Dance/NYC Announces Full Lineup for NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE
About
Dance/NYC announces full program details for NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE, the organization's annual celebration in support of its work advancing equity and opportunity across the New York City dance field. The event will take place Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at 26 Bridge in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Tickets are on sale now at Dance.NYC/NYFD.
The evening will celebrate Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles, Tony Award-winning Co-Choreographers of Broadway's CATS: The Jellicle Ball, with the 2026 NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE Award. The event will feature music by DJ Ali Coleman, New York City–based DJ, producer, and cultural organizer whose relationship with DJ culture emerged from early disco, block parties, and club spaces. Pop-up installations will feature Dance/NYC grantees, including Bengali-American director, choreographer, educator, and iconoclast Ishita Mili (IMGE) and French-Vietnamese dance artist, curator, and educator Mai Lê Hô (LayeRhythm), as well as local artists including Brooklyn-based, multi-genre Afrocentric global dance and drum collective Home & Abroad BK Drumming Group.
NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE brings Dance/NYC’s advocacy to the dance floor, drawing on a long history of dance floors as spaces where communities gather, create culture, find belonging, and build collective power. From ballroom and club culture to street and social dance traditions, movement has long created spaces for communities to come together on their own terms. By gathering artists, advocates, funders, policymakers, and neighbors in that tradition, Dance/NYC is creating space not only to celebrate the field but to strengthen the relationships and collective investment needed to sustain it.
“Advocacy is also about who we gather, who we celebrate, and what we amplify,” said Monica Steffey, Dance/NYC’s Director of Programming and Operations. “Guided by Brinda Guha’s curatorial vision, this lineup reflects the many ways dance lives across New York City—in our communities, cultural traditions, nightlife, and beyond—while honoring the generations of artists, organizers, and advocates whose work has made these spaces for movement and cultural expression possible.”
2026 NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE Award
Dance/NYC will present the 2026 NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE Award to Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles in recognition of their extraordinary leadership in bringing ballroom culture to new audiences, while preserving its integrity and championing the community from which it comes.
Tickets
All proceeds support Dance/NYC's work investing directly in dance workers, expanding access to resources and professional development, and advocating for policies that strengthen the dance workforce.
Tickets start at $150 and are available at Dance.NYC/NYFD. There are three tiers available:
Mover ($150): One general admission ticket
Amplifier ($300): One general admission ticket, plus cover the cost of a community ticket for a dance worker
Champion ($500): One general admission ticket, plus cover the cost of two community tickets for dance workers
A limited number of community tickets will be available for dance workers and community partners for whom the ticket price is a barrier to attending. Details on how to express interest are available online.
Host Committee
Jody and John Arnhold
Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch
Keena Blunschi and Elana Lane
Chris Pennington
Duke Dang
Individuals interested in joining the Host Committee can do so online or contact the Dance/NYC team directly at [email protected].
Organizations interested in sponsoring NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE can view the 2026 sponsorship brochure online.
Those unable to attend can still support Dance/NYC's work by making a gift at Dance.NYC/NYFD. Every contribution helps build a New York City where dance can thrive, where arts workers are paid fairly, spaces are accessible, and communities across all five boroughs have room to create.
About Dance/NYC:
Dance/NYC champions the New York City metropolitan area dance sector by fostering a more just, equitable, and inclusive landscape where dance workers and organizations can thrive. Rooted in research, Dance/NYC engages in advocacy, regranting, and knowledge sharing to establish dance as a valued form of cultural expression and a common good. Through this work, Dance/NYC strengthens the ecosystem, expands access to resources, and supports the leadership of historically under-resourced communities across the field. Dance/NYC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. EIN: 46-0830780.
