Dance/USA Announces Round Three of Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists Awardees

Media Contacts:
Mariclare Hulbert, DFA Communications Advisor
mariclare.hulbert@nullgmail.com 
585.278.2302

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Haowen Wang, Dance/USA Director of Regranting 
hwang@nulldanceusa.org

DANCE/USA ANNOUNCES ROUND THREE DANCE/USA FELLOWSHIPS TO ARTISTS AWARDEES

Washington, DC (November 6, 2025) Dance/USA, the national service organization for dance, today announces the newest 25 recipients of the Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists (DFA) program, honoring dance and movement-based artists with sustained practices in art for social change. Selected by a national peer-review panel, each Fellowship includes a $31,000 grant that may be used at the artist’s discretion. The DFA program is made possible with generous support from the Doris Duke Foundation.

One of the few regranting programs available to independent artists with an unrestricted financial award, DFA supports dance and movement-based artists from across the U.S. and its territories who work at the intersection of social and embodied practices. DFA recognizes the wide variety of ways in which artists engage in social transformation through dance, which often do not fit into established models of arts funding. This includes community-building and culture-bearing practices, healing and storytelling practices, activism and representational justice practices, and more.  

The Round Three DFA Artist Fellows hail from cities and regions across the U.S. and its territories and work in the genres of Afro diasporic, African-Brazilian samba roots, Baladi, Ballet, Bailes de salón, Black American vernacular, body percussion, Bogle, Breaking, Bruk Up, Capoeira, Chinese, Contemporary, Contemporary Indigenous, Dabke, dance theater, devised, disability arts aesthetics, Filipino folk dances, Flexn, healing, Hip-Hop, Hoofing, House, improvisation, inclusive dance, Jazz, Kali, Matao/CHamoru, Mexican folklorico, Modern, participatory performance, Popping, ritual, Ring Shouts, social dance, somatic, storytelling, Tap, Waacking, West African, and more.

The Round Three DFA Artist Fellows:

• • Tonya Marie Amos 
  • Arthur Avilés 
  • Leila Awadallah
  • Carol Bebelle aka AKUA
  • Rashida Bumbray 
  • Dakota Camacho 
  • Yanira Castro 
  • Murielle Elizéon 
  • Ani/Anito Gavino
  • Kevin Lee-Y Green
  • Kayla Hamilton 
  • India Harville 
  • Cal Hunt 
  • Umi IMAN
  • Quynn Johnson 
  • Kwikstep aka DJ KS 360
  • Kerry Lee 
  • Gesel R. Mason 
  • Lucy Salazar
  • Aguibou Bougobali SANOU 
  • Kenneth Shirley 
  • Nadhi Thekkek 
  • Sage Ni’Ja Whitson 
  • Tamara “Ṣàngóbámikẹ” Williams
  • Pioneer Winter 

Learn more about the Round Three Dance/USA Artist Fellows and their work.

“The new cohort of Dance/USA Artist Fellows once again demonstrates the breadth of movement practices that address social change,” said Haowen Wang, Dance/USA Director of Regranting, “We hold deep respect for the radical ways these artists nurture and sustain our communities.” 

“The artists recognized through these fellowships remind us that change often begins in creative practice,” said Ashley Ferro-Murray, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Foundation. “Through their movement work, these artists reimagine how we connect, care and build community, and this program honors that vision by meeting them where they are and supporting the full scope of their creativity.”

DFA will award $31,000 to each of the Round Three Artist Fellows, to be used at their own discretion. The Artist Fellows will also have the option to take part in a flexible set of gatherings that provide paid time for collaboration, rest, and reflection with one another. These activities will be self-directed by the artists, with financial support from Dance/USA. 

The program also offers the Artist Fellows additional resources, including one-on-one consultations with professional advisors, underwriting professional photography/headshot, press support, accessibility services, and two years of Dance/USA membership.  

About the DFA Program 

At the heart of DFA is a commitment to center artists in shaping the program itself. The fellowship is co-designed through ongoing collaboration with artists who bring lived expertise to questions of policy, language, and process. Program Advisors Laurel Lawson (DFA Round One Artist Fellow) and Peter Rockford Espiritu (DFA Round Two Artist Fellow) contribute to all aspects of program design for 2024–2026. In advance of Round Three, DFA also convened groups of disabled artists and Indigenous artists to provide direct feedback on program guidelines and application process. More than 90% of DFA’s peer readers and panelists are working artists, ensuring that selection reflects field knowledge and community accountability. Importantly, DFA always compensates artists for their labor.

The current round of DFA is facilitated by Haowen Wang, Dance/USA Director of Regranting, with thought-partnership support from Michele Steinwald and Mariclare Hulbert, and is administered by Dance/USA. 

Learn more about the program by visiting Dance/USA’s website.  

About the Doris Duke Foundation 
The mission of the Doris Duke Foundation (DDF) is to build a more creative, equitable and sustainable future. We work across three areas: Arts & Culture; Nature; and Health & Well-being. Visit dorisduke.org to learn more.

About Dance/USA 
Propelled by our belief that dance can inspire a more just and humane world, Dance/USA will amplify the power of dance to inform and inspire a nation where creativity and the field thrive. 
 
Established in 1982, Dance/USA champions an inclusive and equitable dance field by leading, convening, advocating, and supporting individuals and organizations. Dance/USA’s core programs are focused in the areas of engagement, advocacy, research, and preservation. Learn more about Dance/USA at danceusa.org.  

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