NEFA at APAP 2026

NEFA staff looks forward to engaging with the field at this year’s Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) annual conference, January 9-13 in New York City. 

Connect with NEFA 

The best way to connect with staff is via the APAP’s official event app by Core-apps as NEFA is not hosting a booth this year. Among the NEFA staff present will be:

• Adrienne Petrillo, Interim Director of Program Strategy
• Audrey Seraphin, Program Manager, Regional Grants & Initiatives
• Cheri Opperman, Sr. Grant Manager, Dance
• Harold Steward, Executive Director
• Indira Goodwine-Josias, Sr. Program Director, Dance
• Kristin Gregory, Program Manager, Dance
• Saejin Priore, Development Officer
• Steven Fenton, Chief Operating Officer

Session Highlights

January 9

• Dance/USA’s 2026 Dance Forum | 9:00 –11:00AM | New York Hilton Midtown, 3rd Floor
  • Adrienne Petrillo, Interim Director of Program Strategy, will share a dance success story from a recently funded NEST 3 (now Crossroads: Touring New England) tour.

Artist Showcase Highlights

This year’s APAP showcases include several past and current NEFA-supported artists through the National Dance Project, National Theater Project, and Crossroads: Touring New England (previously NEST); many have touring support currently available. View the full list of NDP and NTP projects with touring support available. This is not an exhaustive list and may be updated.

January 7

• 7:30pm: Ogemdi Ude – MAJOR – New York Live Arts

January 8

• 12:00pm – 2:00pm: Kyle Marshall Choreography – Bound Open Rehearsal – CUNY Hunter College (6th Floor Dance Studio)
• 7:30pm: Ogemdi Ude – MAJOR – New York Live Arts (ASL Interpretation Provided by All Hands in Motion)
• Under the Radar Symposium: Connect with National Theater Project team members at the Under the Radar Symposium and at various performances by NTP grantees, including: Dahlak Brathwaite, Kaneza Schaal, Anonymous Ensemble, and many others.

January 9

• 12:00pm – 1:00pm: Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD) - Shadow Cities – 92NY, Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnhold Center
• 2:00pm – 3:00pm: Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD) - Shadow Cities – 92NY, Buttenwieser Hall at The Arnhold Center
• 3:00pm – 3:30pm: Raphael Xavier – One – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 3:00pm – 4:30pm: Ragamala Dance Company – Children of Dharma -
• 6:00pm – 6:30pm: little house dance – i am an impossible thing – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 7:00pm: Courtney “Balenciaga” Washington | The Master Z – The 24/7 Diner - Guggenheim New York (Part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival)
• 7:00pm: Roderick George - Wings of Desire for New Jersey Ballet – ArtYard (Part of Works & Process Residencies)
• 7:00pm – 7:30pm: SOLE Defined – ZAZ – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 7:30pm: Ogemdi Ude – MAJOR – New York Live Arts
• 7:30pm – 8:30pm: Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance – Shapes of Change – New York Society for Ethical Culture
• 7:45pm – 8:15pm: Urban Bush Women – Mixed Rep Showcase – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 8:00pm: Sunny Jain – Love Force – Symphony Space (NEST 3 grantee artist project)
• 8:00pm – 8:30pm: Artichoke Dance Company – Sections of Within the Waters – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 8:30pm: The Master Z Ball – Rotunda Dance Party – Guggenheim New York (Part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival)
• 8:30pm: Tere O’Connor - Construct-A-Guy (1984) and The Lace (2025) - New York Live Arts Studio
• 8:45pm – 9:15pm: DANCE IQUAIL! - FOCUS – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 9:00pm: Kimberly Bartosik – bLUr – L'’Alliance New York
• 9:30pm – 10pm: Nimbus Dance – Patch of Turf – NY City Center (Studio 5)

January 10

• 9:00am – 9:45am: Music from the Sole – House is Open, Going Dark – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 9:55am – 10:20am: Soles of Duende – The Kitchen – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 11:15am – 11:45am: Ananya Dance Theater - SWAPNŌ JHNĀP: Dream Jumping – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 11:20am – 11:55am: Latasha Barnes – The Look of Love – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 12:00pm: Ogemdi Ude – MAJOR – New York Live Arts
• 2:50pm – 3:15pm: Barkha Dance Company – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 3:00pm: Abby Z and the New Utility – All Purpose Room (2017) and Work in Progress Showing – New York Live Arts Studio
• 3:15pm – 3:45pm: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 4:00pm – 5:00pm: Kyle Marshall Choreography – Gay and Bound – CUNY Hunter College (6th Floor Dance Studio)
• 5:00pm – 6:00pm: Jody Sperling/Time Lapse Dance – Shapes of Change – New York Society for Ethical Culture
• 5:30pm – 5:50pm: KAIROS Dance Theater – husk/vessel - Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 5:55pm – 6:15pm: Dancers Unlimited - Edible Tales: Ho'okupu – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 6:00pm: Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre – Shabaab (working title) - New York Live Arts Studio
• 7:00pm: Roderick George - Wings of Desire for New Jersey Ballet – Guggenheim New York (Part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival)
• 8:00pm: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company – Collage Revisited (1988, 2025) and Story/ - New York Live Arts Theater
• 8:00pm: Jesse Factor – The MetaMarthasis – Red Eye NY
• 8:30pm: Tere O’Connor - Construct-A-Guy (1984) and The Lace (2025) - New York Live Arts Studio
• 8:30pm – 8:55pm: Boston Dance Theater – Strong Women of Today - Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 9:00pm – 10pm: KAIROS Dance Theater – husk/vessel - NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 9:15pm: Silkroad Ensemble – Music Hall of Williamsburg (NEST 3 grantee artist; New England artist group)
• 10:00pm – 10:30pm: Ananya Dance Theater - SWAPNŌ JHNĀP: Dream Jumping – NY City Center (Studio 5)

