Life Cycles

This track offers a series of discussions and workshops focusing on the challenges and opportunities present across time periods and at each stage of lives in dance for individuals and organizations ranging from student/apprentice/emerging to senior/elder/mature.

Livelihoods

Legacies

This track offers a series of discussions that reflect on and investigate various inheritances of practice across the dance field, how legacies are built and carried forward, and which legacies should be dismantled.

Symposium Features

These include the SmART Bar and Legal Clinic Consultations, Daily Debrief Sessions, Dance Breaks, equity workshops, Welcome & Wake Up Sessions, the Virtual Expo Showcase, and the Virtual Opening Night Dance Party.

General Information

10:00 a.m.

SmART Bar Consultations 

Working Together
for Racial Equity

Equity Workshop

Legal Clinic Consultations

Responsibilities and Potentials
of Sanctuary for Art Spaces 

Equity Workshop

Ask-Me-Anything: Art, Disability, and Accessibility Office Hours

Equity Workshop

6:00 p.m.

Symposium Opening Event & Keynote Conversation

Art-Making and Humanity: Interrogating Attitudes on Culture, Race and Politics Across Decades

CHECK OUT THE KEYNOTE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBE

Life Cycles Track

Opening Night Dance Party

How Long Has This
Been Going On?

Legacies Track

Livelihoods
Workshop Series

Livelihoods Track

Culture Bearers and
Traditions for Posterity 

Legacies Track

Generations of Artists Paving Their Own Path

Life Cycles Track

Growing a Dance Business to Scale

Livelihoods Track

Culture Change for Racial Justice: Allyship in Majority White-Led Dance Organizations

Legacies Track

Lunch & Virtual Expo Showcase

Life Cycles
Workshop Series

Life Cycles Track

Dance in Higher Ed: Forging a Changing World

Life Cycles Track

Self and Community Care: Performers and Holistic Wellness

Livelihoods Track

Dinner & Virtual Expo Showcase

Keynote Address and Response Session
Disabled Artists and a History of Dance, Activism and Collective Care

Livelihoods Track

Arts Philanthropy and a New Economy of Funding: Valuing Collective Wellbeing

Livelihoods Track

Mentorship in
Dance Practice

Life Cycles Track

Artists Considering Their Own Legacy 

Legacies Track

Where Do We Go From Here? Dance and Climate Change

Livelihoods Track

Advocacy 101: Navigating Public Policy for Dance Workers

Life Cycles Track

The In Between: Life, Death, and Limbo

Livelihoods Track

Lunch & Virtual Expo Showcase

Continuum of Lives
in Dance Series

Life Cycles Track

Preparing for BIPOC Executive Directors: Evolution through Revolution

Legacies Track

Legacies
Workshop Series

Legacies Track

Dinner

Symposium Closing Event and Keynote Conversation
Building Community Around Dance for a Future Society

CHECK OUT THE KEYNOTE CONVERSATION ON YOUTUBe

Legacies Track

SmART Bar Consultations
Symposium Feature
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

The 2022 SmART Bar brings together cultural, financial, business, and communications professionals to offer free one-on-one consultations during this year’s Symposium. These 30-minute individual strategic consultations are held on Zoom and organized in collaboration with Pentacle to provide tailored recommendations and direction to further resources. Symposium attendees can seek support on a range of topics, from board and fundraising issues to fresh business ideas.

Consulting sessions will be 30 minutes in duration and will take place on Zoom. Appointments are included with your ticket purchase. Appointment slots are limited and will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis by registration only.

Featured Consultants

• Alex Goleman, Director of Fiscal Services, Pentacle
• Brittany Couch, Marketing Manager, Pentacle
• Chris Bastardi, Head of Strategy & Crisis, Sunshine Sachs
• Clarissa Soto-Josephs, Executive Director, Pentacle
• Hollis Headrick, President, Arts and Cultural Strategies, Inc.
• Jenny Thompson, Managing Director of Strategy, Gibney
• Julian Schubach, VP, ODI Financial
• Nathalie Matychak, Assistant Director of Producing & Residency, Georgia Tech
• Niya Nicholson, Managing Director, MOVE|NYC|
• Sandy Garcia, Director of Booking, Pentacle
   

Registration for SmART Bar has closed.
 

