Helen Stambler Neuberger Artist-in-Residence Program
This yearlong residency supporting movement-based artists of color is designed for emerging or established artists. It offers space to create new work while engaging and inspiring elementary and middle school students through the power of dance.
NDI is thrilled to announce that Ahtoy Juliana is our 2026-2027 Helen Stambler Neuberger Artist-in-Residence. She is a choreographer, scholar, and educator whose work illuminates the histories, lineages, and cultural memory carried within Latinx social dance. Her artistic practice is rooted in salsa and centers Latin Hustle, a social dance born in the Latinx and queer communities of 1970s New York, seeking to restore the queer and feminine legacies that shaped its development. She is an Artist-in-Residence at the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process program and a Scholar-in-Residence at the Jacob's Pillow Festival. Read more about her below.
About the Residency
Each year, we invite a movement-based artist of color to join us for a one-year creative residency. This role offers the chance to develop original work while engaging directly with elementary and middle school students.
During the residency, the artist collaborates with NDI’s Advanced Team to choreograph and present an original piece, showcased at our Art Nest series and Event of the Year. Simultaneously, teaching artists integrate these new perspectives into their classrooms, multiplying the impact across our 6,000+ students.
Artists-in-Residence receive:
- Rehearsal space at our Harlem dance center
- Performance opportunities
- Professional development workshops
- Peer-to-peer dialogue
- A community committed to the transformative power of inclusive dance education
Originating from our organization’s dedication to cultivating racially diverse artistry, this year-long residency embodies what’s possible when creative exploration is inclusive—fueling innovation, teaching evolution, and richer community for all.
Ahtoy Juliana, PhD (she/her), is a choreographer, scholar, and educator whose work illuminates the histories, lineages, and cultural memory carried within Latinx social dance. Her artistic practice is rooted in salsa and centers Latin Hustle, a social dance born in the Latinx and queer communities of 1970s New York, seeking to restore the queer and feminine legacies that shaped its development. She is an Artist-in-Residence at the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process program and a Scholar-in-Residence at the Jacob's Pillow Festival.
As co-founder and Artistic Director of BAILA Society, Ahtoy has created dozens of works presented internationally. Her collaboration with Navatman has produced two full-length productions bringing Latinx and South Asian dance traditions into dialogue, Roots of Resilience at the Rose Nagelberg Theatre and When the Sun Rises at the Ailey Citigroup Theater.
Ahtoy leads a community-centered effort to archive the history of Latin Hustle in partnership with CENTRO, CUNY's Center for Puerto Rican Studies, and Dance Is Life. Her research and writing explore social dance as a living archive of memory and resistance, an inquiry she brings to her teaching at Scripps College, the Peridance Center, and the Ailey Extension.
She is a founding judge of the prestigious championship, The World Salsa Summit, and a world champion herself with partner Edwin Tolentino. Ahtoy also co-founded Aurora, a collective for feminine-identifying dancers, with Jessica Ho and Isabel Freiberger. Her screen credits include a principal role in the film adaptation of In the Heights and her featured choreography and appearances in the music videos for Lulada Club's "La Palma" and La Excelencia's "American Sueño".
She co-founded Not Just Chisme, an alliance confronting misconduct and abuse of power in the Afro-Latinx social dance world through community-developed standards of care. In all that she creates and in the rhythms of her daily life, Ahtoy carries the presence of her Indigenous CHamoru and Latinx ancestors, whose legacies remain the source and compass of her work.
Jerron Herman is an artist compelled to create images of freedom. He has premiered works at Danspace Project and PSNY. He has also activated museums such as The Whitney, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, and Guggenheim with responsive installations. His writings have been published widely including Art Papers and his play, 3 Bodies, for Theater Magazine in 2022, and he was the cover story of Dance Magazine in March 2021.
Jerron is the choreographer and co-director of Sensorium Ex, a new opera. He is a part of INTERIM, Candace Feldman’s boutique consortium centering joy for disabled artists alongside Molly Joyce and Christopher “Unpezverde” Nuñez.
His awards include a 2024 United States Artists Fellowship, 2023-24 Fellowship NYU/Center for Ballet and the Arts, a 2021 Grants to Artists Award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, a 2021-2022 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship from the Jerome Foundation as well as a 2020 Disability Futures Fellowship from the Ford Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Musician, composer, lyricist, director, and community builder, Troy Anthony is our first musician selected for the residency – aligned with our 2025 curricular theme: “The Evolution of Rock Music.”
As Creative Director of Fire Ensemble Inc., Anthony brings an inclusive, movement-and-voice centered practice rooted in Black Queer Joy. During his residency, he arranged music for our Celebration Team, introduced intergenerational choir experiences across our community, and underscored our mission to build confidence and connection through arts education.
Honors include commissions from venues such as The Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and others. His debut album, The Revival: It Is Our Duty (Summer 2025), fuses gospel, R&B, jazz and musical theatre into a message of collective healing and hope.
We gratefully acknowledge Helen Stambler Neuberger for her exceptional support of this program.
Founder & Artistic Director of EMERGE125, dance curator for Bryant Park Picnic Performances, and collaborator across theatre and fashion, Tiffany has choreographed for the Dallas Black Dance Theater, NYC DOT, Utah Repertory Dance Theatre, The National Gallery and more. Her choreography was featured at the Joyce, Apollo, New York City Center, Red Bull Stadium, and beyond. The New York Times suggested she should have been nominated for a Tony Award following her work on Twelfth Night. During her residency, Tiffany worked with NDI children, teaching artists, families, and audiences—setting choreography for our Advanced Team and leading collaborative workshops.
LayeRhythm champions under-recognized African-diaspora street and club dance forms, layering freestyle, improvisation, and interactive audience engagement. The company brought their signature jam sessions and performances into NDI classes and events, while helping participants explore hip hop, house, popping, locking, krump, voguing, flexN and more.
Artistic Director of Diversity of Dance, Earl Mosley uses dance to create safe spaces where students connect technically and spiritually with their art. His credits include choreographic work with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theater Studio Company, Dallas Black Theatre, and others. During his NDI residency, he created a new version of “This is Me” for our Advanced Team and led a sold-out community event featuring multiple dance companies.
Led by award-winning choreographer Camille A. Brown, this company’s work reclaims African-American cultural narratives and positions social dance as an agent of change. They collaborated with NDI teaching artists on the “Every Body Move” initiative and created original works with our student performers.
Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval blended American tap traditions with Afro-Brazilian rhythms, live music, and body percussion. He has performed globally at Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce Theatre and more. At NDI, he worked closely with students and staff, leading performances and jam sessions centered on rhythm, culture and movement.
This program is more than a residency. It’s a catalyst for change – amplifying diverse voices, transforming teaching practices, and enriching student experiences across our community.