Eryc Taylor Dance Receives Dance/NYC's Relief Fund Grant

Eryc Taylor Dance (ETD) is a recipient of the first round of Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund grants awarded to Dance Making Organizations by Dance/NYC. Due to mandated closures that began in March and continue indefinitely, priority is for companies who articulate a clear need for financial assistance and encouragement and support of diversity, inclusion, self-expression, and equity for artists and instructors, and audiences and workshop participants. The Fund prioritizes supporting communities most impacted by COVID-19, including African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA), disabled, immigrant, and women-identifying as well as those at high risk including elderly and immunosuppressed artists. Out of one hundred eighty-eight applications to the first round, of which 133 were eligible, 69 grants were awarded totaling $250,500 in May 2020.

ETD's goal is to address urgent social issues: including work about climate change and the destruction of our environment, dancers' responses to the pandemic, providing vital movement-based workshops to underserved communities across NYC and offering opportunities to nurture early-career choreographers. We also strive for racial diversity within our organization.

Recent News:

ETD Outreach Virtual Dance Workshops are now available weekly through Zoom and Eventbrite to the general public. The current classes include Afro-Cuban Modern Mondays at 5 PM and Muévete Dance Cardio Mondays at 5:45 PM with Isabel Estrada-Jamison. On Fridays, Dancehall with Jeo Fleming at 3:00 PM and LiveInTheMovement Afro Cardio Jam with Johari Mayfield 4 PM.

ETD Outreach partners -- Lantern Community Services and Acacia Network -- have stepped forward to commission virtual dance and wellness programs created with their clients' needs in mind to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes.

What's Next:

UNCHARTED TERRITORY ETD's Dance in Isolation Project Enters Phase Two. The initial four weeks of the development of phrase work of physical expressions designated by a chart Taylor created using "Chance" is now captured on video. Phase Two entails participating Eryc Taylor Dance performers to add layers of meaning, depth, character, and drama to their movement phrases. By asking challenging "What if?" questions regarding the complicated realities born from the global pandemic and its hardships and then integrating them into their dance pieces, the Company will create a work directly related to our current social issues as they experience them. Composer Daniel Tobias will create soundscapes for each dancer inspired by the newfound environmental sounds they have discovered while in isolation. Tobias and Taylor will work directly with each dancer to create a 25-minute piece and ETD's first dance film.

Get Involved and Help Lift Us Up! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation directly on their GoFundMe page. Can't donate at this time? They are looking for volunteers to help them expand our virtual dance outreach program. For more info please email Allison at info@etd.nyc.

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