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Help create bold new dance

and sustainable careers for the artists behind it.

The company sitting and standing on a stone wall, looking up at an overcast sky, surrounded by green trees and grass, wearing casual oversized streetwear in earth tones

Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard

Credit: Christian Padron

We're building something different.

Genre-crossing dance performances that draw from the full breadth of American culture, where overlooked stories take center stage and dancers earn guaranteed income, benefits, and royalties for their work.

This future is becoming harder to create. And we’re building it anyway.

With your support, we can revolutionize who gets paid, who gets the credit, and who gets to see themselves reflected on stage.

Donate Today, We're building something different. (opens in new tab)

An investment in Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard is an investment in every side of the performing arts ecosystem.

There is a more holistic way of advancing dance practice, one that can transform the entire arts field. We’re on the frontlines, and already, we’re setting the standard. Here’s what that looks like in practice.

  • 52-week salaries,  healthcare coverage, and retirement benefits for our dancers, a brave recognition of artists as whole people and a rare find in our industry.
  • Shared recognition and royalty payouts, meaning that our dancers are generative partners, not interpretive participants.
  • Free dance training intensives so young artists can see how far they can go with dance — and how to actually get there.
  • The Dancer Development Program that gives artists the financial knowledge, business education, and professional tools to build sustainable lives. 
  • The continuous creation of ambitious new work by Kyle Abraham, guided by a deep commitment to artistic integrity and the authenticity of the story it tells.

Gallery

  • Kyle Abraham in a hat and light sweatshirt mid-motion with both arms extended and blurred, captured close-up in front of a window with a blurred green landscape outside
    Kyle AbrahamCredit: Christian Padron
  • Two dancers in an empty, weathered room with tall windows mid-motion, leaning back with arms raised in dynamic poses, wearing loose sweatshirts and sweatpants.
    Niya Smith, Mykiah GoreeCredit: Christian Padron
  • Alysia Johnson and William Okajima embracing closely with heads tilted back and eyes closed, one in a green sweatshirt, set against a plain pale wall with soft, muted lighting
    Alysia Johnson, William OkajimaCredit: Christian Padron
  • Gianna Theodore in a dark oversized hoodie leans back dramatically, looking up, while Destin Morisset in a bandana crouches watching her in the background, both surrounded by lush green foliage on a dirt path.
    Destin Morisset, Gianna TheodoreCredit: Christian Padron
  • Destin Morisset in a dark hoodie and a patterned bandana crouches thoughtfully, looking off to the side, with tall grass and dark foliage in the background at dusk.
    Destin MorissetCredit: Christian Padron
  • Alysia Johnson in an oversized green sweatshirt smiles with her eyes closed, touching her curly hair, with William Okajima in a blue cap and Destin Morissett in a red bandana visible beside her against a cloudy sky.
    William Okajima, Alysia Johnson, Destin MorissetCredit: Christian padron
  • The company sitting and standing together on a stone wall at dusk, laughing and interacting, with trees, a stone building, and an overcast sky in the background.
    Credit: Christian Padron

Ours is a solace worth protecting.

But this work cannot be carried by any one artist or company alone.

It requires a community of people willing to link arms and move the field forward together.

And you, just as you are, are well-equipped to help us do something that hasn’t been done before. 

If that vision speaks to you, we invite you to help build it.

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Supporters

With heartfelt thanks, Kyle Abraham Dance Vanguard recognizes the generosity of the donors listed below, as well as the many others whose support is deeply appreciated but not individually listed. List as of March 27, 2026.

Angels ($50,000 and above)

  • Sarah Arison and Arison Arts Foundation
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies
  • Booth Ferris Foundation
  • Suzanne Hall and Valentino Carlotti
  • Ford Foundation
  • Howard Gilman Foundation
  • International Association of Blacks in Dance, COHI/MOVE Program
  • Glenn Ligon
  • MacMillan Family Foundation
  • Mellon Foundation
  • National Endowment for the Arts
  • New York Department of Cultural Affairs
  • Denise Littlefield Sobel
  • Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels

$25,000 and above

  • Jody and John Arnhold
  • Cheryl Bergenfeld
  • Ed Bradley Family Foundation
  • Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
  • Karen and Jeff Hogan
  • Taryn and Mark A. Leavitt
  • Gary Mezzatesta
  • New York State Council on the Arts
  • The Shubert Foundation
  • Stephen Simcock
  • Julia Strickland and Timothy S. Wahl

$10,000 and above

  • Maria-Cristina Anzola
  • Torrence Boone
  • Natalie Diaz 
  • Adrienne Edwards
  • Matrice Ellis-Kirk
  • Anita Mann Kohl Charitable Foundation
  • Nancy and Michael Feller
  • Keith Funger
  • The Gaea Foundation
  • Agnes Gund, In Memoriam
  • Hauser & Wirth
  • Isabel Kallman
  • Jennifer Mandelson
  • Wendy McCain
  • Bebe Neuwirth
  • E. Stanley O’Neal
  • Adam Pendleton
  • Stephen Reidy
  • Russell Salmon 
  • Steve Pesner and Setpheap “Peace” San
  • Antwaun Sargent
  • Liz Frankel and Charlie Steinhorn
  • The O’Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation
  • Mickalene Thomas
  • Sue Tsao
  • Renae Williams Niles

$5,000 and above

  • Dancers Responding to AIDS
  • Meryl Rosofsky and Stuart Coleman 
  • Megan Kline
  • Thelma Golden
  • Devin Graham
  • The Harkness Foundation for Dance
  • Lisa and Emil Kang
  • Wendy McCain
  • Virginia A. Millhiser
  • The Mosaic Network and Fund
  • Muriel Pollia Foundation
  • New Music USA Organizational Fund
  • Marlis Pacifico 
  • Marc and Susanne Payot
  • Carrie Schneider
  • Lisa R. Beck and Mitchell A. Seider
  • Jean Sonia Lee
  • Gilda Squire
  • Eileen and James Thomas
  • Reginald Van Lee
  • Mark L. Villamar and Esther Milsted
  • The Hyde and Watson Foundation
  • Carrie Mae Weems