CUNY Dance Initiative Announces 2022-23 Resident Artists

The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), a transformative residency program for New York City choreographers and dance companies on CUNY campuses in all five boroughs, announces 25 awarded artists for the 2022-23 residency cycle.

The 2022-23 season - CDI's ninth cycle -- is its largest, both in the number of host venues and the artists it is supporting. The program now partners with three arts organizations in the boroughs, in addition to its core 13 CUNY colleges: Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden (Staten Island); Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning (Queens), and Brooklyn Arts Exchange (Brooklyn). These partnerships expand CDI's impact as it extends its resources to a new cohort of artists at what remains a critical time for the NYC dance field.

From July 2022 to June 2023, CDI is underwriting residencies for 25 early to mid-career choreographers (complete list below), selected from a pool of 201 applicants. The 2022-23 artists reflect both the City and CUNY's cultural vibrancy, and work in a variety of dance styles, from modern dance to street forms; ballet to tap; and African to flamenco. Approximately half of the residencies will culminate in public performances, including the NYC premiere of Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY's @giselle (On Stage At Kingsborough), and the world premiere of RudduR Dance's WITNESS trilogy (Baruch Performing Arts Center). The remaining residencies are for creative development in a studio or theater, and all include master classes, workshops, and artist Q&A's to directly connect artists with their host CUNY communities.

"CDI provides an unparalleled commitment in matching artists and presenters for residency and performance engagements," says Joshua Beamish, director of Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY. "Production residencies are incredibly hard to come by in New York. Our stage residency at Kingsborough will enable the necessary realization of our work's complex integration of 3D projection technology. Without this support, we would not have the time to include these vital components."

"This will be the second time that the CUNY Dance Initiative has been vital to RudduR Dance," says director/choreographer Christopher Rudd. "In 2018, we premiered the first section of WITNESS at Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture via a CDI residency. This support in the early stages of the development gave me the trust and confidence that WITNESS has an important role to play in today's society. It feels like a full circle moment that the complete WITNESS trilogy will have its World Premiere at Baruch Performing Arts Center in Spring 2023."

Details on public performances will be announced in the coming months.