunity to expand her community and be mentored by the profound practitioners and tastemakers of the culture. Michele Byrd, Terry ‘Cebo’ Carr, TweetBoogie just to name a few. Imani currently is the dance director for Arts in Bushwick and artistically collaborates, choreographs and performs with the Ladies of Hip Hop Collective.
Monday Blue is a Brooklyn based DJ, fluent in digital and vinyl, with over eight years experience spinning music that moves and elevates diverse crowds. The 2018 Pulitzer Prizes deejay, Monday Blue can be found playing at events throughout the U.S.
In addition to playing in clubs and entertainment venues, Monday Blue also performs in the theatrical realm. She was the onstage deejay for Stacey Sargeant’s production Buh Wha’ Trouble is Dis? (or The Exhumation of MC Spice), work shopped and put on as part of New York Theater Workshop’s 2019 Dartmouth Residency. In 2021, Monday Blue lent her skills to Life In Sepia: Vermont’s Black Burlesque Revue, crafted by The Maine Attraction and mounted by JAG Productions for Theater On The Hill.
Monday Blue flows easily in the digital realm; however, her heart beats with vinyl. Her love of vinyl led her to create and become resident DJ of Doyennes of Disc, a monthly vinyl party featuring all women selectors held at Brooklyn’s premiere vinyl bar, BierWax. You can listen to and stream Monday Blue playing her favorite wax live every Wednesday at 6 pm EST on Follow Your Bliss With Monday Blue on twitch.tv/DJMondayBlue and The Face Radio (thefaceradio.com).
Nico Gonzales is originally from Denver, Colorado where he received his early training at Denver School of the Arts and from Brian Young. He holds his BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts with a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. He is a founding member of Rovaco Dance (Rohan Bhargava) and HOLDTIGHT Company (Gwendolyn Gussman) and continues to collaborate on new work with both companies. He has also had the pleasure of performing work by Heidi Latsky Dance, Bryn Cohn & Artists, Stephan Koplowitz and Periapsis Music and Dance (Jonathan Katz) at venues including Jacob's Pillow, Bates Dance Festival, High Fest (Armenia), Mark Morris Dance Center, Bryant Park and Lincoln Center.
Born and raised in New Delhi, India, Artistic Director of Rovaco Dance Company, Rohan Bhargava, began dancing at The Danceworx Academy for the Performing Arts, where he went on to serve as a performer, choreographer, and educator. In 2012 he relocated to New York to study dance at Tisch School of the Arts, NYU.
Bhargava founded Rovaco Dance Company in 2015 and has received commissions from The Dance Gallery Festival, Sam Houston State University, Mare Nostrum Elements, Dancewave, Making Moves Dance Festival, and Rhythmically Speaking Dance. He was a 2016 Artist-in-Residence for The James Jay Dudley Luce Foundation, and he was named one of Dance Magazine’s “Immigrants Who’ve Inspired Us.” In 2017, Bhargava collaborated with seven composers from Mannes School of Music as part of the Alsop Entrepreneurship Award. In 2019, he completed a two-year residency through the CUNY Dance Initiative at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and he was awarded the 2020 Jadin Wong Fellowship in Dance, through the Asian American Arts Alliance.
In 2021, Rovaco Dance Company received city funding from Brooklyn Arts Council, was presented by Little Island and Battery Dance Festival, and named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.”
Rovaco is a recipient of the Dance Advancement Fund 2022-23, awarded by Dance/NYC, and Bhargava currently works for Kizuna Dance, Periapsis Music and Dance, Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theater, and Mare Nostrum Elements.
Siddharth Dutta graduated as an Architect in the Year 2015 and then practised for a year. In the year 2016 Siddharth decided to take a break from Architecture and focus on his passion. He then joined a contemporary dance school in Bangalore called Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts where he trained under the artistic director Jayachandra Palazhy in various styles like Contemporary, Ballet, Bharatanatyam and Kalaripayattu. He graduated from Attakkalari in 2017. Having been trained under international faculty he decided to pursue contemporary dance so he moved to New York to train further and joined Peridance Centre. While at Peridance he has been a part of various music videos and performed at various venues in New York with leading choreographers. He completed one year of International Program at Peridance Capezio Centre, New York and recently graduated from the certificate program (with full scholarship) majoring in Contemporary and Ballet from the same centre. During his stay in NYC he has had the opportunity to work with some renowned contemporary choreographers: Enzo Celli’s Vivo Ballet, Igal Perry, Julie Magneville, Nicholas Palmquist, Guanglei Hui, Rohan Bhargava, Peter Cheng, John Gutierrez, Beth Graczyk, Vivake Khamsingsavath, Brianna Mercado, Max stone, Diego Funes, The Next Stage Project, Apollonia Holzer, Rannvá Niclasen & Luca Renzi Smith. Siddharth is currently pursuing his MFA in Set Design from NYU Tisch school of the Arts.
Born and raised in New York City with Caribbean parentage, Zazel-Chavah O’Garra (she, her) is a dancer, choreographer, model, educator, social worker, disability advocate and Artistic Director of ZCO/DANCEPROJECT, a physically integrated dance company. Her work has been presented in theaters, public spaces and festivals including ADA 30, WESTFEST DANCEFESTIVAL, Judson Church, Dixon place theatre, Symphony Space, Cooper Hewitt Museum, 4th International Festival of disability, ABILITIES EXPO, Theatre for the New City, as well as artist residencies at Downtown Brooklyn Arts residency, Fertile Ground at Greenspace, and ARTS4ALLFLORIDA. Zazel is the recipient of the City Arts Corp, Dance Advancement Fund, and Flushing Town Hall/NYSCA grants. In 2022, Zazel was awarded the Caribbean Impact Award which recognizes the achievements and contributions of outstanding individuals of Caribbean background who have created the most impact in their respective careers.