Working Together for Racial Equity
Equity Workshop
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

This interactive workshop offers deeper insights into experiences around race, an understanding of racial equity core concepts, and a systems-thinking framework to assess and transform your organization. Come ready to share your wisdom and co-create! 

Workshop Facilitator: 

• Alia Lahlou, Social Transformation Facilitator
   

Legal Clinic Consultations 
Symposium Feature
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The Legal Clinic, organized in collaboration with the New York State Bar Association's Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law and Intellectual Property Sections and Dance/NYC Board Chair Elissa D. Hecker, offers individual consultations with arts and entertainment attorneys who are volunteering through the Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law and Intellectual Property Sections of the New York State Bar Association. Attorneys are prepared to discuss legal issues concerning entertainment, intellectual property (i.e. copyright and trademarks), licensing, corporation/incorporation, and collaboration agreements, organizational and corporate policies, among other issues.

Consulting sessions will be 30 minutes in duration and will take place on Zoom. Appointments are included with your ticket purchase. Appointment slots are limited and will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis by registration only.

Featured Consultants

• Adjckwc Browne, Browne Law
• Carol J. Steinberg, Attorney Law Firm of Carol J. Steinberg and Professor at the School of Visual Arts
• Cheryl Davis, General Counsel, Authors Guild
• Deborah Robinson, Esq.
• Diane Krausz, The Law Offices of Diane Krausz
• Ethan Bordman, Attorney and Chair of the Entertainment, Arts & Sports Law section of the New York State Bar Association
• Innes Smolansky, Office of Innes Smolansky
• Merlyne Jean-Louis, Business & Entertainment Lawyer, Jean-Louis Law
• Michael Burke, Legal, Bloomberg LP
• Philip Gottfried, Counsel to Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein
• Rosemarie Tully, Attorney
   

Registration for Legal Clinic has closed.
 

Responsibilities and Potentials of Sanctuary for Art Spaces
Equity Workshop
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

In a world of global structural inequality and widespread precarity, what are the responsibilities of art spaces as spaces of solidarity, safety and sanctuary? And what is the potential of safety, solidarity and sanctuary practices for art spaces? Starting from these questions in practice, the session will explore some legal, practical and strategic protocols, tools and recommendations (de-escalation, signage, abolitionist tactics, accompaniment, covid safety) that can help create spaces of solidarity, safety and sanctuary.

Workshop Facilitators: 

• Abou Farman, Associate Professor of Anthropology, New School; Art Space Sanctuary
• Milton X. Trujillo, Community Worker and Coordinator, Centro Corona

Ask-Me-Anything: Art, Disability, and Accessibility Office Hours 
Equity Workshop
3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Do you have questions about making your work accessible? Designing programs for equitable participation? Creating access and equity in your company, institution, or space? Join artist and access researcher and developer Laurel Lawson for an open space: bring your questions and be part of the conversation. Possible topics include tactile experience, audio description, visual interpretation, choreography, program design, funding, and more.

Workshop Facilitators: 

• Laurel Lawson, Choregrapher & Artist-Engineer
   

Symposium Opening Event & Keynote Conversation
Life Cycles Track
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Welcome Remarks
Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director, Dance/NYC
Shani Jamila, Interim Manager of Programming

Embodied Land Acknowledgement
Curated by: Emily Johnson, Choreographer, Director, Guggenheim Fellow
Offered by: River Whittle, Lenapehoking

Dance/NYC Acknowledgements
Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director, Dance/NYC
Shani Jamila, Interim Manager of Programming

Programming Committee Remarks 
Parijat Desai, Artistic Director, Parijata Dance Company

Curatorial Statements
Candace Thompson-Zachery, Senior Manager of Programming and Justice Initiatives
Geroge Emilio Sanchez, Performance Artist
x, Transdisciplinary Artist

State of the Dance Field Address
Alejandra Duque Cifuentes, Executive Director, Dance/NYC

Keynote Conversation:
Art-Making and Humanity: Interrogating Attitudes on Culture, Race, and Politics Across Decades
Societal upheavals that disrupt the status quo are not new to the 2020’s. This keynote conversation focuses on two contentious phases in the cultural landscape in the U.S., namely the ‘culture wars’ that escalated into national spotlight and impacted the way performance artists were censored or supported, and the embrace and critical debate over multiculturalism as a way to market and promote cultural and ethnic inclusion. The discussion addresses the changing beliefs, assumptions and expectations the public holds regarding culture, race and politics, and what it means for the work of audiences, artists and the wider dance ecology today. Curated with George Emilio Sanchez. 

