Creators in Dance Summit: Choreographers Gather to Break Isolation and Build a Supportive Future in New York City

When Troy Schumacher gathered choreographers from across the country for BalletCollective’s first Creators in Dance Summit in New York City last March, the raw honesty of their shared struggles echoed far beyond the walls of that closed-door session. The data points were stark: 87 percent didn’t believe the ecosystem supported their long-term development and none felt they’d been compensated appropriately over the last three years. For dance makers in Chicago—a city with its own deep-rooted ballet and contemporary scenes—these aren’t abstract national trends. They’re daily realities felt in rehearsal studios from the South Loop to Hyde Park, where the pressure to produce often outweighs the space to reflect.

Schumacher, who recently took on the dual role of Artistic and Executive Director at BalletCollective, framed the summit as an antidote to isolation. “We work in the most social of art forms, yet many of us are isolated,” he noted, a sentiment that resonates strongly in Chicago’s fragmented dance economy. Here, artists frequently juggle multiple gigs—teaching at community centers in Pilsen, performing with storefront companies in Logan Square, or chasing commercial gigs downtown—all while trying to carve out time for their own creative research. The summit’s revelation that 86 percent of attendees felt output speed and volume were rewarded over artistic risk hits particularly close to home in a city where grant cycles favor quick turnarounds and companies often prioritize repertory familiarity over experimentation.

The anonymized nature of the summit allowed for candid conversations about systemic barriers. Choreographers pointed to a frustrating paradox: while institutions publicly celebrate bold work, the funding and commissioning structures rarely support the failed experiments necessary for true innovation. Josh Prince’s public panel comment about the “bait-and-switch” of being told to be bold “but not like that” mirrors conversations I’ve heard in Chicago’s dance lounges, where artists describe investing months into a piece only to have presenters balk at its final form. This isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about economic viability. When a choreographer can’t rely on consistent compensation or development support, the incentive to take creative risks diminishes, potentially homogenizing the incredibly art form that thrives on novelty.

Looking deeper, the summit’s findings align with broader shifts in arts funding nationwide. Compared to a decade ago, fewer foundations now offer multi-year fellowships specifically for choreographic research, pushing artists toward project-based grants that demand immediate outcomes. In Chicago, this shift has intensified competition for limited resources from entities like the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), the MacArthur Fellows Program (which occasionally supports dance), and the Joyce Foundation—all of which play outsized roles in shaping who gets to create and how. The absence of reliable feedback loops, another key summit insight, is exacerbated here by the lack of centralized choreographic labs or dramaturgical resources comparable to those in New York or Los Angeles.

Yet there’s cause for cautious optimism. Schumacher’s vision of turning the summit into an annual, sustainable event offers a replicable model. Imagine a similar gathering hosted in Chicago, perhaps in partnership with the Harris Theater or the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, bringing together artists from Hubbard Street’s ballet contingents, the Footwork collectives on the South Side, and the modern dance troupes in Evanston. Such an event wouldn’t need to solve everything in one day—it could simply create the space Schumacher described: “a place to be together and to talk with no performance needed.” From there, localized action could emerge, whether that’s advocating for adjusted grant timelines with DCASE or forming peer-led feedback circles modeled on the summit’s breakout sessions.

Given my background in analyzing how macro-level cultural shifts manifest in specific creative communities, if you’re a choreographer in Chicago feeling the squeeze between artistic ambition and practical survival, here are three types of local professionals to seek out—not as quick fixes, but as potential allies in navigating this landscape:

• Arts Administrators with Grant Strategy Expertise: Gaze for professionals who’ve worked directly with Chicago’s major funders—DCASE, the Joyce Foundation, or the MacArthur Arts & Culture program—and understand how to frame long-term choreographic development within current funding constraints. They should help you identify multi-year opportunities or build compelling cases for general operating support, not just project-based asks.
• Dance-Savvy Career Coaches: Seek coaches familiar with the portfolio career reality of Chicago dance makers—those who’ve helped artists balance teaching contracts at places like the Old Town School of Folk Music with creative residencies or commercial work. They shouldn’t push you toward a single “right” path but help you design a sustainable rhythm that protects time for ideation.
• Independent Dramaturgs or Feedback Facilitators: Find individuals experienced in guiding choreographic processes without imposing their own aesthetic. The best ones create structured, confidential spaces for feedback—akin to the summit’s breakout sessions—helping you test ideas early and build resilience against the “bait-and-switch” phenomenon by clarifying intent before full production.

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