![a photo of Vanessa, who is a Chicana woman with caramel skin is lying down on the concrete floor with her arm reaching out as she is looking back towards the camera. Her walker Pluto is balancing on top of her. She is wearing a gothic long sleeve blouse with a flowered black and red skirt. In the background is a looping metal bicycle stand with a graffiti filled wall.]](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser_square/public/images/Image%201_%20Headshot_Vanessa%20Herna%CC%81ndez%20Cruz_WhitneyBrowne-4679.jpg?itok=jaNFluEJ)
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On behalf of the NDP Advisor Cohort, we are pleased to share the 2025 National Dance Project (NDP) Production Grantees.
Since 1996, the NDP Production Grant has remained committed to the creation/development and U.S.* touring/sharing of new dance projects. Our steadfast support of dance artists, presenters, and communities have continued to shape our framework of funding to be both proactive and responsive to our ever-evolving times. Each year, our NDP Advisors award 20 new dance projects with an NDP Production Grant providing the following:
- $45,000 to create a new dance project;
- $10,000 in unrestricted general operating support;
- $10,000 to support a Production Residency in Dance and/or additional community engagement work; and
- $35,000 in tour subsidy that goes to U.S.* organizations that bring the new dance project and related engagement activities to their communities.**
Additionally, NDP Production Grantees receive resources to further support achieving their overall project goals and intended impact. This includes access to the NDP Travel Fund and annual Cohort Convenings to develop and/or deepen peer-to-peer, industry, and other sector relationships.
*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
Following the April preliminary round panel meetings, the 2025 NDP Advisor Cohort determined the new dance projects that would advance to the next stage of the NDP Production Grant Process and invited them to submit a full proposal as an NDP Finalist. Each project was then paired with an NDP Advisor to support the development of their full proposal via advising session(s).
Over five weeks, NDP Advisors shared preliminary round feedback – affirming strengths of the project and uplifting aspects that sparked additional curiosity, explored touring/sharing strategies for the project, supported project budget development, and work sample selections. They also engaged in discussions with NDP Finalists about how themes within their project are amplified/aligned as practices during creative process, on stage, in community, and organizational structures.
In late July, NDP Advisors reconvened virtually for a week-long grant panel review process to assess and evaluate all 40 NDP Finalist full proposals. Facilitated by NDP staff, their conversations centered program criteria and NEFA values to support their collective decision-making. They also actively prioritized creating space for learning and truth telling to help address implicit biases within dance creation, performance, presenting/touring, and engagement activities. As a result of their rigorous discussions, this year’s NDP Production Grantees are elevating experiences and narratives that unfortunately continue to be suppressed in our society. Their projects directly speak to grief, resilience, and ritual, as well as integrated technological activations created at the intersections of artistic, social, and cultural identity. Through their creative praxis, these new dance projects offer a mirror that reflects various histories with deep inquiry, while simultaneously advocating for a better present and future.
NDP Production Grantees
Some highlights from this year’s grantee pool include
- 65% are first-time National Dance Project Production Grant recipients
- 35% are first-time NEFA applicants
- 90% of projects are led by Black, Indigenous, and/or Peoples of Color
- Projects represent seven U.S. States, Washington D.C., one U.S. Territory This is reflective of where artists reside and instances where their creative practice is rooted elsewhere.
- One artists/company received a 2024 Finalist Award
2025 NDP Production Grantees
NDP Production Grant Finalists
We are also proud to continue awarding 20 NDP Finalist Awards to those projects that were not selected to receive an NDP Production Grant this year. These $10,000 amplified awards are unrestricted and intended to support the continued creation/development of each NDP Finalist’s proposed new dance project. We recognize that the use of these funds will vary for each project, and yet we trust the choices artists will make to strengthen their creative process, take artistic risks, elevate collaborations, build new relationships, and/or engage community.
Learn more about the 2025 NDP Finalists below.
Some highlights from this year’s finalist awardee cohort include
- 70% are first-time recipients of funding from NDP
- 25% are first-time NEFA applicants
- 75% of projects are led by Black, Indigenous, and/or Peoples of Color
- Projects represent 6 U.S. States. This is reflective of where artists reside and instances where their creative practice is rooted elsewhere.
- One artist/company received a 2024 Finalist Award
2025 NDP Production Grant Finalists
- A Khmer Swan Lake (ក្ងានសួគ៌), Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Lowell, MA
- Aluxes: Guardians of the Jungle, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, East Elmhurst, NY
- Anima Mundi, Degenerate Art Ensemble, Seattle, WA
- Infinite Slow Drive / Obsidians in the Wild, Brownbody, St. Paul, MN
- Jamelgo by Diego Vega Solorza, LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY, New York, NY
- Land and Us–Future Ritual, Dohee Lee, Oakland, CA
- LOOK/OUT, Fox Whitney, Seattle, WA
- MAN WOMAN, The Vangeline Theater, Brooklyn, NY
- (may there be) Good Atmosphere Between Us: The Parables of NOW, amara tabor-smith, Oakland, CA
- MOTHER, GALLIM, Brooklyn, NY
- Phoenix Paradox, Sozo Impact, Oakland, CA
- RoCoCoCoCo, laughing dances + goth cake conversation, Heather Kravas, Seattle, WA
- SERMON, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Philadelphia, PA
- Shine, Sekou McMiller, New York, NY
- STONE BELLY, Marie Lloyd Paspe, Brooklyn, NY
- The Grave's Tears, kNoname Artist - Roderick George, New York, NY
- The Kitchen, Soles of Duende, New York, NY
- this is the beginning, this is the end, Joanna Kotze, Brooklyn, NY
- To Leave You, Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists, Chicago, IL
- TRACKING PARALLEL, Heidi Latsky Dance, New York, NY Finalists
What’s Next?
As NDP approaches 30 years, we look forward to celebrating our unwavering support for the creation/development and the U.S. touring/sharing of new dance projects via a 2026 NDP Production Grant cycle. We anticipate sharing what this final round of NDP funding will entail by the end of the calendar year.
Special Thanks
NDP Advisors
You never cease to amaze us! Your commitment to this process and supporting artistic voices through these new dance projects is beyond admirable. Thank you!
NDP Team
Cheri & Kristin – Thank you for the ways you show up and show out! While this past grant cycle has been filled with a rollercoaster of emotions, I continue to express gratitude for your expansive thinking and care.
NEFA Staff
Special shout out to Abby Southwell, Senior Technology & Data Director, and Elizabeth Timmerman, Senior Technology & Data Administrator for their continued thought-partnership. You never shy away from a challenge and help us to forge ahead with confidence in our practices and tools/resources.
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.
