2020 National Dance Project Advisors

Now in its third decade, the National Dance Project (NDP) continues to be widely recognized as one of the country's major sources of funding for the creation and U.S. touring of new dance works and field building in dance. Its unique package of support annually provides 20 artists/companies with an opportunity to further realize their artistic vision and community impact. 

We recognize that the landscape in dance is constantly changing! Artists/companies are creating, collaborating, and empowering communities and audiences in new and deeper ways in order to provide transformative experiences across the country. For NDP’s funding to acknowledge and support those constant shifts, it is important that we curate a panel of advisors that reflect the robust ecology of dance that exists, as well as uphold NEFA’s core values, including artists and the creative process, and equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Thus, NDP advisors have been comprised of dance artists, presenters, independent arts consultants, and arts administrators representing various geographies, dance aesthetics and forms, professional and artistic career stages, and, of course, personal life experiences with dance.  

Through a rigorous two-part review and selection process, advisors meet in-person to evaluate and discuss preliminary applications using NDP criteria and select 36 finalists to submit final proposals. They then work one-on-one with finalists to provide guidance and feedback on all components of their final proposals in order to support a strong submission. Advisors reconvene shortly after the finalist deadline to engage in further dialogue about those applications and determine the 20 artists/companies that will receive NDP support. In addition, advisors also serve as a policy council, working year-round with NEFA staff as thought leaders committed to strengthening the future of NDP and its overall process, as well as ambassadors for the program within their own communities.  

NEFA believes that leadership opportunities for artists and cultural workers are essential to a stronger arts sector and healthier communities. We value creating intentional space each year to invite new advisors to participate in the NDP process and strive to embody as much diversity of this country as we can. This year’s 12 NDP advisors represent all six regions: New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, South, Southwest, and West, and belong to different communities – supporting our steadfast efforts to counter the structural inequities that have excluded individuals and communities from opportunity based on race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, class, culture, language, age, and geography. We appreciate their dedication to the process and the generous insight they offer to propel our field forward. Learn more about how to become a National Dance Project program advisor.

In 2020, NDP is delighted to welcome five new advisors: 

• Eric Fliss – Managing Director, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (Miami, FL) 
• Ebony Noelle Golden - Artist, Founder & CEO, Betty's Daughter Arts Collaborative (New York, NY) 
• Shira Greenberg - Founder & Artistic Director, Keshet Dance and Center for the Arts (Albuquerque, NM) 
• Reuben Roqueñi (Yaqui/Mayo/Chicanx) - Director of National Artist Fellowships, Native Arts and Cultures Foundation (Portland, OR) 
• David Roussève - Choreographer, Writer, Director, Filmmaker (Los Angeles, CA) 

We would like to thank our seven returning advisors for their continued service: 

• Christy Bolingbroke - Executive/Artistic Director, National Center for Choreography (Akron, OH) 
• Shane Fernando - Executive & Artistic Director, Wilson Center, Cape Fear Community College; Programming Consultant, Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts (Wilmington, NC) 
• Anna Glass - Executive Director, Dance Theatre of Harlem (New York, NY) 
• Rosemary Johnson - Executive Director, Alabama Dance Council (Birmingham, AL) 
• Aaron Mattocks - Director of Programming, The Joyce Theater (New York, NY) 
• Aimée M. Petrin - Executive & Artistic Director, Portland Ovations (Portland, ME) 
• Shay Wafer – Executive Director, WACO Theater Center (Los Angeles, CA)  

Lastly, we would like to extend a special thank you to our outgoing advisors for their unwavering commitment and support:  

• Ann Brusky - Curator for Public Programs, John Michael Kohler Arts Center (Sheboygan, WI) 
• Dayna Martinez - Artistic Director of Community and Education Programming, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (Saint Paul, MN) 
• Renae Williams Niles - Associate Dean, Administration, University of Southern California, Glorya Kaufman School of Dance (Los Angeles, CA) 
• Michael Sakamoto - Associate Director of Programming/Asian Arts and Culture Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts (Amherst, MA) 
• Marcus White - Founder/Creative Director, White Werx (Detroit, MI); Assistant Professor, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Phoenix, AZ)