Are you an Atlanta-based artist who works within the realm of dance and performance? Are you invested in collaboration and community-building? Would you and your creative practice benefit from working within a supportive network of peer artists?
DanceATL’s A.M. Collaborative offers Atlanta-based makers a community of partnerships and group feedback. The group of participating artists will support and sustain each other’s processes and artistic inquiries, each deepening their own creative practice. With large group meetings and one-on-one partnerships, A.M. provides accountability, fellowship, and a space in which to explore and interrogate new ideas and methods of making work.
With this program, we strive to nurture collaboration and connections within our diverse Atlanta dance and arts community.
Who can participate:
Anyone interested in CREATING within or in collaboration with the medium of dance and movement. Choreographers, lighting designers, costume designers, musicians, dramaturgs, set designers etc. Any levels of experience are welcome, from curious beginners to seasoned professionals. We invite any MAKER (18+) who is open to connecting with other artists and energizing or reimagining their own creative process through connection and collaboration.
- Choreographers and Dancemakers of any dance form or style will be partnered with another artist: either another choreographer, with whom they can collaborate or provide accountability and feedback OR an interdisciplinary artist, such as a theatrical designer or musician, with whom they will create complimentary or collaborative work.
- Interdisciplinary Artists will partner with dancemakers, with whom they will collaborate on an in-depth creative process, informing the content and methods of each other’s work.
How it works:
To kick things off, participating artists will gather and connect for a virtual coffee chat with the full group to get acquainted and start brewing ideas. The artists will share their creative interests and inquiries. Later, with the guidance of the program curators, artists will be partnered with one of the other participants for the duration of the program. These partnerships provide accountability, perspective, and support throughout each individual process and inquiry, with monthly check-ins and as much involvement and collaboration as agreed upon by the partners. The program’s structure is dependent on the group’s interests and is flexible based upon participants’ needs.
At the end of the A.M. Collaborative session, the artists involved will have the opportunity to share their work, research and process with the Atlanta community at an informal public showing, in whatever format best suits the work of the participating artists while attending to safety guidelines.
Meetings will be held over Zoom on the first Wednesday of the month at 9am, starting our day with art and community.
Program Dates:
Applications Open – August 1, 2023
Application Deadline – August 15, 2023 at 11:59pm
Artists will be Notified – August 25, 2023
2023-2024 Meetings:
All Wednesday morning meetings will remain on Zoom. During the program, we will offer optional in-person events.
Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 9-11AM*
*September 2-hour pairing meeting is mandatory for program participation
In-Person Networking- Date and Location TBD
Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 9-10AM
Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 9-10AM
Wednesday, December 6, 2023 at 9-10AM
Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 9-10AM
In-Person Feedback Session – Date and Location TBD
Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 9-10AM
Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 9-10AM
Public Showing/Sharing – Format and Date TBD – March 2024
Why we are offering this program:
This program is unique, in that the outcome has no external expectations. We will be focused on the process of connecting, energizing, trading ideas, and creating in collaboration and community with one another. DanceATL’s Education and Research Committee has created a space in which artists at any stage of their career, in any performance or artistic medium, can engage with and learn from other artists, and develop their work and interests in new ways, moving away from a mentor/mentee dynamic and towards an equitable exchange of ideas and expertise.
What DanceATL will provide:
Promotion
Artist profile
Coverage in Promenade
Motivation, support, accountability
Partnership, networking, community
DanceATL resources
Platform for feedback
Free studio rehearsal space (limited availability)
What DanceATL will not provide:
Stipends/monetary compensation
Cost to participate
There is no application fee.
DanceATL Members participation fee $25
Non- Members participation fee is $50
Please contact info@danceatl.org if the amount above would be cost-prohibitive to your participation and we will work with you to find a means to make it work.
Apply
Applications for our 2023-2024 cohort of A.M. Collaborative open until August 15.