Moderator: 

• Sarah Wilbur, Ph.D., Assistant Professor/Director of Graduate Studies, Duke University Dance Program

Featured Speakers:

• Benedict Nguyễn, Freelance Dancer, Writer, and Creative Producer
• Dr. Carl Paris, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Africana Studies at John, and Independent Scholar in Dance and Cultural Studies
• Karen Finley, Arts Professor, Art and Public Policy, Tisch School of the Arts, NYU
   

Opening Night Dance Party
Symposium Feature
8:15 p.m. – 9:15 p.m.

Dance/NYC is pleased to present an opening night party, bringing the dance field together in celebration. Hosted by Frank Malloy IV a.k.a. DJ OLOBÈ, the event takes place on Zoom following the Opening Night Keynote Address.

Welcome and Warm Up
Symposium Feature
9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Each day, the symposium begins with a rise and shine session to set the tone for the day, led by members of Dance/NYC's various committees.

Facilitated by: Hussein Smko, Founder/Director, Project TAG Dance Theater Company
 

How Long Has This Been Going On?
Legacies Track
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

In Edward Said’s infamous book, Culture and Imperialism (1993), he wrote, “Narrative is power.”  This conversation  presents innovative interpretations on Said’s quote to demonstrate how the work of Black, Indigenous, and disabled artists is redirecting narrative and power through their arts-making. Moderated by Kyle Dacuyan, speakers expand on how cultural narratives might become reparative when they are supported, produced, and presented accessibly to their communities. Curated with George Emilio Sanchez. 

Featured Speakers:

• Alice Sheppard, Kinetic Light
• Andre Bouchard, Executive Creative Producer
• nia love, Choreographer, Artist, Assistant Professor Adjunct at Queens College

Moderator:

• Kyle Dacuyan, Executive Director, The Poetry Project
   

Livelihoods Workshop Series
Livelihoods Track
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

A series of workshops addressing Digital Marketing for Career Longevity, Building a Media Portfolio for Dance, and Commercial Dance and Offer vs. Opportunity: Being Prepared for Success. 

Digital Marketing for Career Longevity
Marketing is most valuable when you are targeting your efforts towards specific results. But for independent artists and small arts organizations without formal marketing training, it’s overwhelming to know where to start. In an interactive workshop, Fractured Atlas’s Nina Berman and Sophia Park will guide artists through the beginning steps of building a goals-based marketing strategy. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of who their specific target audience is and at least one concrete goal to help them better connect with that audience.

Workshop Facilitators:

• Nina Berman, Associate Director of Communications and Content, Fractured Atlas
• Sophia Park, Associate Director, Community, Fractured Atlas

Offer vs. Opportunity: Being Prepared for Success
So much mythology exists around "making it" as a dancer, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. This workshop serves as an open and honest conversation about being prepared to step into a positive opportunity, knowing what you should discuss when you’re offered something, and finding the power of “no thanks.”

Workshop Facilitator:

• Jason Styres, Casting Director and Creative Director of The Casing Collaborative
   

Culture Bearers and Traditions for Posterity 
Legacies Track
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Folkloric and traditional dance practitioners offer insights on the strength of their practices for posterity, articulating the ways they participate in the wider dance field and how they pass on their traditions. How are these artists perceived, supported and included, and on what terms?

Featured Speakers:

• Paula Sánchez-Kucukozer, Manager and Founding Member, Son Pecadores
• Sachiyo Ito, Artistic Director, Sachiyo Ito and Company
• Sahasra Sambamoorthi, CEO, Navatman
• Sewaa Codrington, Cofounder/Director, KowTeff School of African Dance

Moderator:

• Darian Parker, Ph.D., Guest Professor of West African Dance, The Juilliard School
   

Dance Break
Symposium Feature
11:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

Daily dance breaks invigorate, educate, and connect Symposium participants, keeping dance at the center of it all. Presented in partnership with Cumbe Center for African and Diaspora Dance, Dance/NYC’s official Dance Break Sponsor.

