CUNY Dance Initiative Announces 2026–27 Awarded Artists

The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), an expansive residency program that provides New York City choreographers and dance companies with creative space, financial support, and engagement opportunities on CUNY campuses and beyond, announces its 2026–27 cohort of awarded artists.

From July 2026 through June 2027, CDI will support its largest cohort of resident artists to date, underwriting 26 residencies for early- and mid-career choreographers at 14 CUNY colleges across all five boroughs, as well as four partner arts organizations. Selected through a competitive open call that attracted 266 applicants, the 2026–27 artists reflect the breadth of New York City’s dance community and mirror the diversity of CUNY’s student population.

Working across a wide range of dance forms—including ballet, street dance, tap, flamenco, contemporary, and culturally specific traditions—resident artists receive rehearsal space, financial support, and time to develop new and existing work. Residencies also create opportunities for students and local communities to engage directly with professional artists through performances, master classes, guest lectures, and open rehearsals. The full roster of awarded artists is listed below, and details on public performances will be announced later this year.

Since its launch in 2014, CDI has awarded residencies to 300 choreographers, helping artists develop new work, build and sustain careers, and reach new audiences. Choreographer Jeevika Bhat, who premiered Clothesline, a contemporary Indian dance story, at Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts at City College in 2025, comments: “Clothesline simply could not have come together at the level that it did without this residency, and I cannot reiterate how pivotal CDI was in this process. Often, I find that I am rushing to just get it done, but this allowed me to explore the extent of the creative vision instead of settling for a lesser version of the concept.” Jeevika will present Clothesline at the College of Staten Island’s Center for the Arts with the support of a second CDI residency this fall.

2026–27 CUNY Dance Initiative Resident Artists and Host Partners

*performance residency

Baruch College: Baruch Performing Arts Center (Manhattan)

A Palo Seco Flamenco Company*

BMCC: Tribeca Performing Arts Center (Manhattan)

barkha patel*

Danielle Diniz/Signature Steps*

Chloe Roberts*

Brooklyn College: Tow Center for the Performing Arts (Brooklyn)

Ephrat Asherie Dance

Keerati Jinakunwiphat

The City College of New York: Leonard Davis Center for the Performing Arts (Manhattan)

Brinda Guha

College of Staten Island Center for the Arts (Staten Island)

Jeevika Bhat*

College of Staten Island in partnership with Snug Harbor Cultural Center (Staten Island)

K.J. Holmes

Hostos Community College: Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture (Bronx)

Laura Peralta*

Orlando Hernández & The Knee-Heart Connection*

Hunter College: Dance Department (Manhattan)

HopeBoykinDance

Kayla Farrish

John Jay College: Gerald W. Lynch Theater (Manhattan)

Exit12 Dance Company*

Sekou McMiller & Friends

LaGuardia Community College: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (Queens)

Grace Yi-Li Tong

Breakin'NYC | Angel Kaba*

Lehman College: Department of Dance and Theatre (Bronx)

J. Bouey Dance Projects/j. bouey

Medgar Evers College: Department of Mass Communications, Creative and Performing Arts & Speech (Brooklyn)

Dedrick Gray

Makayla Peterson / Monét Movement Productions: The Collective

Queensborough Community College: Dance Program (Queens)

PASSION FRUIT DANCE COMPANY/ Tatiana Desardouin

Thick Like Me

Queens College: Kupferberg Center for the Arts and Department of Drama,

Theatre & Dance (Queens)

Liberty Styles

NextFestival choreographer/composer partnership

York College, in partnership with Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (Queens)

CarNYval Dancers

Felicia B Ávalos

Bios for 2026-27 CDI artists are here.

ABOUT THE CUNY DANCE INITIATIVE

The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) is a transformative incubator that secures two vital yet scarce resources—rehearsal time and performance space—for New York City choreographers and dance companies. Housed within the City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s largest public urban university system, CDI is a residency program that supports local artists, enhances the cultural life and education of college students, and builds new dance audiences at CUNY performing arts centers.

More information about the CUNY Dance Initiative is available at www.cuny.edu/danceinitiative or on Facebook or Instagram.