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On behalf of the National Dance Project (NDP) Advisor Cohort, we are proud to share the 2026 NDP Production Grantees and Finalists.
For three decades, the NDP Production Grant has provided a unique funding framework to support the creation/development and U.S.* touring/sharing of new dance projects. A pillar in the dance ecosystem, the program has invested more than $56 million in funding to artists and organizations to strengthen partnerships and amplify the enduring impact of dance in multiple communities. To date, NDP has supported approximately 859 choreographic works that have toured all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam, and Puerto Rico, reaching over 3.8 million audience members in-person and virtually.
In 2024, we shared that NDP would be concluding in its current form and the 2026 grant cycle would be the program’s last. As we prepared for that moment, program staff explored ways to honor NDP’s legacy by continuing to intentionally invest in process, production, and presentation. So, in recognition of our 30 years of steadfast service in the field of dance, we are elated to provide a total of $2,550,000 in funding to support 60 new dance projects via 30 NDP Production Grants and 30 NDP Finalist Awards.
NDP Production Grantees will receive a framework of support totaling $75,000 as follows:
- $45,000 to create a new dance project;
- $10,000 in unrestricted general operating support;
- $20,000 in tour subsidy that goes to U.S.* nonprofit organizations that bring the new dance project and related engagement activities to their communities.**
NDP Production Grantees will also receive additional resources and opportunities that further aid in defining and achieving success for their project on their own terms. These offerings include access to the NDP Travel Fund, thought-partnership sessions with program staff, and cohort convenings that value peer-to-peer exchange, encourage cross-sector partnerships, and build industry relationships.
NDP Finalists will be awarded $10,000 in unrestricted funds to support the continued creation/development of their proposed new dance project and address sustainability needs.
*NEFA defines U.S. as all 50 of the United States, as well as Washington D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
** NEFA continues to embrace an expanded definition of touring to include virtual sharing. We understand that there are new opportunities and interest in artists and companies sharing their projects virtually, reaching a more global audience, and have remained flexible to support this kind of expansion and hybrid model.
NDP Advisors & Grant Panel Review Process
Since its inception, the NDP Production Grant review and panel process has been rooted in NEFA’s values, facilitated by program staff, and guided by an annual rotating cohort of NDP Advisors. These individuals represent new and established leaders in dance that have lived and worked at the intersections of race, gender, disability, and geography to support equitably distributing resources that support NDP’s program goals. They serve one-to-three-year terms and are recognized as key program accountability partners.
In mid-March, we received a total of 280 eligible applications for the NDP Production Grant. The applicant pool consisted of:
- Eligible submissions from 34 states: Arizona (3), California (49), Colorado (2), Connecticut (2), Florida (4), Georgia (7), Hawaii (2), Illinois (17), Iowa (1), Louisiana (2), Maine (3), Maryland (4), Massachusetts (13), Michigan (1), Minnesota (10), Missouri (4), New Hampshire (1), New Jersey (6), New Mexico (3), New York (88), North Carolina (3), Ohio (7), Oklahoma (1), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (12), Rhode Island (1), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (1), Texas (2), Utah (1), Vermont (2), Virginia (1), Washington (8), Wisconsin (4), as well as Guam (1) and Washington, D.C. (9).
- Submissions from all six regions of the United States (Learn more about the six regional arts organizations).
- 82 new dance projects were first-time NDP Production Grant applicants.
- 23% of applications were from artists/companies that have previously received NDP support.
Over the next three months, NDP Advisors independently reviewed, scored, and provided feedback on assigned applications from the submission pool. They used this information to support future discussions that would guide their collective decision-making. In July, after six years of virtual panel meetings, our 15 NDP Advisors gathered in-person to determine this year’s cohort of NDP Production Grantees and Finalists. During their week-long conversations, NDP Advisors remained grounded in the program criteria while uplifting representation across traditional and new dance forms and aesthetics, rigorous study/research, earnest storytelling, and commitments to community mobilization. It is because of their diligent work and care that we have a diverse cohort of grantees and finalists that reflect and strengthen the cultural and aesthetic diversities of today’s dance field.
2026 National Dance Project Production Grant Recipients
Some highlights from this year’s grantee pool include:
- 57% are first-time National Dance Project Production Grant recipients
- 13% are first-time NEFA applicants
- Approx. 73% of projects are led by Black, Indigenous, and/or Peoples of Color
- Projects represent nine U.S. states. This is reflective of where artists reside and instances where their creative practice is rooted elsewhere.
- Six artists/companies received a 2025 Finalist Award
2026 National Dance Project Production Grants
Blue13 Dance Company - Artistic Director, Achinta S. McDaniel
Los Angeles, CA
Limón Dance Company & Akram Khan
New York, NY
Orlando Hernández & The Knee-Heart Connection
New York, NY
Miguel Gutierrez
Brooklyn, NY and Los Angeles, CA, CA
2026 National Dance Project Finalist Award Recipients
We are also thrilled to continue awarding NDP Finalists with an unrestricted $10,000 award. While these funds are intended to support the continued development of each NDP Finalist’s proposed new dance project, we understand that there is a delicate balance between creation needs, risk-taking, and sustainability. We believe artists should have the agency to determine how best to steward these funds and trust their choices will benefit all involved with the advancement of their projects. In addition, NDP Finalists will still have an opportunity to meet with an NDP Advisor one-on-one to explore strategies that strengthen their project creatively, financially, and systematically.
