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DANCE NEWS: Dance/NYC Awards First Round of Grants through Dance Workforce Resilience Fund
Over 120 Freelance Dancers Have Applied to Date, with Majority Opting in for Future Consideration
Dance/NYC is proud to announce the successful completion of the first round of grantmaking through its Dance Workforce Resilience (DWR) Fund, a pilot initiative designed to promote fair labor practices, support contracted freelance dance work, and reduce wage inequities across New York City’s dance sector. The Fund received over 120 applications in its first month, with all applicants who were not yet selected opting to remain in the pool for future lottery rounds.
Launched in June 2025, the DWR Fund offers one-time $1,000 grants to freelance dancers working in the NYC metropolitan area for eligible, contracted dance work completed between January 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. Applicants are randomly selected through a monthly weighted lottery that prioritizes individuals who are most often underpaid or excluded from traditional funding opportunities, including African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA); disabled; immigrant; transgender; nonbinary; and older (40+) dancers.
Supported by the Ford Foundation, New York Community Trust, and other generous funders, the DWR Fund is a core component of Dance/NYC’s multiyear Dance. Workforce. Resilience. (DWR) Initiative, which aims to strengthen the dance ecology by fostering economic sustainability for individual dance workers and organizations alike. It is administered by Dance/NYC in collaboration with consultants F. Javier Torres-Campos and Jo-Ná A. Williams, Esq., utilizing guidance from an advisory group of dance workers with experience in grantmaking and arts labor advocacy.
“The overwhelming response to the DWR Fund reflects both the need and the urgency for more equitable labor practices in dance,” says Sara Roer, Interim Executive Director of Dance/NYC. “We’re thrilled to support dancers in building greater financial stability through contracts and fair pay, and we are excited to continue this work in partnership with the field.”
Grantees selected in the first round of funding have begun receiving awards this August. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis through March 3, 2026, and new grantees will continue to be selected monthly until all funds are awarded.
“I am humbled and very grateful for this award,” says Clarence Brooks, a DWR Fund recipient. “In a field where funding is so often youth-focused, being the recipient of this grant says folx like me—even senior artists—are valued, and appreciated.”
Dance/NYC offers a range of application support services to ensure accessibility and ease of participation. These include:
- One-on-one technical and legal assistance sessions with Spanish and Chinese translation and ASL interpretation available upon request
- Support webinars with recordings available on Dance/NYC’s YouTube channel
- A downloadable application guide
- Sample contracts and contract request templates.
For more information about eligibility, upcoming due dates, and support services, visit Dance.NYC/DWRFund.
Image: Clarence Brooks in "Benched" (2025) choreographed by Samantha Geracht and Clarence Brooks. Photo by Steven Pisano
Description: Against a backdrop of a light beige-colored wall, a shirtless Black male wearing dark-colored pants is caught on a small wooden bench mid-turn with the right leg extended in arabesque, right arm reaching forward high, and very long locs flying.