January 11

• 9:30am – 10:00am: David Dorfman Dance – Excerpts of Truce Songs and The Front Line – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 10:00am – 11:00am: Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company – Mixed Rep Showcase – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 10:45am – 11:15am: Ananya Dance Theater - SWAPNŌ JHNĀP: Dream Jumping – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 11:00am – 11:30am: Calpulli Mexican Dance Company – Fiesta Mexicana – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 11:30am: Rashaun Mitchell + Silas participate in NYLA Artist Salon – New York Live Arts (By Invitation Only)
• 12:00pm – 12:25pm: Boston Dance Theater – Strong Women of Today – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 12:15pm – 12:45pm: Stefanie Batten Bland & Daniel Bernard Roumain – Close Up – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 1:00pm: Joanna Kotze – this is the beginning, this is the end – New York Live Arts Studio (By Invitation Only)
• 1:45pm – 2:15pm: Bridgman | Packer Dance – WHAT IF (work-in-progress) and Ghost Factory – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 2:00pm: A.I.M by Kyle Abraham – Excerpts from White Space and I Grieve Different – New York Live Arts Theater (By Invitation Only)
• 2:00pm: Sekou McMiller & Friends – Palladium Nights – The Watermill Center (Part of Works & Process Residencies)
• 2:15pm – 2:45pm: Urban Bush Women – Mixed Rep Showcase – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 2:40pm – 2:55pm: SOLE Defined – The Pulse – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 3:00pm: Raja Feather Kelly | the feath3r theory – A Body of Dangerous Ideas – New York Live Arts Studio
• 3:00pm and 7:30pm: Too Fat for China by Phoebe Potts (NEST Artist)
• 3:20pm – 3:35pm: slowdanger – STORY BALLET – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 3:30pm: Kayla Farrish and Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre participate in different birds showcase – Gibney Dance (280 Broadway)
• 4:00pm: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company – Collage Revisited (1988, 2025) and Story/ - New York Live Arts Theater
• 4:00pm – 5:00pm: Doug Varone and Dancers – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 5:00pm – 5:30pm: Martha Graham Dance Company – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 5:20pm – 5:45pm: Nava Dance Theatre – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 5:30pm: Kayla Farrish and Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre participate in different birds showcase – Gibney Dance (280 Broadway)
• 5:30pm – 6:00pm: David Dorfman Dance – Excerpts of Truce Songs and The Front Line – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 5:45pm – 6:15pm: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company – Ailey Citigroup Theater
• 6:00pm: Faye Driscoll – CHIMERA (working title) - New York Live Arts Studio
• 6:00pm – 6:30pm: Artichoke Dance Company – Sections of Within the Waters – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 7:00pm globalFEST: The Naghash Ensemble (Center Stage alumni)
• 7:00pm: Jesse Factor – The MetaMarthasis – Red Eye NY
• 7:00pm: Les Ballet Afrik – New York Is Burning by Omari Wiles – Guggenheim New York (Part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival)
• 7:00pm – 7:40pm: Shamel Pitts | TRIBE – Marks of RED – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 7:50pm – 8:35pm: Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group – The Reclamation – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 8:00pm: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company – Collage Revisited (1988, 2025) and Story/ - New York Live Arts Theater
• 8:30pm – 9:10pm: Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company – Mixed Rep Showcase – NY City Center (Studio 5)
• 9:15pm - 9:45pm: DANCE IQUAIL! - FOCUS – Ailey Citigroup Theater

January 12

• 12:30pm – 1:25pm: BRKFAST Dance Company participates in Meet the McKnight Fellows – Gibney Dance
• 2:00pm: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company – Collage Revisited (1988, 2025) and Story/ - New York Live Arts Theater
• 5:00pm – 6:00pm: Sweat Variant – seeds in progress: adaku, part 2 – Sweat Variant Studio (Presenter Only w/ RSVP)
• 6:00pm: Brandon Kazen-Maddox - (FREEDOM): A Celebration of American Sign Language, Community and Belonging – New York Live Arts Studio
• 7:00pm: Kimberly Bartosik – bLUr – L’Alliance New York
• 7:00pm: Baye & Asa – At the Altar and Sekou McMiller & Friends – Palladium Nights – Guggenheim New York (Part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival)
• 8:00pm: Sekou McMiller & Friends – Rotunda Dance Party Only – Guggenheim New York (Part of Works & Process Underground Uptown Dance Festival)