Some highlights from this year’s finalist awardee cohort include:
- 70% are first-time recipients of funding from NDP
- 17% are first-time NEFA applicants
- Approx. 67% of projects are led by Black, Indigenous, and/or Peoples of Color
- Projects represent 11 U.S. states. This is reflective of where artists reside and instances where their creative practice is rooted elsewhere.
- Two artists/companies received a 2025 Finalist Award
2026 NDP Finalist Award Recipients & Projects
- "Not special, just a miracle" A Study on the Choreography of Healing, Annie Rigney, Brooklyn, NY
- (no)man, IMGE Dance, Morganville, NJ
- (Re)singing from the Underspace, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton, OH
- AILEY commission of New work by Bobbi Jene Smith & Or Schraiber, AILEY, New York, NY
- All Purpose Room, Abby Z and the New Utility, Columbus, OH
- AREYTO, Rosanna Tavarez, North Hollywood, CA
- beauty and tenderness / the B sides, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Philadelphia, PA
- CODA, Wally Cardona, Brooklyn, NY
- Cuando perdemos piñón, Yvonne Montoya/Safos Dance Theatre, Tucson, AZ
- Desire Score (working title), Faye Driscoll, Los Angeles, CA
- Dreams, Juliana May, Brooklyn, NY
- ENIGMA, Tristan Koepke, Portland, ME
- Gestural Publics, Kate Ladenheim, Los Angeles, CA
- It’s just a smatter of time, Ephrat Asherie Dance, Brooklyn, NY
- Las Matachines: The Rematriation, Unbound Lineage, Albuquerque, NM
- LOVERROOT, Leslie Parker Dance Project, St. Paul, MN
- Memory Made Real, Roderick George, New York, NY
- Moonlit Mountain, Doma Dance Theater, Minneapolis, MN
- New work by Patricia Degado, Patricia Delgado, New York, NY
- Powwows & Cyphers: A Sacred Place to Be, Al Taw'am, Brooklyn, NY
- Pull Devil Pull Baker (working title), Lisa Fagan + Lena Engelstein, Brooklyn, NY
- SHOUT, Kia the Key & Company, Springfield, MA
- Something About Night and the Grit of Hope, Bradford Chin / Unfolding Disability Futures, Oak Park, IL
- Subjects/Surrogates (SOS), Lu Yim, Ridgewood, NY
- Sublimation of Clarity [working title], Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel, Brooklyn, NY
- Sub-Universe, Urban Bush Women, Brooklyn, NY
- The Fire That Made Us, Michela Marino Lerman | Phoenix Collective, New York, NY
- V!RTÜS, Olivier Tarpaga, Philadelphia, PA
- WE CHOOSE EACH OTHER, Sean Dorsey Dance, San Francisco, CA
- WOMANLAND, Rosalynde LeBlanc, Hawthorne, CA
What’s Next?
As NEFA celebrates its 50th anniversary and affirms its role as a social impact organization, we believe that our unwavering commitment and support for the creation of new performance works, artist and production mobility, and peer-to-peer exchange will provide a strong foundation for the evolution of our national programs’ portfolio and field-building services.
Learn more about how we plan to advance our work in our recent update to the field.
Special Thanks
While a more comprehensive retrospective of NDP’s 30-year history is forthcoming, I want to uplift key individuals whose dedication made this final round of grantmaking memorable.
2026 NDP Advisors
When we say that you are our partners in this work, we mean it! Thank you for bringing every single part of yourselves to this year’s NDP Production Grant cycle. While this final round of decision-making was hard in multiple ways, we relished the opportunity to amplify the diverse work of dance artists and their contributions to a more just society. We hope that you are still beaming with pride at what you were able to collectively accomplish.
NDP Team
Cheri Opperman and Kristin Gregory – The work we do spans more than the 9-month process of the NDP Production Grant. It requires us to recommit ourselves year after year to deep listening, applied learning, experimentation, and of course dreaming. To do this work alongside both of you is truly an honor. Thank you for your contributions to the field and for trusting/pushing my leadership to the next level.
NEFA Staff
Special shout out to Abby Southwell, Senior Technology & Data Director, and Elizabeth Timmerman, Senior Technology & Data Manager, for your guidance and help to ensure this year’s grant cycle ran smoothly from application to panel meeting. Thank you!
Additionally, thank you to Sara Nash, Chief Impact Officer, for all your support behind the scenes. As an arts leader and former steward of NDP, your perspective remains invaluable, and we appreciate all you offered during this time of transition and evolution.
Funders
NEFA's National Dance Project is generously supported with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, with funding for special initiatives from the Aliad Fund at the Boston Foundation.