Support New Dance: Help Fund Our NYC Fringe Festival Debut

Hi everyone,

Mackenzie here reaching out for your help. I am a freelance dance artist based in Brooklyn, NY. I have the very exciting opportunity to be presenting a brand new dance work during NYC's Fringe Festival this April.

I moved to NYC in pursuit of pivoting my dance career in 2019, only to be met by the COVID Pandemic shut down. Was able to stay, work, and do small projects throughout this time and I am so fortunate for that.

Since being in NYC, I have learned the value of my work ethic but also how little funds and how competitive grants are for the arts. I am thrilled to have found a home here and always looking for ways to go deeper in my artistic journey.

Back in September, I was chosen to perform with Ara Dance Project. What a beautiful opportunity that was and was contacted once again upon their acceptance into NYC's Fringe Festival. Not only will I be dancing, I have the unique and special opportunity to choreograph for this show. This is where your help comes into play.

I am a FIRM believer in ensuring my artists/dancers get paid. Working 3 jobs already I could very much use your help ensuring my first choreographic endeavor in 8 years goes to honoring the work of the artists in my piece, this vision for a work that is a lifetime in the making.

To give you a little back story on this particular work.

I am setting 7-8 minutes of what will eventually become an evening length work. The name of the work is "Appartenenza" which translates to "belonging" in Italian. This is a work I've hoped to create for a number of years but haven't until now, taken the leap of faith to tell my story of adoption. It's a deeply personal story that I am daring myself to begin. Presenting the opening excerpt of this piece is not only a process of healing, sharing but also one I admit full on, I am raw to share. Nervous but ready.

I am raising funds to ensure the following in order of most important:

If you are in a place to be able to donate, your help directly aids in ensuring our industry keeps the value of art. I would be so immensely grateful for this opportunity to share my story without worrying about minimized rehearsals or project development shortened to due inability to pay the incredible artists making my story come to life.

Thank you in advance for your help and if you know art lovers looking to help keep this dance space and industry alive - please pass this along to other's with means to help or interest in preserving the intention of paying artists.