Dancing Lab: Oasis Dance Journal | 2026
Now accepting applications through April 9, 2026
MoBBallet (Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet) and The National Center for Choreography-Akron (NCCAkron) invites writers to submit an application to attend the Dancing Lab: Oasis Dance Journal from July 13-17, 2026. Participants will workshop and explore the role, responsibilities and relevance of dance writing in a shifting landscape.
During this Dancing Lab, Oasis Dance Journal will showcase critique and commentary that reflect the evolution and advancement of the dance field through culturally competent and equitable coverage. The power and responsibility that dance writing holds should honor the multiplicity and full spectrum of the field, from genre to culture. It must strive to be as expansive in its capacity to receive and reflect on work as artists are in creating it.​
How to apply
Who Will Participate
For this Dancing Lab, 4 dance writers will be chosen through this open call to travel to Akron, Ohio for this 5 day/4 night convening.
How to Apply
The short application will consist of 5 questions, including uploading 2 work samples, and a 500-word response to a prompt. You can view a pdf of the application by clicking here.
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Please read the FAQ to learn more details about this opportunity, including eligibility, requirements, and deadlines. Read the white paper of the MoBBallet Dance Writers Convening for more background.
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If you have any technical issues with the application, please contact NCCAkron at programs@nccakron.org. If you have any other questions concerning the application, please contact Theresa Ruth Howard at theresaruthhoward@gmail.com.​ We cannot guarantee a response for any inquiries or communications made after April 6, 2026 at 5PM ET.
Important Dates
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March 9, 2026- Application Opens
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April 9, 2026 5PM ET- Deadline for accepting applications
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May 18, 2026- All applicants will be notified of acceptance or denial via email
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May 22, 2026- Deadline for selected applicants to confirm participation in Dancing Lab
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June 4, 2026- Virtual Logistics Meeting with MoBBallet and NCCAkron Staff from 4-5PM ET
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July 13-17, 2026- Dancing Lab: Oasis Journal in Akron, Ohio
If you have any technical issues, please contact NCCAkron at programs@nccakron.org. If you have any questions concerning the application, please contact Theresa Ruth Howard's email.
- Application closes on April 9, 2026 -
Apply to Participate
If you have any technical issues, please contact NCCAkron at programs@nccakron.org. If you have any questions concerning the application, please contact Theresa Ruth Howard's email.
Why is this Partnership Important?
MoBBallet’s mission is to preserve and promote the legacies of Black artists while addressing the evolving needs of the dance ecosystem. By reimagining the field’s values and culture, MoBBallet aims to create a healthier, more inclusive, productive, and safer environment for all.
The way artists and dance are written about today shapes how they will be perceived in the future. Just as NCCAkron encourages choreographers to experiment with craft and form, there is a growing need for all members of the dance community—scholars, writers, archivists, curators, presenters, funders, agents, and audiences—to explore new formats and platforms to better interpret, advocate for, and share the artform. NCCAkron fosters such opportunities, helping writers clarify their purpose and relevance in today’s dance landscape while encouraging audiences to cultivate curiosity about dance as an ongoing practice.
This lab builds on NCCAkron’s collaboration with Theresa Ruth Howard and MoBBallet’s 2024 Dance Writers Convening, exploring the role, responsibility, and relevance of dance writing in a shifting cultural landscape.
What is a Dancing Lab?
Dancing Labs are residency environments that bring together two or more artists across geographical distances to be in dialogue. They are space for rigorous play and positive failure around an issue, idea, or field-wide trend. Artists share their working knowledge with each other and develop new ideas through body-based studio practice, personal introspection, and group reflection.
About Theresa Ruth Howard
Theresa Ruth Howard has been recognized by The New York Times as a “force for change,” bringing a multifaceted background as a ballet dancer, educator, journalist, and scholar to her work as an organizational consultant and advocate. Her holistic approach to addressing systemic inequities has driven international reforms across the dance field. In 2015, she founded MoBBallet (Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet), a digital archive and initiative preserving the contributions of Black ballet artists. A sought-after consultant, Howard has worked with leading institutions including The Royal Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Opera, and others. As a curator, she has led panels, symposiums, and exhibitions worldwide, including Dutch National Ballet’s Positioning Ballet conferences, the Royal Ballet and Opera’s Exposure, Access, and Opportunity symposium, and the Kennedy Center’s Reframing the Narrative residency, which featured Donald Byrd’s From Other Suns, named a 2022 “standout” by Pointe Magazine. Her writing appears in major publications and anthologies such as Dance Magazine, Pointe, Tanz, Opera America, and The Source, and former New York Times critic Alastair Macaulay has called her “one of the most valuable writers on dance today.”
For more information about Theresa Ruth Howard visit her website here.
