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. 

 

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.​