Artists must be Minnesota-based, meaning that they must spend the majority of their year working and residing in Minnesota.
Artists must pursue work that is grounded in a non-Western movement vocabulary, or that is invested in challenging the predominantly Eurocentric underpinnings of concert dance.
JUNIOR FELLOW*: 2-5 years of independent practice as a dance-maker / generative movement artist, not in a degree-granting program. Artists are NOT required to have dance training in a university setting to be considered eligible. Junior Fellows will spend 1 year in residence with the ADT ensemble, followed by 1 year of independent choreographic research.
SENIOR FELLOW*: 5-10 years of independent practice as a dance-maker / generative movement artist, not in a degree-granting program. Artists are NOT required to have dance training in a university setting to be considered eligible. Senior Fellows will join the cohort in its second year (2027–2028) to pursue a year of independent choreographic research.
*These requirements follow the 'emerging artist' guidelines set forth by the Jerome Foundation. You may apply either as a Junior Fellow (1 year in residency followed by 1 year of choreographic research) OR a Senior Fellow (1 year of choreographic research only).
October 2026 – September 2027 (Junior Fellows only)
Junior Fellows are in residence with Ananya Dance Theatre. Fellows will attend ensemble training for 6 hours weekly, 39 weeks of the year. Fellows are not expected to attend ensemble rehearsal or to be part of the annual premiere.
Fellows will attend several seminars over the course of the year, such as: - Nutrition - Physical Therapy Strategies - Self-Massage Practice - Strength Training - Nervous Regulation
At the end of the year, Fellows will submit a proposal for a choreographic project that will span the second year of the program.
October 2027 – June 2028 (Junior & Senior Fellows)
Senior Fellows join the cohort, proposing choreographic projects that will span the second year of the program. Company training will be available to Senior Fellows.
All Fellows will attend several seminars over the course of the year, such as: - Creative Process - Storyboarding for Lighting Design - Production and Project Management
Fellows will develop a 10-20 minute choreographic work for the stage. Fellows may dance in their own piece and/or set their piece on others. Fellows will participate in 3 process showings of their work, receiving feedback from mentors. Fellows will have access to 20 hours of free studio time during this period, as well as access to individual feedback and consultation with mentors.
Showing #1 — January 2028
Showing #2 — March 2028
Showing #3 — May 2028
Fellows’ work will receive a public showing in June of 2028.
Year One (Junior Fellows only): Junior Fellows will be paid at a rate of $20/hr for company training and seminar attendance.
Year Two (Junior and Senior Fellows): Junior and Senior Fellows will receive a stipend of $7,000 to fund their choreographic process. These monies may be used to compensate collaborators (dancers, composers, costumers, scenic fabricators), purchase materials, fund research, and compensate the Fellow for their choreographic labor.
The cornerstone of ChoreoLab is the building of trust with experienced mentors and the dialogic process that supports the artists in refining their craft. Mentors model their skills as artistic leaders, ensuring that everyone involved in a project has full access to do their best work. We move beyond Western concert dance curricula, as we share a compositional toolkit and nurture sensibilities around coherent abstract structuring of movement.

Each Junior Fellow will be paired with a mentor for the first year of the program. A group of mentors will guide the cohort as a whole throughout the program’s second year.

Favi Ramirez, ‘24-’25 cohort, “tecuani becoming”

NextGen Choreolab supports emerging dance-makers as they prepare to share their creations with professional maturity. Working outside of Euro/Western concert dance practices, participants and mentors arrive at a compositional toolkit that best frames the vision of the artists, and nurtures sensibilities around coherent abstract movement structure.

NextGen ChoreoLab aims to foster discernment and awareness of detail and its relationship to the whole. We coach cohort members as they develop skills for describing their work in structured and legible ways. We urge them to consider: different audiences they might address (other artists, producers, presenters, general public); strategies for articulating process and final product both verbally and in writing; how to foster accountability to themselves, to their collaborators, and to conduct rigorous inquiry. We nurture each artist towards their own craft, their own aesthetic, methodology, approach, full readiness, and true voice. The ultimate goal of NextGen ChoreoLab is not to produce a fully realized dance work, but to support emerging choreographers as they deepen and mature their own artistic process.

NextGen ChoreoLab is supported by the Jerome Foundation.

TO APPLY:

Review the eligibility criteria in the accordion menu to your left. Then click the "“Apply Now” button to the right! The application consists of a series of essay questions and a work sample request. There is no word count requirement for the essay questions; please take the space you need to answer the questions thoughtfully and thoroughly. This might mean 1000 words, or it might mean 200!

Applicants will be notified of their application status by late August. We may reach out to you to request additional information or set up an interview to expand our understanding of your application.

Noelle Awadallah, Rujm, mounded memory
Nate Ramos, In the muck
Colin Edwards, Shadow on the Sun: Brotherhood
Juliet Irving, de tree tenduh
Favi Ramirez, tecuani becoming
Parisha Rajbhandhari, Ya ma
Dej Txiaj Ntsim Yaj, Ua ke, Together
Tumelo Khupe, INTO ME I SEE (KRUMP RESEARCH)
Kealoha Ferreira, Ho’īli
Victoria Marie, Sacred Space | Owaŋka Waḱaŋ
Alexandra Eady, Melting Face

DEADLINE:
july 19, 2026

apply now

A kneeling person is silhouetted dramatically against a sheer red curtain. They are facing to the right; their long hair flows behind them and their hands are outstretched, but their features are not visible.

Parisha Rajbhandhari, ‘24-’25 cohort,
“Ya ma”

ANANYA DANCE THEATRE is located on, and pays tribute to Mni Sota Makoce, the unceded homelands of the Dakota Oyate and the Ojibwe peoples. We stand in solidarity with Native and Black communities, whose land and labor are crucial in sustaining this land on which we dance. Our pranam (a salutation to the earth that opens and closes all our practices) was developed in partnership with Native leaders. Through this ritual, we embody the affirmation we have received from Sioux Nation leaders: Mitákuye Oyás'iŋ, "We Are All Related."

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NextGen ChoreoLab

Applications open

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Applications open | Applications open |

nextgen choreolab is a fellowship program supporting early-career minnesota artists as they deepen and mature their own artistic process.

Elibigibility

Program structure | Year one

Program Structure | Year Two

Compensation

Mentors

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2025/2026 Cohort

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2023/2024 Cohort

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DEADLINE:july 19, 2026

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Shawngram Institute

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Applications open |

DEADLINE:
july 19, 2026