Team
Curators
Nadya Zeitlin (she/her) is a choreographer and founder of Bautanzt Here, a site-specific dance theatre (from Bau – “build”, Tanzt – “dances” in German). Distinctive features of her work are influenced by her training in movement, theatre, design, and art therapy with teachers from both Western Europe and the United States.
The company presented their works at 7 Stages Theatre, ELEVATE Atlanta Festival (twice), Art on the Atlanta BeltLine among other opportunities. In June, 2022 she presented a series of site-specific performances inspired by Atlanta Central Library architecture and history, funded by Arts & Entertainment Atlanta grant. In September 2022, Nadya was a guest artist at Emory Dance Program (alongside Professor Medina). She participated in Synchronicity Theatre’s Stripped Bare, Dance Canvas and Atlanta Contemporary Choreographic Residency, Excuse The Arts, Hambidge Cross-Pollination Art Lab.
In 2023 Nadya’s work represented the Atlanta dance scene at the DanceUSA Conference. She designed and facilitated Atlanta’s first Site-Specific Dance Hub, this year dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of Hip Hop.
Sharon C. Carelock (she/her) Sharon C. Carelock, a graduate of the MFA program at the Florida State University School of Dance, is thrilled to be back in Atlanta and presenting work. This native spent her time in school developing her artistic voice by studying and performing with prestigious faculty and notable guest artists, including Rodger Belman, Emily Johnson, Anjali Austin, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Now that Carelock has returned home, she is once again united with those who helped her discover her passion for choreography and performance, like Corian Ellisor and Kamali Hill. Sharon was an A.M. Collaborative artist in the 2022-23 cohort.
Meaghan Novoa (she/they) is a dancer and choreographer from Atlanta, GA. They have presented their choreography across the country, including at The Modern Atlanta Dance Festival (2018 & 2022), Treefort Music Festival (Boise, ID), Mixtape Dance Festival (Atlanta, GA), and Fertile Ground Festival (Portland, OR). They have received multiple grants and residencies for their choreography including Idaho Commission On The Arts (2020 & 2021), Boise City Department Of Arts & History (2021), Surel’s Place, LED Boise, Atlanta Contemporary/Dance Canvas, Decatur School of Ballet (2023) and Art On The Beltline (2023). Meaghan’s work is influenced by their Jewish and Colombian heritage and centers queer and neurodivergent stories. For more information on Meaghan, visit www.novoadances.com or follow them on Instagram @novoadances
Jordan Young (he/him) is an artist, educator, and arts advocate based in Atlanta, Georgia. For over a decade, Jordan has worked as artist and organizer to kindle curiosity and invoke public creativity. Melding disciplines through media production, performance, interactive design, and stage production, Jordan’s practice is focused on discovering playful modes of expression and collaboration that invite audiences to become co-creators. Jordan is the co-founder of Fort Psych Media & Events, a production design team partnering with artists and organizations to catalyze art creation and participation. Past collaborators include Chaka Khan Hacienda, Atlanta Film Festival, Atlanta Science Festival, the Southeastern Piano Festival, Charleston Fashion Week, iMAGINE Upstate STEAM Festival, and Artisphere. Jordan holds an M.A. in Media Arts from University of South Carolina with a B.A. in Production Studies in Performing Arts from Clemson University.
2022-2023 Program Facilitator: Nadya Zeitlin
2022-2023 Curators: Loren McFalls, Meaghan Novoa, Shellie Schmals
2021-2022 Program Facilitator: Sammy Spriggs
2021-2022 Curators: Loren McFalls, Frankie Mulinix (Vandellous), A. Raheim White, Nadya Zeitlin
2020-21 Curators: Sammy Spriggs, Onur Topal Sumer, Nadya Zeitlin, Jacquelyn Pritz
Contact
Email Sammy Spriggs, with questions at info@danceatl.org
Press Release
Read the 2021-22 Press Release below
Read the 2020-21 Press Release here.
