National Dance Presenters’ Forum
The National Dance Presenters’ Forum (NDPF) brings together a diverse cohort of presenters from across the U.S. with goals to: build the ecology of dance presenting; foster dialogue about the changed landscape of dance presenting; and encourage an expansive model of access and participation in the field. After a successful virtual forum in 2024, we have made the decision that the next forum should be held in person. And at this point, we are seeking funds in order to realize this dream. We will not be hosting this forum until funds are raised for an in-person gathering, which will be no sooner than 2026.
The National Dance Presenters’ Forum was hosted at Jacob’s Pillow as part of the annual Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival from 1997-2006, and then again in 2018-2019. NDPF is a multi-day immersive professional development and networking experience aimed at strengthening dance presenting in the United States. In response to the ongoing effects of the pandemic, the forum returned virtually in 2023 and again in 2024.
Past Events
NDPF Public Session: “Just” Presenting | This event took place on Thursday, July 25, 2024
Description: Justice, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are foundational aspects of any and all work in the dance sector and should foreground what we do, how we do it, and where we are going. This session focused on unpacking the characteristics of “just” presenting and the role presenters have in advancing a more equitable and just future in dance. Participants had the opportunity to hear from BIPOC, disabled, LGBTQIA+, and immigrant artists and their partnering presenters about what makes “just” presenting partnerships possible. Guiding questions included: How do we define justice, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in presenting? What does it look and feel like in practice?
NDPF Public Session: Presenting & the Dance Ecosystem | This event took place on Thursday, September 19, 2024
Description: This session will consider the role of presenters within the larger dance ecosystem in the United States. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from a panel of dance workers who play an integral part of bringing dance works and audiences together, including: choreographers, agents & managers, and creative producers. Guiding questions include: What role do each of these members of the dance community play in making dance possible? How should these interlocutors work together and what role do they play in supporting artists and local communities? How can collaboration across roles advance the dance ecology today?
The National Dance Presenters Forum is collaboratively planned and receives support from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Dance/USA, Jacob’s Pillow, and New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA). It is co-sponsored by Arts Midwest, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Mid Atlantic Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, South Arts, and WESTAF.
Ali Kenner Brodsky, Co-Artistic Director, Motion State Arts (Providence, RI)
Bri Fallahee, Programming Manager, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (Pittsburgh, PA)
Camille Weanquoi, Executive Director/Founder, Baltimore Black Dance Collective (Baltimore, MD)
Christian Lyhus, Director of Programming, Tennessee Performing Arts Center (Nashville, TN)
Chummeng Soun, Program Director, Angkor Dance Troupe (Lowell, MA / Cambodia)
Cristina Vázquez, Founder and Director, ContenidosArtisticos (Chicogo, IL, León, Guanajuato, Guadalajara, CDMX, Texcoco, Mérida)
dani tirrell, Artistic Director, Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas (Seattle, WA)
Duke Dang, Executive Director, Works & Process (New York, NY)
Emily Hefley, Director of Programming, Germantown Performing Arts Center (Memphis, TN)
Jodee Nimerichter, Executive Director, American Dance Festival (Durham, NC)
Joshua Lubin-Levy, Director, Center for the Arts, Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
Julieanne Ehre, Assistant Director for Programming and Engagement, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at University of Illinois (Urbana Champaign, IL)
Katy Dammers, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Performing Arts, REDCAT (Los Angeles, CA)
Laura Paige Kyber, Assistant Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Dr. Lindsay Gary, Founder and Artistic/Executive Director, Dance Afrikana (Houston, TX)
Marisol Encinias, Executive Director, National Institute of Flamenco (Albuquerque, NM)
Michael Sakamoto, Performing Arts Curator / Asian and Asian Arts and Culture Program Director, UMass Fine Arts Center (Amherst, MA)
Mollie Haven Miller, Executive Director, Dance Source Houston (Houston, TX)
Saira Barbaric
Aaliyah Christina, Associate Curator/Artist Programs Manager, Links Hall
Theresa Remick, Executive Director, DANCECleveland
Tara Aisha Willis, PhD, Curator of Performance/Lecturer, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago/University of Chicago
Adam Castan͂eda, Executive and Artistic Director, The Pilot Dance Project
Sruthi Mohan, Founder, Tat Tvam Asi ATX, LLC
jhon r. stronks, Director of Programming, Houston Met Dance
Brett Wellman Messenger, Curatorial Director of Live Arts, Morris Museum
Tariq O’Meally, Conference & Festival Producer, International Association of Blacks in Dance
Julie Akerly, Arts and Culture Manager, City of Surprise
Alexandra James, Director of Training Programs, Bates Dance Festival
Kelsey Halliday Johnson, Executive Director, SPACE
Nicole Taney, Artistic Director, Celebrity Series of Boston
Liza Wade Green, Associate Director, NC State LIVE
Christopher Heacox, Executive Director, Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University
Emily Marks, Programming, Memphis Public Library
Shira Greenberg, Founder & Artistic Director, Keshet Dance & Center for the Arts
Kai Hazelwood, Executive Artistic Director & Executive Director, Good Trouble Makers & Pieter Performance Space
Erin Johnson, Executive Director, Velocity Dance Center
Chavi Bansal, Arts Coordinator, Pao Arts Center; Boston, MA
Ellen Chenoweth, Director of the Dance Presenting Series at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago; Chicago, IL
Malakhi RL Eason II, Programming Manager for Omaha Performing Arts; Omaha, NE
Gillian Jones, Director of Programming, Edmonds Center for the Arts; Shoreline, WA
Napoleon Wesley Gladney, Audience Development Coordinator at Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman University;
Orange, CA
Liliana Gomez, Dance Director at Phoenix Center of the Arts; Phoenix, AZ
Liza Wade Green, Associate Director of NC State LIVE; Raleigh, NC
Sarah Greenbaum, Associate Curator at Dance Place; Washington, DC
Kelsey Halliday Johnson, Executive Director of SPACE; Portland, ME
Erin Johnson, Interim Artistic Director of Velocity Dance Center; Seattle, WA
Yonca Karakilic, Director of the Arts Transcending Borders program at College of the Holy Cross; Worcester, MA
Brett Wellman Messenger, Curatorial Director of Live Arts at the Morris Museum; Morristown, NJ
Sruthi Mohan, Creative Director, Tat Tvam Asi; Austin, TX
Theresa Remick, Managing Director of the Page Theatre; Winona, MN
Paul Wilborn, Executive Director of the Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College; St. Petersburg, FL
Aisha Ahmad-Post
Julie Akerly
Krista Bradley
Jennifer Calienes
Adam Castaneda
Rosemary Gill
Jacqueline Hall Handy
Kai Hazelwood
Christopher Heacox
Micah Ariel James
Erin Lesure
Linda (Lulu) Lucero
Jack McLarnan
Christopher Morgan
Cheri Oppenheimer
Francis Weiss Rabkin
Malik Robinson
Kristin Stake
yon Tande (né Whitney V. Hunter)
Lexie Thrash
Tara Aisha Willis
Brent Woods