New York Live Arts, Inc.

New York Live Arts is a center of diverse artists devoted to a body-based investigation that transcends barriers between and within communities: the organization is led by world-renowned artist Bill T. Jones and Associate Artistic Director Janet Wong. Live Arts is a place that brings people together to explore common values through live gatherings and performances, reminding us of our humanity and elevating the human spirit. New York Live Arts began in 2011 when Dance Theater Workshop and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company merged. Live Arts' programmatic approach celebrates the perspectives of these legacy organizations and concentrates on the creation of new work in an effort to ex... read more New York Live Arts is a center of diverse artists devoted to a body-based investigation that transcends barriers between and within communities: the organization is led by world-renowned artist Bill T. Jones and Associate Artistic Director Janet Wong. Live Arts is a place that brings people together to explore common values through live gatherings and performances, reminding us of our humanity and elevating the human spirit. New York Live Arts began in 2011 when Dance Theater Workshop and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company merged. Live Arts' programmatic approach celebrates the perspectives of these legacy organizations and concentrates on the creation of new work in an effort to expand the contemporary American dance repertory. Across our areas of activity ranging from live performance to the creation of new work to civic participation, Live Arts aims to be a home for bold, inclusive art that is vital to the fabric of the local, national, and international communities. This year, we celebrate 13 years of Live Arts and 41 years of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. As we celebrate these milestones, Live Arts is proud to continue our mission of providing much-needed resources to artists at every stage of their careers. We commission, produce and present performances in our 20,000 square foot home, which includes a 184-seat theater and two 1,200 square foot studios that can be combined into one large studio. New York Live Arts serves as home base for the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, while also providing an extensive range of participatory programs for adults and young people and supports the continuing professional development of artists. In order to be a force for equity in the field, we provide much-needed resources to a diverse group of artists at all stages of their careers. The interdisciplinary repertoire we present and the conversations we host address themes spanning personal and communal responsibility, race and gender equality, and civil liberties. In line with the vision of Bill T. Jones and Janet Wong, Live Arts reaches a diverse audience of mixed gender, race, and sexuality, composed of people from the five boroughs, and attracts audience members nationally and internationally. Each season New York Live Arts welcomes approximately 25,000 - 28,000 patrons to our facility, while we serve anywhere from 50,000 - 55,000 viewers virtually through our live streams. Our principal activities at Live Arts focus on the following areas: 1) Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (BTJ/AZ): BTJ/AZ develops work across disciplinary genres addressing topics embedded in our cultural discourse. 2025 marks the Company's 43rd season. In 2025, BTJ/AZ will develop and premiere a new full-evening dance work titled Curriculum III: People, Places, & Things. 2) Randjelovic/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist (RCA) Program: The nation's most comprehensive mid- career choreographer award supports an artist for two years with a full-time salary, health benefits, and a major commission. in January, Miguel Guttierez was awarded our 2023-2024 Randjelovic/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist residency. in Fall 2024 we will begin the process of accepting new RCA proposals, to then decide who we will choose as our next RCA recipient for 2025-2026. 3) Live Feed Program: This multi-year residency focuses on the development of new works, which typically serves 12-14 artists per season in overlapping sequence. This creative residency program is for emerging and mid-career artists and provides each selected artist with technical, production, development, and administrative resources to help realize their personal projects. Artists per season receive commission funds, 100 studio hours, support for an informal public workshop, discussion of a work-in-progress, and are able to fully produce a premiere of their work in our theater. For FY25 we plan to present a wide range of artists and performances, including Wally Cardona, Lisa Fagan & Lena Engelstein, Makini (f.k.a. Jumatatu Poe), Benjamin Akio Kimitch, Roderick George, Ogemdi Ude, Jasmine Hearn, and Derek McPhatter. Fresh Tracks: A 58-year-strong program that supports emerging artists and offers a one-year mentorship and residency at Live Arts, has launched the careers of many of today's renowned choreographers, including Bill T. Jones, Bebe Miller, and Jeff Duncan. Artists in the 2023-2024 Fresh Tracks season included Julia Antinozzi, Vinson Fraley, Liony Garcia, and Symara Sarai. In the late September 2024 we will open our application for artists followed by an audition process led by a panel of community members to select 4-6 artists for the 2025 season.