Dance: Dance Troupes

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance.

In the years ahead, we will seize the opportunity to build further on our base of educational excellence, encouraging an ever-wider range of creative collaboration that breaks new artistic ground and also brings the uniquely valuable qualities of the arts to bear on the world around us. I am inspired to join with you in this magnificent ongoing project that is Juilliard."-Damian Woetzel, President, The Julliard School

The mission of Dance Exchange is to ignite inquiry, inspire change, and connect people of all ages more deeply to the questions at the heart of our lives through dancemaking and creative practices. Dance Exchange collaborates across generations, disciplines, and communities to channel the power of performance as a means for dialogue, a source of critical reflection, and a creative engine for thought and action.

George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein formed New York City Ballet with the goal of producing and performing a new ballet repertory that would reimagine the principles of classical dance.

New York Live Arts is a center of diverse artists devoted to a body-based investigation that transcends barriers between and within communities led by world-renowned artist Bill T. Jones. We are a place that brings people together to explore common values through live gathering and performance reminding us of our humanity and elevating the human spirit.

UBW galvanizes artists, activists, audiences, and communities through performances, artist development, education and community engagement. With the ground-breaking performance ensemble at its core, ongoing initiatives like the Summer Leadership Institute (SLI), BOLD (Builders, Organizers & Leaders through Dance) and the Choreographic Center, UBW continues to affect the overall ecology of the arts by promoting artistic legacies; projecting the voices of the under-heard and people of color; bringing attention to and addressing issues of equity in the dance field and throughout the United States; and by providing platforms and serving as a conduit for culturally and socially relevant experimental art makers.

As the ballet company of the nation’s capital, The Washington Ballet reflects the diversity of the community and the nation through its professional dancers, high-caliber school, and its repertoire. Artistic Director Julie Kent has introduced defining works by globally recognized choreographers, all while embracing the work of emerging choreographers – which will contribute to the evolution of ballet and its relevance in our times.