Dance to the People is an open and itinerant collective that consists of dancers/movers and other collaborators (videographers, actors, scientists, photographers, architects) who work in non-hierarchical forms of art making.

We collaborate to develop content and structures of improvisation, movement research, training, and performance, by fostering the exchange of resources already present in our community. With each project we further discover innovative ways to work that move us away from a didactic process and closer to a democratic process in which performers are co-owners.

We create together because we believe revolutionary art can only manifest itself through collective processes.

DANCE TO THE PEOPLE was formed in 2014 in NYC by Mexican dancer and choreographer, Maira Duarte, with the goal of accessing unutilized spaces and promoting a sustainable exchange of resources within the dance and performance community, to break down models of competition that are detrimental to the positive effect dance and performance can have in social change.

Each collective member can direct, ask for funding, find spaces, initiatie collaborations, or discover resources to support such projects as long as it has a pubic component and is accessible for free or by donation.

The CUNY Dance Initiative residency at the College of Staten Island in 2014 and 2015, hosted by George Emilio Sanchez was DTTP’s starting point. Through it, funds and space were utilized to hold 20 weeks of open free classes for the dance community, as well as students of the college and senior members in Staten Island. The residency culminated in a full evening performance of an original collaborative work: Narrentanz, in November 2015. In summer 2015 members of the collective directed two choreographic projects, one of them taking place outdoors and investigating our relationship with nature (Joanna Stone, Evolution is not Anthropocentric), starting our current programming in Environmental Dance. In 2015 we came into collaboration with Brooklyn Arts Exchange to hold two 8-week donation-based class series per year, which ignited yet another collaboration since 2017 with Mare Nostrum Elements to host classes at Spaceworks in Long Island City and Williamsburg. For the last 3 years Dance to the People’s members have performed at different festivals and events, as well as organized and curated showings followed by dance parties, at the Woods Cooperative in Ridgewood. We are currently developing also a video project titled Dance Translations, with the goal of capturing 100+ dancers of all abilities in camera, and sharing it in public spaces.

One of the highlights of 2018 was our participation in Foro Performatica, in Cholula, Mexico, presenting the piece #alloftheabove and teaching varied movement techniques.

Dance to the People continues to create new spaces for dance training and exchange, such as the Bar at the Bar (Nublu, 62 Ave C) classes, Environmental Dance Research through beach and park outings, and is currently curating its bigger performance party yet at Nublu, 151 Ave. C.

Dance to the people has received support also by the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (2017), and receives space from BAX Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Studio Maya, Spaceworks, and Nublu.