WHITE WAVE is thrilled to invite you to submit applications for our 25th Annual DUMBO Dance Festival (DDF), taking place June 26-28, 2026.

 

For over two decades, WHITE WAVE Dance has proudly showcased contemporary dance artists from across the globe. Join us in celebrating international dance at the renowned Taylor Dance East Theatre. 551 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002.

 

The 2026 DUMBO DANCE FESTIVAL: A THREE-DAY SPECTACULAR PRESENTING 50+ COMPANIES FROM NEW YORK & AROUND THE WORLD.

 

DUMBO Dance Festival on ABC Eyewitness News:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ-sq23DAGI

 

Promo video from 2025 DUMBO Dance Festival:

https://vimeo.com/1140979226/8f860f703b?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

 

APPLICATION DEADLINE(S):

[▪]  Early Bird Special Application by January 19th at 11:30pm

[▪]  Regular Application by February 2nd at 11:30pm

 

Click HERE for the online Application Form!

 

WHITE WAVE scours the globe to bring today's most innovative dancemakers—both emerging and established—to NYC for one unforgettable weekend, with a special focus on the new, emerging, and experimental. Dance lovers will enjoy a vibrant showcase of contemporary dance, experiencing the energy and vitality of New York and global dance scenes up close.

 

Each choreographer/company may submit up to two applications for the 2026 DUMBO Dance Festival. Please note that each application requires a separate form and application fee, which is non-refundable.

 

All applications will be reviewed by a panel of impartial adjudicators. If your work is selected, you will be notified by email by mid-February 2026.

 

For all inquiries regarding the 2026 DDF, please contact Young Soon Kim, Artistic Director, at 718-855-8822 or email ww2026ddf@gmail.com.

 

ABOUT Young Soon Kim, Artistic Director

 

Young Soon Kim, Artistic Director of WHITE WAVE Dance, is a recipient of the 2023 Bessies Angel Honoree Award and a nationally and internationally acclaimed choreographer known for her exhilarating, visually stunning, and emotionally rich choreography.

 

Beyond her work as a performer and Artistic Director, Ms. Kim has founded a series of dance festivals following the inauguration of the WHITE WAVE John Ryan Theater in DUMBO, Brooklyn, in 2001. She has become one of NYC's most recognized producers and curators, also serving as a juror for the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Ms. Kim and her company have performed at prestigious venues such as BAM Fisher, the Joyce Theater, the Kennedy Center, Dance Theater Workshop, Jacob's Pillow, and the American Dance Festival, as well as the 1988 Summer Olympics World Dance Festival in Korea. In June 2021, the Korean Arts Council, which manages the archive for prominent artists, selected Young Soon Kim as the first active artist outside of Korea to be inducted into the archive across all genres.

 

“There are people who simply have a lot of energy, and the Korean-born choreographer Young Soon Kim is clearly one of them.” – Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times

 

About WHITE WAVE Dance

Formed in 1988, WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company (WHITE WAVE Dance) strives to inspire audiences through multi-dimensional dance productions reflecting themes and philosophies both modern and timeless. Our mission is to be a potent stimulus for change and expansion of the dance/arts world through the production of dance concerts, classes, residencies, and education. For more information, visit whitewavedance.org.

 

About WHITE WAVE

Formed in 1988, WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company (WHITE WAVE) strives to inspire audiences through multi-dimensional dance productions reflecting themes and philosophies both modern and timeless. Our mission is to be a potent stimulus for change and expansion of the dance/arts world through the production of dance concerts, classes, residencies, and education. Artistic Director Young Soon Kim’s vision is expansive, challenging the threshold of dance, music, theater and visual art, surging forward to create new possibilities. Ms. Kim creates works of vision and movement language in reverence and awe of novelty that challenge and broaden the boundaries of dance. We provide both emerging and established choreographers/companies with a NYC venue where they can congregate, create, rehearse and present new dance works through our festivals.

www.whitewavedance.org.

 

Mission and a brief history of WHITE WAVE

Founded by Korean-born Young Soon Kim in 1988, the WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company is dedicated to inspiring audiences through multi-dimensional dance productions reflecting themes and philosophies both modern and timeless. We constantly strive to be a potent stimulus for progress and evolution within the dance/arts world. By producing dance concerts, festivals, and educational activities, WHITE WAVE Dance provides both nascent and seasoned choreographers/companies with an encouraging environment where they can create, collaborate, and present new works in the undisputed capital of world dance, New York City.

 

WHITE WAVE created DDF in 2001 in response to the dance community’s need for performance opportunities that would not only present, but also produce, the work of rising choreographers at minimal expense for the artist. The festival is now recognized as New York’s most prestigious gathering of pioneering choreography, encouraging experimentation, creativity, and originality.

 

To date, WHITE WAVE Dance has proudly presented over 3,500 choreographers/dance companies and over 22,500 performers to a total of more than 92,500 audience members.

 

WHITE WAVE’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, New York State Council on the Arts, The New York Community Trust, Dance/NYC's Coronavirus Dance Relief Fund, Howard Gilman Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, New York City Artist Corps, Mosaic Network & Fund, Grace Charity Foundation Inc., Arnhold Foundation Inc., JOHN RYAN, and Individual Arts Supporters like you.

 

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