Residencies & Workshops

The Move to Change Residency is an extension of MADC's annual Move to Change Dance Festival. This free residency is an incubator for BIPOC dance artists ages 18+ to reconnect to themselves and their creative practice through the subject matter of ‘The Intersectionality of Social Justice & Me’ consisting of:

• Mindfulness - guided meditation, guided breathing exercises, and guided visualization exercises

• Mobility - low impact exercises that assists in the ability to move joints & use muscles easily and comfortably 

• Contemporary class - open level technique class that incorporates center warm up, across the floor work, & phrase work that is rooted in movement from the African and Black American Diaspora: modern, jazz, and West African

• Composition Exploration - guided prompts to spark self exploration and investigation through movement in personal creative processes

• Round table discussion with writing prompts - communal connection that focuses on feelings and emotions with self through journaling prompts and conversation amongst the artists and the facilitator

This 4 hour 4 week residency will culminate with a free public showing of what the artists created over the tenure of the program. This intimate sharing will provide community with an in depth view of each residency artist's creative process and their thought process behind the choreography.

This residency is geared towards artists looking to excavate through the buzz words behind social justice and go to the root of what showing up for self has always been: compassion, sympathy, empathy, & love while cultivating new practices in their personal creative processes. This residency encompasses artists at different levels in their career from high school/college students transitioning into young professionals to artists who have been in the dance field for 20+ years. 

The purpose of this residency is to provide artists access to resources to assist in cultivating new concepts, methods, and ways to approach their creative process and how in doing so can greatly impact the communities that they serve. This residency will give dancers of color permission to heal in an open space that supports the opportunity to share and strengthen their often silenced voices through dance, and create more platforms for communities of color to have opportunities to witness the creative process to better understand the lived experiences and stories of BIPOC dancers, choreographers, & cinematographers.

The Collective Thread Residency is an extension of MADC's annual Collective Thread Dance Festival. This free residency is an incubator for BIPOC women identifying dancers and choreographers ages 18+ to reconnect to themselves and their creative practice through this season’s theme of ‘Self Care is Community Care’ consisting of:

• Mindfulness - guided meditation, guided breathing exercises, and guided visualization exercises

• Mobility - low impact exercises that assists in the ability to move joints & use muscles easily and comfortably 

• Contemporary class - open level technique class that incorporates center warm up, across the floor work, & phrase work that is rooted in movement from the African and Black American Diaspora: modern, jazz, and West African

• Composition Exploration - guided prompts to spark self exploration and investigation through movement in personal creative processes

• Round table discussion with writing prompts - communal connection that focuses on feelings and emotions with self through journaling prompts and conversation amongst the artists and the facilitator

***PLEASE NOTE: MADC uses the term “women” to encompass all those that self-identify as women including cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, or gender non-conforming. We honor and respect all identities.*** 

This residency is geared towards artists looking to nurture and nourish their whole self (emotional, mental, spiritual, & physical) while cultivating new practices in their personal creative processes. This residency encompasses artists at different levels in their career from high school/college students transitioning into young professionals to artists who have been in the dance field for 20+ years. Interested artists are invited to complete a free application for participation. The application is open December 2 - 11:59pm EST on December 16, 2024, and all applicants will be notified by 11:59 EST on Monday, December 23, 2024. All registered dance artists will be invited to participate in the 2025 Collective Thread (CT) residency on Saturday 1/11; 1/18; 1/25; 2/1; 2/8; & 2/15 2-5 PM and culminating with a free public sharing on Saturday 2/22 3:30pm at St Mary's Episcopal Church, 521 W 126th St, New York, NY 10027. This intimate free showing will highlight each artist's creative process culminating the tenure of the six Saturday residency program.

The purpose of this residency is to provide artists access to resources to assist in cultivating new concepts, methods, and ways to approach their creative process and how in doing so can greatly impact the communities that they serve. This residency will give women of color permission to heal in a safe, open space, the opportunity to share and strengthen their often silenced voices through dance, and create more platforms for communities of color to have opportunities to witness the creative process to better understand the lived experiences and stories of BIPOC women identifying artists.​

MADC’s Collective Thread Dance Festival and Residency are made possible in part with funding from the West Harlem Development Corporation (WHDC) Community Benefits Grant.

2025 Residency Artists: Allyson Ross; Arielsela Holdbrook-Smith; B’ili Scott; Clara Diaz; Kalin Stovall; Karisa Campbell; Karley Wasaff; Kerryn Perry; Madaline Maravillas; Monica Shah; Nathalie Reynoso; Sama Bajonero Moreno; Selah Piett; Star Mitchell; Yasiri Sanders; and Yma Ma. 

2024 Residency Artists: B. Millicent León; Destiny Toussaint; Jacquelyn Batten; Laura White; MiKayla Young; Monica Shah; Morena Paiva; Natalie Maddrey; Safiya Vanterpool; Sivgin Dalkilic; & Sloka Iyengar.

2022 Residency Artists: Paloma Bido; Ayling Dominguez; Denice Martin-Thompson; & Monica Shah.

2020 Residency Artists: Sofia Bengoa; Megan Curet; Shekoya Gordon; Sade Murray; Takiya Roebuck; Genesis Perdomo Santos; Andrea Smith; & Yasmin Venable.

2019 Residency Artists: ChaTiqua Brown; Nia Calloway; Veronica Cheeseboro; Sara Denise; Dyandra Folks; Nikita Patel; Monica Shah; Andrea Nicole Smith; Sharayah Spruill; Courtney Stewart; Imani Michael Vieira; & Maya Simone Z. 

Me < We: a workshop program is an extension of Me < We: a Works In Progress (WIP) Showing and Me < We: a solo dance concert. The Me < We workshop is a cultural affirming space for all BIPOC K-12 student artists to creatively express themselves through movement and create choreography with an underlying theme of community. This program consists of:

• ​One 30-minute movement based class to introduce the choreographic elements of space, time, and energy

• 30 minutes of creating choreography based on composition element prompts

• 30 minutes of round table discussions and a call to action (CTA) of solutions formulated by the participating artists to integrate into their lives and communities to form a better world

• 30 minutes of creating choreography based on community or tapping into Mindfulness Exercises: writing, drawing, and coloring

This workshop culminates with the sharing of their creative processes & ensemble piece during the Me < We: a solo dance concert.

The purpose of the Me < We workshop is to provide young artists access to technical and creative resources to assist in strengthening their voices. The goal of the Me<We workshop is to provide an open space to support BIPOC students in cultivating tools towards positive mental and emotional health, build a cohesive, sustainable circle of peers, strengthen their artistic voices, and realize that their voices are necessary to change the world.

This workshop has been offered at Groove With Me (2020); the Eastside Community High School Saturday program (2023); and Hi-ARTS and Mosaic Prep School Creative After School Adventures (2024 & 2025).