Media Contact:
Mariclare Hulbert, DFA Communications Advisor
mariclare.hulbert@nullgmail.com
-or-
Haowen Wang, Dance/USA Director of Regranting
hwang@nulldanceusa.org
March 13, 2025
Washington, DC (March 13, 2025) Dance/USA, the national service organization for the dance ecosystem, announces Finalists for the third iteration of Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists (DFA), generously funded by the Doris Duke Foundation. DFA Finalists are invited to submit a full application for the program; 25 Round Three Artist Fellows will be selected by a national peer-review panel and announced in October of 2025.
One of the few regranting programs available to independent artists with an unrestricted financial award, DFA supports dance and movement-based artists from across the U.S. and its territories who work at the intersection of social and embodied practices. DFA recognizes the wide variety of ways in which artists engage in social transformation through dance, which often do not fit into established models of arts funding. This includes community-building and culture-bearing practices, healing and storytelling practices, activism and representational justice practices, and more.
2025 DFA Finalists work in the genres of African, African-Brazilian samba roots, Afro-diasporic, Arabic contemporary, bailes de salon, ballet, ballroom, bharatanatyam, Black improvisatory practice, body-as-a-landscape, body percussion, breaking, butoh, capoeira, Caribbean, carnaval, Chinese, community dance, contemporary, contemporary Indigenous, Odissi, Dabke, danceability, dance theater, disability arts, experimental, Filipino folk dances, hip-hop, hoofing, house, hula, immersive performance, improvisation, inclusive dance, intergenerational, Jamaican, jazz, lindy hop, majorette, mandingo, men’s fancy war, modern, multidisciplinary performance, neo-traditional African, participatory performance, physically integrated, pole-arts, popping, puppetry, ring-shouts, ritual, somatic, tap, traditional Lakota, vogue, waacking, and more.
”We are honored to amplify the voices and visions of artists addressing social change through movement and dance,” said Dance/USA Executive Director Kellee Edusei. “These artists, their work, and the communities in which they are rooted are critical to the dance ecosystem, now more than ever.”
“We are pleased to partner with Dance/USA to provide unrestricted funding for dance artists,” said Ashley Ferro-Murray, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Foundation. “This type of support is essential to provide artists with the flexibility to sustain their creative practice as we recognize and value their labor and impact in our society.”
The 50 DFA Finalists include:
Following the final selection process by a national peer-review panel, DFA will award $31,000 to the Round Three Artist Fellows, to be used at their own discretion. As part of their Fellowship experience, the Artist Fellows will have the option to participate in an emergent programming process that honors the Fellows’ choices around connection, rest, and desire. The facilitated process will be self-directed by the artists and administratively supported by Dance/USA. The program also offers the Artist Fellows additional resources including one-on-one consultations with professional advisors, underwriting professional photography/headshot, press support, access for Disabled Artist Fellows, and family care/childcare subsidies during required Artist Fellow cohort meetings.
As part of Dance/USA’s commitment to equity and access in the application process, DFA provided moderate honoraria for application preparers/doulas who supported applicants who experience barriers related to language, access, or technology.
About DFA and the Artist Fellow Alumni
Sixty-one artists and culture bearers from across the U.S. have received a DFA Fellowship since the program was created in 2018. Over 90% of the Artist Fellows identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color. Transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary individuals make up approximately 10% (6) of the two Fellowship cohorts. Equitable access is a core value of the program. Over 16% (10) Artist Fellows from the past two rounds identify as Disabled artists. Learn about the Round Two demographic data collection and accountability.
The current round of DFA is led by Haowen Wang, Dance/USA Director of Regranting, as well as program advisors Laurel Lawson (DFA Round One Artist Fellow) and Peter Rockford Espiritu (DFA Round Two Artist Fellow), and administered by Dance/USA. Over 90% of DFA’s peer readers and panelists are working artists.
Learn more about the program here.
About the Doris Duke Foundation
The mission of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) is to build a more creative, equitable and sustainable future by investing in artists and the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research, child well-being and greater mutual understanding among diverse communities. To learn more, visit dorisduke.org.
About Dance/USA
Propelled by our belief that dance can inspire a more just and humane world, Dance/USA will amplify the power of dance to inform and inspire a nation where creativity and the field thrive.
Established in 1982, Dance/USA champions an inclusive and equitable dance field by leading, convening, advocating, and supporting individuals and organizations. Dance/USA’s core programs are focused in the areas of engagement, advocacy, research, and preservation. Learn more about Dance/USA at danceusa.org.