Facilitated by: Angel Kaba, International Artistic Director, Choreographer; Founder of Afro'Dance New York
 

Generations of Artists Paving Their Own Path
Life Cycles Track
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m

Moving beyond the labels of emerging, mid-career, and/or established, this session investigates artists’ trajectories based on their own definitions. In a series of paired discussions, dance artists in similar age brackets across varying practices unpack where they are in their careers and the assets, challenges, and opportunities present for them at their current phase. Curated with x.

Featured Speakers:

• Adia Whitaker, Founder & Artistic Director of Àṣẹ Dance Theatre Collective
• Annie-B Parson, Artistic Director, Big Dance Theater
• Carmen Caceres, Dance Artist, Choreographer, and Educator
• Mike Esperanza, Artistic Director, BARE Dance Company 
• Nicky Paraiso, Director of Programming, The Club at La MaMa; Festival Curator, La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival 
• Sarah Chien, Independent Dance Artist 

Moderator:

• Maya Simone Z., Interdisciplinary Artist & Advocate, Dance/NYC Junior Committee
   

Growing a Dance Business to Scale
Livelihoods Track
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m

This session with arts organization business leaders digs deeper into the journey from single founder ‘scrappy’ operations to mature and structured entities. The conversation focuses on the business strategies, legal tools, and administrative frameworks that they’ve learned along the way. Curated with x.

Featured Speakers:

• Clarinda Mac Low, Executive Director, Culture Push, Inc.
• Jeremy McQueen, Director & Choreographer, The Black Iris Project
• Lavesh Pritmani, Founder, Learn Bhangra
• Violeta Galagarza, Executive Artistic Director, Keep Rising To The Top (KR3Ts)

Moderator: 

• Ashley N. Cloud, Founder & Managing Attorney, The Cloud Law Firm, PLLC
   

Culture Change for Racial Justice:
Allyship in Majority White-led Dance Organizations
Livelihoods Track
12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m

In June of 2020, following the murder of George Floyd and the re-awakened racial reckoning, organizations raced to post solidarity statements––forcing many to assess the state of their organizations in terms of racial equity while still reeling from the effects of the pandemic. Over the course of the next year, dance and cultural organizations continued to have to respond to many more instances of racial violence and injustice. In this conversation with leaders and administrators from majority white-led organizations, speakers discuss their responses to––and interventions towards––change for racial equity. The conversation will focus on the realities and challenges faced and the work that remains to be done.

Featured Speakers:

• Craig T. Peterson, Executive Artistic Director, Abrons Arts Center
• Hope Mohr, Attorney and Co-Director of The Bridge Project
• Mike Megliola, Director of Information Strategy and Inclusion, Parsons Dance
• Sarah Marcus, Director of Education and Community Engagement, Mark Morris Dance Group

Moderator:

• Aaron Mattocks, Director of Programming, Joyce Theater
   

Life Cycles Workshop Series
Life Cycles Track
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m

Holistic Approaches to Career Transition for Dancers
Change is a constant in the life and career of a dancer, with inherent challenges at every age and stage. Join the conversation about how dancers can manage their careers as dynamic portfolios encompassing strategic and purposeful combinations of work and life roles, while providing personal satisfaction and fulfillment.

Facilitator:

• Patricia Schwadron, Career Counselor Supervisor, The Actors Fund Career Center

Hitting Financial Milestones as Artists
As artists we often feel like we don’t have time for long-term planning, or values-aligned goal setting.  In this workshop, Amy Smith will encourage participants to dream and plan proactively even in times of uncertainty. We’ll discuss entity type milestones (LLC, etc), retirement milestones (Social Security, IRAs), and wealth-building (home ownership, investing).

Facilitator:

• Amy Smith, Dance Artist, Educator, Facilitator

Planning for Retirement as an Artist
A session on how artists can proactively plan for their retirement, from 401ks and IRAs to Social Security and nest eggs.

