--->  AMY SEIWERT’S IMAGERY ARTISTIC FELLOWSHIP

Amy Seiwert’s Imagery Artistic Fellowship is a two-year program launched in 2018 in which fellows receive mentorship from both Seiwert and Imagery’s managing director Annika Presley, plus a stipend and two commissions.

Seiwert was inspired to launch a program that combined artistic and administrative mentorship after noticing a pattern of choreographers being tapped for artistic director positions without training in key leadership skills, like reading a budget. So far, the program is working as intended: The inaugural fellow, Ben Needham-Wood, is now serving as artistic director of Boulder Ballet.

Fellows learn the ropes of running a dance organization and then begin to lead their own projects within Imagery. On the artistic side, fellows observe Seiwert in rehearsal, receive feedback from her (on everything from the choreography itself to how they run their rehearsal rooms), attend and analyze local performances, and more.

Info: https://www.asimagery.org/artistic-fellowship

Contact: annika@asimagery.org

--->  THE YOUNG CHOREOGRAPHER’S FESTIVAL

Founded in 2010 by Emily Bufferd, the New York City–based Young Choreographer’s Festival presents promising choreographers ages 18–25 who may be too early-career for other festivals. Participating choreographers receive high-quality photos and videos of their work to use to submit to other opportunities, as well as a mentor who supports them through the process and an industry panel.

There are power dynamics at play when pairing a young choreographer with a more established one, so giving both artists clear guidelines is essential, says Bufferd. For instance, mandating a certain number of communication points ensures that the mentee doesn’t feel like they are “bothering” the mentor when reaching out.

Info: http://youngchoreographersfestival.com/

Contact: info@youngchoreographersfestival.com

--->  DEVICES: CHOREOGRAPHIC INTENSIVE & MENTORSHIP PROGRAM

Since 2014, Doug Varone and Dancers has held this intimate weeklong intensive in New York City, focusing on choreographic craft, followed by several months of one-on-one mentorship with Varone before a public showing of work.

Varone sees himself as a sounding board, with the goal of helping the artist discover their own voice. “I try to put trust in them, that there’s no right or wrong way, that the most important thing they should be experiencing is the process of unearthing who they are,” he says.

Info and application form: https://www.dovadance.org/devices

 --->  BALLET X'S CHOREOGRAPHIC FELLOWSHIP

BalletX’s Choreographic Fellowship Is a paid, season-long fellowship that pairs one emerging choreographer with one established one as they both make work on the Philadelphia-based company.

Over the course of at least three to five meetings before and during the rehearsal process, the fellow might bring the mentor questions or concerns, ask for feedback or discuss navigating a career as a choreographer, explains BalletX’s artistic and executive director Christine Cox.

How mentorship can benefit mentors, too: “I’ve heard from mentors that it has given them the opportunity to talk about their work and really hear themselves share their process, which strengthens their own sense of self and competence,” says Cox.

Info and application form: https://www.balletx.org/artist-training-and-resources/choreographic-fellowship/

--->  JACOB’S PILLOW’S ANN & WESTON HICKS CHOREOGRAPHY FELLOWS PROGRAM

Founded in 2018, the 10-day program invites eight early- to mid-career choreographers (who may each bring two dancers) to the Jacob’s Pillow campus for process-oriented exploration and feedback, led by esteemed dance field mentors Risa Steinberg and Dianne McIntyre. Choreographers receive housing and a stipend, as well as 10 hours of one-on-one continued mentorship with the artist of their choosing upon completion of the program.

Choreographers spend time working with their dancers (without the expectation of making anything), receiving feedback from Steinberg and McIntyre, hearing from other guest artists and industry professionals, exploring the Pillow archives, participating in roundtable discussions, watching performances and more.

“Mentorship for a choreographer is when the mentor is free of their own aesthetic preferences,” says McIntyre. “You see what the person is going for and you help guide them to what it is that they want, and also push them into new ways of doing things while maintaining the specialness of who they are.”

Info and application form: https://www.jacobspillow.org/school/choreography-fellows-program/

--->  CHIME (CHOREOGRAPHERS IN MENTORSHIP EXCHANGE)

Launched in 2004 by San Francisco–based choreographer Margaret Jenkins, the program currently supports two to three selected Bay Area choreographers with a stipend, which includes funds for a rehearsal space rental, and one-on-one mentorship. The yearlong program culminates with a live performance, where mentees present what they’ve been working on (which doesn’t have to be a finished product).

 “When you have someone who mentors you, you may not have it come to fruition for a number of years,” says Jenkins. “Every so often, when I’m making a work, I’ll look at it and think something particular about it. And I’ll think, Oh, that’s what so-and-so meant 10 years ago, when I wasn’t ready to hear it or didn’t hear it in that way.”

Info and Contact: https://www.mjdc.org/chime

 --->  ROUNDANTENNAE

What it is: Led by Bay Area–based choreographer KT Nelson, the informal, rolling program includes group discussions, one-on-one mentoring with Nelson and other facilitators, and occasional residencies and showings.

Why Nelson started it: “As a choreographer, I realized I was missing some sort of internal infrastructure to make the work I want to make,” she says. “I felt myself trying to please a lot of people. So I wanted to address that early on in the development of the choreographer. I was also looking for a different form to pass some knowledge on, and allow me to be around a younger generation of thinking in an intimate way.”

Info and registration: https://roundantennae.com/about-us/

Contact: nelsonkt55@gmail.com

--->  ICONS CHOREOGRAPHIC INSTITUTE AT ATLAS

under the umbrella of Dance ICONS, Inc.

ICONS Choreographic Institute at the ATLAS offers a 9-month artistic residency and mentorship with structured learning, an experimental creative laboratory, and an advanced professional development program for emerging choreographers.

“The program offers a competitive intellectual framework for teaching choreographic composition that draws on the latest research in psychology, sociology, neuroscience, history, and cognitive thinking and creativity,” said Vladimir Angelov, one of the mentors and the director of the program. The artists will meet two times a week for over nine months. In addition, choreographers in the program will have access to rehearsal space and dancers to complete their choreographic assignments.

“We mentor emerging choreographers on how they can improve their creative skills and develop their unique artistic identities,” he added. This educational approach entitled ICON SMART℠ , based on years of research, trial and error, and choreographic experimentation by Angelov, offers a pioneering, multidimensional and cross-disciplinary approach. Emerging choreographers educated through this approach will be equipped to create new unique dances relevant to the 21st century.

More information: http://www.danceicons.org/pages/?p=160418103904

Video Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj-VVIlUyEw&t=1s

Contact: info@danceicons.org

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