HISTORY

The result of an inspired collaboration between Barnard College Department of Dance and Williamsburg Arts neXus (WAX), Sugar Salon is one of the only annual programs in New York specifically dedicated to mentoring, commissioning, and presenting the work of women choreographers. Sugar Salon is a multi-generational effort, matching an established, mentor choreographer with three emerging choreographers during each yearly cycle. 

Historically, modern dance has been driven by powerful female artists. Its pioneering choreographers shaped a visionary continuum, from Katherine Dunham's Afro-Caribbean celebrations to Martha Graham's dramas about the realm of the feminine unconscious. Still today, modern dance boasts a pantheon of American cultural heroines. While modern dance is the only American art form originated by women, contemporary male choreographers have far surpassed their female counterparts in grants, patronage, media attention and professional opportunities. Sugar Salon seeks to shift this dynamic by creating new, lucrative career opportunities for high-caliber female choreographers and by educating the public about the unique genesis of modern dance within American art. 

SUPPORT

Sugar Salon was developed in tandem with independent choreographers Tami Stronach and Kate Weare. Program development was made possible, in part, through the support and partnership of The Barnard College Department of Dance of Columbia University under the leadership of the Department Chair, Mary Cochran, and through funding from Saul and Mary Sanders, Molly Heinz, and the Puffin Foundation.