Before founding the ZCO/DANCEPROJECT, Zazel established a thriving career in the performing arts. Her body of work include performances on the concert stage, Off-Broadway, European Tours, national commercials and featured in runway, catalogues and Essence Magazine covers. Zazel holds a BFA from University of Michigan and an MSW from Fordham University. Zazel is a member of SAG-AFTRA, Arts and Education Committee-Board of Education and disability task force-DANCE/NYC and is represented by Gamut Talent Management.
Dance/NYC is committed to maintaining an environment that prioritizes the health and safety of staff, volunteers, participants, and attendees at its events. Per New York City Guidelines, cultural venues are allowed to determine their own policies regarding masks and vaccination.
As of July 13, 2022 and due to current rates of infections and hospitalizations in New York City based on the new COVID-19 variant Omicron BA.5, Dance/NYC has amended event safety guidelines to minimize the risk involved in gathering in-person. These amendments are based on CDC, OSHA, and cultural sector recommendations, and the policies of our partners at Mark Morris Dance Group located in downtown Brooklyn. Guidelines are subject to change based on evolving guidance from officials and Dance/NYC’s ongoing assessment of these policies.
The following requirements apply to anyone participating onsite for the Dance/NYC event on July 20, 2022.
Summary of Guidelines
All attendees, participants, staff and volunteers are required to:
Wear a KN95 or N95 mask that covers both nose and mouth, except for brief moments to eat or drink.
Showing proof of vaccination status as outlined
Showing proof of negative COVID-19 test (at home/antigen/PCR) with:
A photo of an at home rapid COVID-19 test with a time stamp
A receipt of a lab Antigen or PCR test with confirmed negative results
Distance when possible.
Practice hand washing and hygiene.
Dance/NYC will provide on site COVID-19 rapid tests and KN95 masks to make updated guidelines possible. For a detailed overview of guidelines refer to section below.
Acknowledgement of Risk
There is an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 in any public space where people are present. Dance/NYC cannot guarantee that you will not be exposed to COVID-19 at in-person convenings. By attending the event, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Dance/NYC, or any of its trustees, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury.
DETAILED OVERVIEW
In-Person Health and Safety Practices
Dance/NYC and venue partner Mark Morris Dance Group require participants (ie; performers, speakers, etc.) and audience members to be vaccinated :
All audience members ages 5 and older must be fully vaccinated. You are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after you have received a second dose in a two-dose vaccine series or two weeks after you have received a single-dose vaccine.
Audience members under the age of 5 can provide a negative test taken within 72 hours of event start time in lieu of vaccination
Audience members and participants must provide in-person verification of vaccination provided through:
The Excelsior Pass or an original physical vaccination card or photograph of it
Mark Morris Dance Group and/or Dance/NYC safety personnel will review your proof of vaccination along with your photo ID as you arrive.
Photo ID not required by those accompanied by a parent.
Photo ID can be any ID that clearly identifies the name and has a visible image of the holder.
Dance/NYC Staff, audience members and participants over the age of 5 will be required to provide a negative Covid test within 24 hours prior to the event. Verification of test can be provided through:
A photo of an at home rapid COVID-19 test with a time stamp
A receipt of a lab Antigen or PCR test with confirmed negative results
Self-Administered COVID-19 testing kits will also be available on site by Dance/NYC for audience members still in need of testing. Please note this process will add approximately 15 minutes to the entry process for the event.
Audience members and participants must wear a KN95 or N95 mask upon entering the building and for the entire time in the building, except when drinking in designated areas. Patrons should bring their own KN95 masks if available but appropriate masks will also be available on site by Dance/NYC. Surgical masks or cloth masks will not be accepted as stand alone face covers.
Expectations of Conduct and Guidelines
Dance/NYC expects all attendees, participants, staff and volunteers to comply with outlined safety measures and guidelines at all times. These include:
Mask wearing that covers both nose and mouth, except for brief moments to eat or drink.
Distancing when possible.
Hand washing and hygiene.
Showing proof of vaccination status as outlined
Showing proof of negative COVID-19 test
Dance/NYC staff and volunteers reserve the right to ensure compliance with these guidelines through verbal and written reminders. If compliance is not possible participants or attendees will not be able to enter the in-person event and/or will be asked to leave and participate virtually.
If you have questions or concerns about safety practices please contact Dance/NYC’s Programs Coordinator Izzy Dow at idow@dance.nyc. Dance/NYC staff will also be easily identifiable during the event should you have questions upon arriving at the venue.
Dance/NYC will update these guidelines and measures as appropriate and/or based on local, state and federal mandates continue to evolve and as the global COVID-19 pandemic shifts.
Dance/NYC expects all attendees, participants, staff and volunteers to adhere to the guidelines as presented in May 2022.
Dance/NYC’s Dance. Workforce. Resilience. Initiative is made possible, in part, by leadership support from the Mellon Foundation, New York Community Trust, Doris Duke Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation and a coalition of general operating support funders, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the National Endowment of the Arts.
Dance/NYC seeks partners and speakers with a variety of viewpoints for its events with the goal of generating discussion. The inclusion of any partner or speaker does not constitute an endorsement by Dance/NYC of that partner's or speaker's views.
ASL interpretation provided by SignNexus. 
Closed captioning provided the Viscardi Center.
Audio Description provided by Michelle Mantione..jpg)