Facilitator:

• Amy Smith, Dance Artist, Educator, Facilitator
   

Dance in Higher Ed: Forging a Changing World
Life Cycles Track
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m

What is the point of a dance degree? How can higher education support life transitions and the pursuit of right livelihood? Should dance studies participate in forging a legacy of change in the world? This panel discussion explores the expectations, assumptions, misunderstandings, and opportunities that collegiate dance studies can offer towards a full life and its many pathways. Curated by Hunter College.

Featured Speakers:

• Ana Nery Fragoso, Acting Director, Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program, Hunter College
• Maxine Montillus, Adjunct Dance Professor, CUNY Hunter College
• Nina Goldman, Hunter College
• Timothy Edwards, Performer, Camille A Brown and Dancers

Moderator: 

• Paul Dennis, Professor and Chair, Hunter College Dance Department
   

Self and Community Care: Performers and Holistic Wellness
Livelihoods Track
2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m

Dance practitioners with well-rehearsed wellness practices reflect on caring for mind, body, spirit, community, and land while using dancer’s bodies as vessels for exploratory performance and creativity. This panel will delve into holistic wellness beyond cross training and nutrition. 

​Featured Speakers:

• Elena Sundick, Mellon Public Humanities Research Fellow, JKO School Intern, and Dance Educator
• Ellie Kusner, Freelance Dance Educator, Teacher, and Advocate; Faculty at Juilliard Dance and Mark Morris Adult; and Co-Host of DanceWell Podcast
• Mia Morris, Independent Artist + Executive Director, Dance for All Bodies
• Reverend Nafisa Shariff, Founder & CEO, Entering the Holy of Holies

Moderator:

• Orlando Zane Hunter, Ohio Master Urban Farmer, Founder & Artistic Director, Brother(hood) Dance! 
   

Daily Debrief
Symposium Feature 
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

A moment for reflection and discussion connecting the session topics and overarching themes of the Symposium.

Facilitated by: Maria Bauman, Artistic Director of MBDance; Co-founder of ACRE (Artists Co-creating Real Equity); Core Trainer with The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond
 

Disabled Artists and a History of Dance, Activism and Collective Care
Livelihoods Track
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

An address by Corbett OToole about the evolution of dance, activism, and an ethos of collective care in the United States. What can dance artists today learn from investigating this rich history? The presentation will be followed by a response session with Dance/NYC Disability. Dance. Artistry. Residency Artists. Curated with x.

Keynote Speakers:

• Corbett OToole, Disabled Dance Advocate 

Respondents:

• Anna Gichan, Disability. Dance. Artistry. Resident, Dance/NYC
• Alison Kopit, Disability. Dance. Artistry. Resident, Dance/NYC
• Laurel Lawson, Choreographer & Artist-Engineer  
• x, Transdisciplinary Artist

Welcome and Warm Up
Symposium Feature
9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Each day, the symposium begins with a rise and shine session to set the tone for the day, led by members of Dance/NYC's various committees.

Facilitated by: Alexandria Wailes, Freelance Artist
 

Arts Philanthropy and a New Economy of Funding: Valuing Collective Wellbeing
Livelihoods Track
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

A series of conversations with funders that unpacks a new economy for funding the arts. These discussions spotlight funding organizations that are working in coalition, investing in individual artists’ safety nets and supporting arts workers mental health as ways of strengthening the dance and arts field as a whole.

Featured Speakers:

• Anna Campbell, Senior Program Officer, Howard Gilman Foundation
• Michelle Bae, Program Officer, Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund
• Moira Brennan, Executive Director, The MAP Fund, Inc. 
• Randi Berry, Executive Director, IndieSpace/Indie Theater Fund
• Risa Shoup, Interim Executive Director, the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York
• Sarah Calderon, Executive Director, Creatives Rebuild New York
   

Mentorship in Dance Practice
Life Cycles Track
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Dance artists in mentor/mentee relationships discuss the benefits, challenges and beauty of mentorship. This session will particularly appeal to those seeking advice on how to build generative relationships to support their own lives and careers. 

