Here are the latest promotions, appointments, and departures; notable awards and accomplishments; and new funding opportunities from April 2026.
Comings & Goings
At Boston Ballet, Sangmin Lee has been promoted to principal, Alexandria Heath, Emma Topalova, Schuyler Wijsen, and Alexis Workowski to second soloist.
Ingrid Silva will retire from Dance Theatre of Harlem at the conclusion of the season. Her final performance will be on May 9.
Miami City Ballet principal Nathalia Arja will retire at the conclusion of the current season in May.
Australian Ballet principal Callum Linnane will depart the company in June to join Hamburg Ballet as a principal beginning with the 2026–27 season.
Charlottesville Ballet co-founder and director Emily Hartka will step away from day-to-day operations this spring. Fellow co-founder and director Sara Clayborne will add the role of chief executive officer in July.
Scott Altman has been appointed executive director of Miami City Ballet and will join the company in the summer.
Leslie Smart will step down as CEO of Louisville Ballet on May 29 but will remain involved with the company as a member of its board of directors.
Raja Feather Kelly has been named guest curator of New York Live Arts’ 2027 Live Artery Festival.
American Ballet Theatre music director Ormsby Wilkins will retire at the end of the company’s summer season. He will be succeeded by David LaMarche.
Canyon Concert Ballet will cease operations by the end of May.
Awards & Honors
Allison Orr has received a 2026 Doris Duke Artist Award, which includes a $525,000 unrestricted grant as well as $25,000 in retirement savings support.
Sarah Crowell is among the recipients of a 2026 Rainin Arts Fellowship, which includes a $100,000 unrestricted grant.
The 2026 Guggenheim Fellowships have been awarded to Kyle Abraham, Yanira Castro, Sean Curran, KJ Holmes, Molly Lieber, Nia Love, Amy O’Neal, Raymond Pinto, Silas Riener, and Eleanor Smith.
Frank Rabon is among the 2026 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellows.
Winners at the Olivier Awards included Fabian Aloise (Best Theatre Choreographer, for Evita) and Sharon Eyal (Best New Dance Production, Into the Hairy).
The off-Broadway production of Gotta Dance! will receive the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics’ Choice Award at the 2026 Chita Rivera Awards on May 18.
Funding Opportunities
New York Live Arts’ Fresh Tracks Residency & Performance program, which provides a $5,000 fee and a 60-hour studio residency culminating in a performance of new work, as well professional development opportunities, is accepting applications for the 2026–27 season. The application window closes May 25. More information here.
Dance/NYC is accepting expressions of interest in the 2026–28 cycle of its Dance Advancement Fund, which awards general operating support grants of $6,000 to $40,000 to dance organizations and groups in the New York City metropolitan area with operating budgets of $25,000 to $250,000. Expressions of interest are due June 2. More information here.
Remuseum and the Doris Duke Foundation’s Vanguard program, which will award $100,000 grants to the organizations of 10 arts leaders who are accepted to participate in the accelerator program, will begin accepting applications on May 18. More information here.
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