Choreography Unlocked Festival

Building on the success of the New Directions Choreography Lab, created by Artistic Director Robert Battle in 2011, the Ailey organization will present its first Choreography Unlocked Festival over two weekends, October 12–14 and October 26–28, at the Joan Weill Center for Dance.

The Festival will include a variety of events, including:

Performances of works by Lab alumni Camille A. Brown, Juel D. Lane, and Netta Yerushalmy
Master choreographer workshops, including some open to the public, led by Robert Battle and choreographers Matthew Rushing and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar
Watch the Nurturing New Voices panel from Oct 13 below. The Discussion is about how arts institutions can nurture new voices, moderated by Robert Battle with participants including Thelma Golden (Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem), Rennie Harris (Founder of Rennie Harris Puremovement and Ailey’s 2018–19 Artist-in-Residence), Tarell Alvin McCraney (playwright), Shanta Thake (Senior Director of Artistic Programs at the Public Theater), and Darren Walker (President of The Ford Foundation).

The New Directions Choreography Lab itself will continue for an eighth year, assisting choreographers in developing their craft by granting resident fellowships to four emerging and mid-career artists. This year’s fellows and mentors are Kyle Marshall and Rennie Harris; Davalois Fearon and Gus Solomons, Jr.; Yusha-Marie Sorzano and Charmaine Warren; and Bryn Cohn and Joanna Koetze.

Read Dance Magazine’s take on the Choreography Unlocked Festival: “Ailey launches a new festival focused on the choreographic process.”

Additional support for the Choreography Unlocked Festival is provided by The Harkness Foundation for Dance

Choreography Unlocked Festival