Featured Speakers:

• Cricket Colter, of the Step Fenz, Crazy-Natives dance crews, and Artistic Director of Concept Kinetics
• Lauren Cox, Assistant Professor of Jazz Dance, UMass Amherst 
• Marianna Koytsan 
• Michele Byrd-McPhee, Executive Director, Ladies of Hip-Hop
• Reyna Núñez, Movement Artist & Program Coordinator, Ladies of Hip Hop (LOHH)
• Sheila Barker, Educator, Broadway Dance Center; Adjunct Professor, Marymount Manhattan College

Artists Considering Their Own Legacy
Legacies Track
10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Independent dance creators whose works live outside of mainstream or famed platforms often don’t have the luxury of having their works lauded, cataloged or preserved. In this session Individual dance artists reflect on their artistic practices, processes and repertory, considering the impact they wish to have on their communities and if or how their artistry will live on past them. 

The conversation is followed by a workshop, hosted by Dance/USA’s Archiving and Preservation team, entitled Building Your Legacy: A Workshop for Living Archives. The workshop introduces basic concepts, free resources, and practical steps to get started with managing and preserving digital and physical records. Attendees at all stages of their careers will learn to make more informed decisions about what documentation they should be creating and saving in order to build an archive that tells the story of their/their organization’s unique creative practice.

Featured Speakers:

• David Thomson, Artist, Advocate, Mentor, Educator
• Muna Tseng, Founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer, Dancer, Teacher, Muna Tseng Dance Projects Inc. and Creative Director, Estate Archive of Tseng Kwong Chi, New York
• Zone TDK

Moderator:

• Dr. Megan Metcalf, Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Workshop Facilitators:

• Hallie Chametzky, Archiving Specialist, Dance/USA
• Imogen Smith, Director of Archiving and Preservation, Dance/USA
   

Dance Break
Symposium Feature
11:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

Daily dance breaks invigorate, educate, and connect Symposium participants, keeping dance at the center of it all. Presented in partnership with Cumbe Center for African and Diaspora Dance, Dance/NYC’s official Dance Break Sponsor.

Facilitated by: Olu Alatise, Miss Lulu Creates, Dancer/Teacher/Choreographer
 

Where Do We Go From Here? Dance and Climate Change
Legacies Track
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.

The ecological perils people are facing around the world are stark reminders that climate change is real, and the survival of the planet is at stake.  Dance and art makers have been at the forefront of this issue for decades, and in this conversation we will get a glimpse into how environmental justice and arts-making can inform, instruct and inspire people to face the crisis and dance. Curated with George Emilio Sanchez.

Featured Speakers:

• Jill Sigman, Artistic Director, jill sigman/thinkdance
• Lehuanani DeFranco, Organizer, Uprooted & Rising
• Paloma McGregor, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Angela's Pulse

Moderator: 

• andrea haenggi, Interdisciplinary Dance Artist and Ethnochoreobotanographer
   

Advocacy 101: Navigating Public Policy for Dance Workers
Livelihoods Track
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.

This session provides individual dance workers with resources and tools to take action on personal advocacy positions, participate in and build coalitions, and develop relationships with key stakeholders and legislators. Curated with Sarah Cecilia Bukowski. 

Presenter: 

• Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, Research & Advocacy Coordinator, Dance/NYC 

Featured Speakers:

• Diane Fraher, Founder & Director, American Indian Artists Inc, (AMERINDA)
• Kimberly Olsen, Executive Director, NYC Arts in Education Roundtable
• Ravi Reddi, Associate Director of Advocacy and Policy, Asian American Federation
• Rebecca Fitton, Independent Artist Manager

Moderator:

• Lucy Sexton, Executive Director, New Yorkers for Culture & Arts
   

The In Between: Life, Death, and Limbo
Life Cycles Track
12:00 – 1:30 p.m.

A conversation among interdisciplinary practitioners on the parallels of working with grief and loss while fortifying a present/future as an artist.

Featured Speakers:

• devynn emory, devynnemorybeastproductions
• mayfield brooks, Artist/Choreographer 
• Ogemdi Ude, Artist and Educator
   

Continuum of Lives in Dance Series
Life Cycles Track
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

A series of short conversations addressing the emotional, logistical, and financial issues that arise in navigating life’s many stages as a dance worker. Topics include: 1) Supporting Young Dancers, 2) Dance, Parenthood and Artistic Practice, and 3) Eldership and Aging in Dance. 

