What Dance NYC does

Dance/NYC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts service organization headquartered at 218 East 18th Street, New York, that serves as the dedicated infrastructure backbone for the NYC metropolitan dance sector. Its mission centers on equity, advocacy, and resilience for individual dance workers and dance-making entities through four interlocking program areas: regranting (the Dance Workforce Resilience Fund, Dance Advancement Fund, and Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program), research (15+ foundational reports including the State of NYC Dance 2023 and the Dance Industry Census), advocacy (policy engagement at federal, state, and city levels, plus monthly Field-Wide Calls and an annual Symposium), and knowledge-sharing (free listings, resource libraries, and Justice/Equity/Inclusion initiatives spanning Disability. Dance. Artistry., Immigrants. Dance. Arts., and Racial Justice Agenda). The organization reaches 6,000+ individual dance workers and 1,700+ dance entities across the five boroughs and surrounding counties.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally lightweight: a primary content platform at dance.nyc, a dedicated DWR Hub at hub.dance.nyc hosting the Dance Workforce Directory and resource library, and conventional third-party integrations (Whova for events, Zoom for meetings, Google Translate for accessibility, social sharing). No proprietary AI/ML systems are deployed. The organization's signature methodology is a weighted-lottery regranting model prioritizing historically underpaid populations — the June 2025 DWR Fund pilot distributed $324,000 in $1,000 one-time grants to 320+ freelance dancers, with grantee demographics of 59% ALAANA, 25% immigrant, and 63% LGBTQIA+.

Dance/NYC operates a hybrid community-led go-to-market combining digital platforms, community events (Symposium, Field-Wide Calls, partner-hosted gatherings), and direct regranting. Revenue derives from diversified institutional sources: government arts funding (NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NY State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts) and a deep foundation bench (Ford Foundation, Mellon Foundation, New York Community Trust, Howard Gilman Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Craig H. Neilsen Foundation), supplemented by individual donations. Pricing to constituents is free or low-cost across nearly all services. The 51-100 person staff is led by Executive Director Raquel Du Toit (in office as of mid-2026) and operates under board governance with no parent organization. Geographic scope is explicitly bounded to the NYC metropolitan area.

Name

Dance NYC

Legal name

Dance/NYC

Website

https://dance.nyc

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Dance/NYC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts service organization that supports the NYC metropolitan dance sector through regranting programs, research, advocacy, and digital platforms, serving 6,000+ individual dance workers and 1,700+ dance entities via foundation and government funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Arts Service Nonprofit

NAICS

Dance Companies (71112), Dance Companies (711120), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Contemporary & Modern Dance (MPAGADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dance Performances (THAJAFAD), Dance Education (Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Cultural Dance) (EDAMAAAH), Youth/Student & Community Dance Recitals (MPAGADAI)

Keywords

• Arts service organization
• Nonprofit regranting programs
• Dance workforce advocacy
• Equity and inclusion research
• Community convening events

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Government Funding: Dance/NYC operates as a nonprofit organization receiving funding from government agencies (NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NY State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts) and private foundations (Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Doris Duke Foundation, and others). This funding supports regranting programs and organizational operations.
2. Individual Donations: Leadership supporters and individual donors contribute to Dance/NYC's programs through direct donations, including named leadership donors and friends of the organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dance/NYC is a nonprofit arts service organization that provides regranting programs (Dance Workforce Resilience Fund, Dance Advancement Fund, Rehearsal Space Subsidy), action-oriented research and advocacy, an online DWR Hub with the Dance Workforce Directory, an annual Symposium, and community resources serving individual dance workers and dance organizations across the NYC metropolitan area.

Product overview

Dance/NYC is a nonprofit service organization (not a software product) that operates primarily as a resource and regranting platform for the NYC metropolitan dance sector. The organization's core offerings include three main regranting programs: the Dance Workforce Resilience Fund (DWR Fund) providing $1,000 one-time grants to freelance dancers; the Dance Advancement Fund (DAF) supporting small-budget dance makers; and the Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program making affordable rehearsal space available. The online presence consists of the main website (dance.nyc) and the DWR Hub platform (hub.dance.nyc), which hosts the Dance Workforce Directory and resource library. Supporting services include annual Symposium events, advocacy resources, research publications, the Junior Committee leadership program, community calendar listings, and emergency COVID-19 relief programs. The organization also runs focused Justice, Equity & Inclusion initiatives including Disability. Dance. Artistry., Immigrants. Dance. Arts., and Racial Justice Agenda programs. Dance/NYC functions as a cultural advocacy organization rather than a technology product with traditional integrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dance. Workforce. Resilience. Initiative launched in 2022 to address economic inequity and strengthen the dance ecology by serving individual dance workers, dance organizations, and dance entities.
• Disability. Dance. Artistry.
• Immigrants. Dance. Arts.

