CUNY Dance Initiative Announces 2019/20 Residency Artists

The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), a groundbreaking residency program for independent New York City choreographers and dance companies on CUNY campuses across the five boroughs, announces 24 awarded artists for 2019 20 residencies.

From July 2019 to June 2020, 13 CUNY colleges will host 24 emerging and established artists representing a range of dance styles (complete list below), selected from a pool of 186 applicants. An incubator for the New York City dance field, CDI is an innovative answer to how the needs of dance artists can intersect with those of a college community. CDI taps underutilized studios and theaters on CUNY campuses to provide rehearsal and performance spaces for dance makers to work on new or existing projects, and creates new avenues for dialogue between local artists and the university system. Residencies include public events such as work-in-progress showings and performances, plus master classes and open rehearsals specifically for CUNY students and faculty to create a framework for cultivating new dance audiences at CUNY performing arts centers.

The CUNY Dance Initiative has supported more than 100 choreographers and dance companies since it began five years ago, says F lix V. Matos Rodr guez, President of Queens College and CUNY Chancellor-Designate. It has also brought dance as an art form that is an essential part of the intellectual and cultural fabric of New York City into the lives of 11,500 audience members throughout the boroughs. We're proud that Queens College plays such a significant role in this process by serving as CDI's home base.

Now in its fifth year, CDI is expanding its support for NYC choreographers, and was recently awarded a three-year grant to offer current and former CDI artists additional rehearsal hours via Dance/NYC's New York City Dance Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program, made possible by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. CDI is celebrating this and its growing impact on the dance field with a 5th Year Fest, March 20 23, at Baruch Performing Arts Center. Details on the artists featured on the two showcase programs and ticket information are at: http://bit.ly/CDI5Years.

This upcoming 2019 20 residency cycle will be CDI's sixth, and details on fall 2019 performances and public events will be announced this summer.

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