Featured Speakers:

• Alexandra Beller, Artistic Director of Alexandra Beller/Dances
• Ananya Chatterjea, Artistic Director, Ananya Dance Theatre & Coordinator, Shawngrām Institute for Performance & Social Justice
• Beverly Lopez, Artistic Director, REDi Dance Company, Dancer, Choreographer, Teaching Artist
• Makeda Thomas
• Ronald K. Alexander, Self-Employed Freelance Dance Artist, Teacher, Choreographer, Administrator
• Stacie Webster, Teacher & Choreographer, Broadway Dance Center
   

Preparing for BIPOC Executive Directors: Evolution through Revolution
Legacies Track
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

This conversation unpacks the generative question: how can organizations set up first-time BIPOC executive directors for success? Anne Huang partners with Dance/NYC to curate and moderate an anti-racist dialogue that addresses recruitment, hiring, onboarding, board transformation and development, and has applicability across the entire non-profit field, which is so insidiously entrenched in white supremacy culture.

Featured Speakers:

• Anne Huang, Executive Director, World Arts West
• Janet Rollé, CEO & Executive Director, American Ballet Theatre 
• Kellee Edusei, Executive Director, Dance/USA
• Sydnie Liggett-Dennis, Executive Director, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
• Tiffany Rea-Fisher, Executive Artistic Director, Emerge125
   

Legacies Workshop Series
Legacies Track
2:30 – 4:00 p.m.

An Introduction to Worker Cooperatives in the Arts
In this 30-minute presentation by the U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives, participants will learn about the basics of what makes a worker-owned cooperative, how they differ from more mainstream understandings of an ensemble, and what they look like in practice through case studies.

Workshop Facilitators:

• Daniel Park, Training and Consulting Manager, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives
• Matt Feinstein, Co-op Clinic Program Manager, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Managing Intellectual Property
Protecting your legacy in the long term involves protecting it in the moment, as well. In this session we will discuss what elements of dance are protectible and how you can do so, along with the risks of posting your work online.

Workshop Facilitator:

• Amy Lehman, Director of Legal Services, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts 

Artist Estate Planning: Process Workshop
A mini-workshop to help clarify, organize and implement next steps for building a personal and artistic legacy. 

Workshop Facilitator:

• David Thomson, Artist, Advocate, Mentor, Educator
   

Daily Debrief
Symposium Feature
4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. 

A moment for reflection and discussion connecting the session topics and overarching themes of the Symposium, led by a facilitator.

Facilitated by: Sarah Cecilia Bukowski, Research & Advocacy Coordinator, Dance/NYC
 

Performance
ELEGY

A memoria for the passing of a loved one.

Choreographer: Martial Roumain 
Performer: Donna Clark, Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company
Music: Michael Wimberly
Costume Design: by Eleo Pomare
Presented by: Clark Center NYC
 

Performance
Through The Walks Of...

This work is about a group of people who are going through their own personal struggles. However, this group is unaware that they are feeling and experiencing a sense of darkness. As time passes, some appear to succumb to the darkness, while others discover how to overcome it. 

Restfulness and calmness are awakened when some people experience the power of light and tranquility. This inspires individuals to explore new possibilities outside the barriers they've built and break free from the limitations they've imposed on themselves. During their journey, they each tell their unique narrative, yet they are connected to one another through their walks of...

Choreographer: Lina Sierra, MA Dance Education
Performers: Amanda Kwolyk, Jessica Son, and Lina Sierra 
Presented by: Hunter College Dance Department
 

Building Community Around Dance for a Future Society
Legacies Track
6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. 

At an important global tipping point for change, this conversation forecasts what  building community around dance will demand of the dance field, and the wider society as we know it. Knowledgeable practitioners in technology, education, producing, and presenting discuss the world they are preparing for and how they will serve it. 

Featured Speakers:

• Adham Hafez, Founder and Artistic Director, HaRaKa Platform and Wizara Ecosystems
• Chris Walker, Director, Division of the Arts; Professor, Dance Department, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Kamal Sinclair, Regenerative Leadership Member, Guild of Future Architects
• Kristopher McDowell, Founder of Rhizome Consulting and KMP Artists

Moderator:

• Onye Ozuzu, Dean, College of the Arts, University of Florida and Artistic Director Ozuzu Dances