Battery Dance Now Accepting Applications for 42nd Battery Dance Festival

Battery Dance is now accepting applications for the 42nd Annual Battery Dance Festival, with free performances on August 12-19, 2023 at Rockefeller Park, NYC. Applications must be submitted online at https://batterydance.org/apply/.

Battery Dance Festival, New York City's longest-running free public dance festival, was established by Battery Dance as the Downtown Dance Festival in 1982. It draws in-person audiences of approximately 2,000 people each night from the large downtown population of workers, residents, families, tourists, senior citizens and dance fans from the greater NYC metropolitan area and beyond. The Festival will be livestreamed to our worldwide audiences, reaching thousands of international viewers each night.

Battery Dance Festival provides a unique opportunity for professional dancers and choreographers in any genre to present original works of high artistic merit in a free public forum against the backdrop of the Hudson River at sunset. Past participants have included Dorrance Dance, New York Theatre Ballet, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, Vanaver Caravan, Dancing Earth Indigenous Dance Company, Music from the Sole, and Jamal Jackson Dance Company alongside pre-eminent companies from Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean.

Application Details:

Both individual artists and collectives are welcome to apply; you do not need to be a formal organization to be considered.

Each artist/company can submit only one application.

Companies that have performed in the two (2) consecutive prior Festivals (both 2021 and 2022) will not be eligible to participate this year (2023). They will regain their eligibility to apply for next year (2024).

Duration of group works (2 or more dancers) should be between 10-20 minutes. Duration of solo works should be between 4-10 minutes. In selecting a work for consideration, please be mindful of the outdoor performance venue with minimal supplemental lighting and an audience generally not on risers. While there is side lighting, there is no overhead lighting.

If a work exists only in-progress, please send a rehearsal video of the required length with sufficient supplemental information with which to be fairly considered. World Premiere performances and NYC debuts/premieres are welcomed and encouraged. If you are applying with a work-in-progress submission and are accepted into the Festival, you will be asked to provide a video of the completed work before final approval.

Submissions will be reviewed by the Festival Manager to insure their completion and suitability according to the guidelines below, and then scored separately by an independent curation panel.

A modest honorarium will be provided to festival participants.

For artists/companies from India or the Indian Diaspora: The all-Indian Dance Program (August 15 - India Independence Day) will be curated separately. No application is necessary.

For more information, visit https://batterydance.org/apply/.

ABOUT BATTERY DANCE

Battery Dance created its outdoor festival in 1982 as part of its engagement with its home community of lower Manhattan where it has been based since it's founding in 1976. As one of America's leading cultural ambassadors, Battery Dance connects the world through dance. The Company pursues artistic excellence and social relevance by creating vibrant new works, performing on the world's stages, presenting dance in public spaces, serving the field of dance and teaching people of all ages with special attention to the disadvantaged and areas of conflict. Battery Dance is committed to enhancing the cultural vibrancy of its home community in New York City, extending programming throughout the U.S., and building bridges worldwide through international cultural exchange with programs in 70 countries to date. http://www.batterydance.org