Seven Greater Boston artists selected as 2025 Next Steps for Boston Dance grantees
April 2, 2025
Boston – Seven Greater Boston artists and groups have been selected as 2025 Next Steps for Boston Dance grantees, the program partners announced today. Next Steps, a partnership between the Boston Foundation, the Aliad Fund and Movement Arts Creation Studio, is an annual opportunity to uplift and support movement arts and artists across multiple disciplines.
The seven grantees will receive multi-layered support from Next Steps, including $6,000 in ‘implementation funds’ for new work, along with 250 hours of flexible rehearsal space, five consulting meetings with expert advisors in chosen areas of need, and access to other resources from and with their fellow cohort members.
"In times of uncertainty, it is important to ensure that artists, especially those in dance and circus arts, are supported and encouraged to be ambitious practitioners and resilient leaders within and beyond the dance community,” said Catherine T. Morris, Director of Arts and Creativity at the Boston Foundation. “We are pleased to be able to partner with them and excited to see their work and practice take shape over the coming year.”
Former dancer/choreographer Amy Zell Ellsworth (Aliad Fund), a donor at the Boston Foundation, worked with Ruth Birnberg, who oversees the program and supports the artists during their artistic journey. Partnering with the Foundation’s arts and creativity staff in the development, design and investment to bring the effort to life. Next Steps grants are awarded to artists directly, but the benefits reach beyond the awardees as they develop their careers, connect with each other, and create paying opportunities for countless other artists who work with them on their projects.
To learn more about the 2025 Next Steps for Boston artists, read their bios on the Next Steps for Boston Dance page.
“When Ruth and I began planning for the Next Steps grant with TBF, we had hopes for what the program might have the potential to accomplish – support for creative practice, connections among movement artists, and increased knowledge about resources across neighborhoods, but we couldn’t have anticipated how much the grantees would contribute to the evolution of the program itself,” said Zell Ellsworth. “It’s been incredibly gratifying to witness that evolution and to see the widening of the circles and genres represented in the cohort groups. We are also now seeing artists who received a grant apply again when eligible. The growth in their work is additional evidence of how much the Next Steps experience contributed to their development and maturity as artists.”
In 2021, TBF and the Aliad Fund were joined in sponsorship of Next Steps by Movement Arts Creation Studio (MACS), allowing for the program to expand to include circus arts producers and performers among the grantees. “Movement arts are distinct from many other arts in that they rely significantly on large studio spaces and direct in-person interaction with peer or company artists to realize the inception and creation of new artistic works, presenting financial and operational burdens, especially to emerging and mid-career movement artists,” said Valentine Talland, President of Movement Arts Creation Studio. “We welcome the opportunity to partner with TBF and the Aliad Foundation in supporting the Next Steps program, which removes these barriers and plays a vital role in advancing the work of movement artists in the Boston area.”
Since the program’s founding, it has awarded 54 grants to Greater Boston artists. To learn more about Next Steps, read the full bios of this year's grantees and see a list of past recipients, visit the Next Steps for Boston Dance page.