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Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists (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 people 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.
Now in its third iteration, DFA remains one of only a few programs which support independent U.S. dance artists with an unrestricted financial award. Fellowship awards of $31,000 will be given to at least 25 individual artists, 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 artists and administratively supported by Dance/USA.
The overarching goals of DFA are to:
We believe in the power of sharing agency with artists, and partner with Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+, and disabled creative workers at the center of our decision-making.
We welcome applications from U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents, undocumented immigrants, refugees, people seeking asylum, temporary visa holders, stateless people, and those with all other citizenship and immigration statuses.
We recognize that an abundance of cultures in our communities plays a crucial role in our collective well-being. We welcome applications from artists and culture bearers who cultivate traditional movement practices or concepts; work with or are inspired by cultural relationships to movement, languages, people, or land; as well as those who dedicate themselves to the contemporary evolution of traditional practices.
If you or anyone you know is interested in applying to DFA please reach out to Haowen Wang, Director of Regranting, at fellowships@nulldanceusa.org or call (202) 460-9215. No question is too small, many artists reach out for clarification or to find out if they might be a fit for the program.
If you are preparing an application on behalf of someone who can not submit the application form by themselves due to language, access to technology, or other barriers, please contact Haowen Wang for details of additional assistance, including potential limited financial support for the preparer/doula.
American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken language interpretation services are available upon request; please email with your access or interpretation requests. Si lo desea, puede solicitar un servicio de interpretación en lengua hablada.
DFA is made possible with generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation.