Products and services

• Dance Workforce Resilience Fund (DWR Fund) A regranting program providing one-time $1,000 grants to freelance dancers in the NYC metropolitan area for contracted dance work, with recipients selected through a weighted lottery prioritizing historically underpaid groups.
• Dance Advancement Fund (DAF) A regranting program supporting small-budget dance makers to catalyze artistic development and contribute to the field's overall diversity, sustainability, and health, offered in 2026-2028 and 2024-2026 program cycles.
• Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program A program making affordable rehearsal space available to dance makers in critical need to support the creation and development of their work in New York City.
• DWR Hub An online resource hub at hub.dance.nyc providing the Dance Workforce Directory, DWR Resource Library, and access to research and advocacy resources for dance workers.
• Dance Workforce Directory A free online directory for dance workers and organizations to create profiles and connect with opportunities in the NYC dance community, hosted on the DWR Hub platform.
• Dance Industry Census and Research Reports Action-oriented research publications including the State of NYC Dance report, Coronavirus Dance Impact studies, and other foundational research reports covering topics like disability, immigration, and small-budget dance makers.
• Advocacy Resources Policy updates, advocacy alerts, resources for navigating public policy, testimony templates, and coalition partnership information for NYC dance workers at federal, state, and city levels.
• Dance/NYC Symposium An annual multi-day convening bringing together the NYC dance community to exchange ideas, expand networks, sharpen organizational practices, and explore topics around mentorship, advocacy, leadership, and equity.
• Junior Committee (JComm) A proactive working committee of emerging dance leaders ages 21-30 that initiates projects in research, advocacy, and career development while strengthening members' relationships to the NYC dance community.
• Community Calendar and Listings Service A free event listings platform providing performances, classes, workshops, auditions, jobs, internships, volunteer opportunities, and choreographic opportunities in the NYC dance community, supplemented by low-cost advertisements.
• COVID-19 Relief and Resources Emergency relief funds including the Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund and City Artist Corps Grants, along with COVID-19 resources, reopening support, and impact surveys for the NYC dance community.
• Disability. Dance. Artistry. (DDA) Programs Initiatives and fellowship programs recognizing the role of disabled dance workers in social justice movements, including the DDA Dance and Social Justice Fellowship and DDA Dance Residency Program.
• Racial Justice Agenda Dance/NYC's agenda to dismantle white supremacy in dance and amplify the voices and autonomy of the African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) community.
• Immigrants. Dance. Arts. Initiative A multi-year initiative to dismantle xenophobia in dance and extend the role of dance artistry in fostering the inclusion, integration, and human rights of immigrants in the New York City area.

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• The BessiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner site providing coverage and recognition for the NYC dance community through the New York Dance and Performance Awards.
• CultureAIDminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner site supporting arts and culture workers in NYC through advocacy and resource sharing.
• Library for the Performing Arts (NYPL)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner site providing access to dance-related archives, collections, and resources for the dance community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Dance/USA: National membership-based service organization for the dance field, providing advocacy, research, and professional development. Comparable to Dance/NYC but operating at national scope rather than NYC-only; sets the template for dance-sector service work.
• Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP): National membership and service organization for the performing arts presenting field. Comparable convening and advocacy function to Dance/NYC's Symposium and Field-Wide Calls, with broader multi-disciplinary scope.

Direct peers

• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): NYC-based arts service organization providing grants, programs, and resources to artists across disciplines. Most direct functional analogue to Dance/NYC, with shared regranting, advocacy, and capacity-building programs for the New York arts ecosystem.
• Fractured Atlas: National nonprofit providing fiscal sponsorship, insurance, and technology tools to independent artists and arts groups. Operates a similar service-organization model supporting individual creatives with infrastructure, though at broader artistic and geographic scope.
• Pentacle: Dance-specific service organization providing management, fiscal sponsorship, and production support to NYC-based dance companies. Direct functional peer in dance-sector capacity building and regranting services.
• Career Transition for Dancers (CTFD): National nonprofit supporting dancers' career transitions through grants, scholarships, and resources. Comparable in its dance-only service focus and direct financial support model (similar to DWR Fund's $1,000 grants to dancers).
• Theatre Communications Group (TCG): National service organization for the theater field, providing advocacy, grantmaking, and professional development. Directly analogous institutional structure to Dance/NYC across an adjacent performing arts discipline.

Emerging players

• ArtsPool: Worker-owned cooperative providing back-office administrative services to small arts organizations. Comparable shared-services ethos though targeted at operational efficiency rather than advocacy and regranting.

Regional players

• Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation: Regional arts funder and service organization serving the mid-Atlantic states. Comparable regranting and capacity-building function to Dance/NYC, though at multi-state regional scope rather than a single metro.
• New York Live Arts: NYC-based dance presenting and residency organization. Overlaps Dance/NYC's geographic and dance-sector focus but functions primarily as a venue/presenter rather than service/advocacy organization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/DanceNYC
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/DanceNYCorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/DanceNYCorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dance-nyc/about
• Instagraminstagram.com/dance.nyc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dance NYC