CHOREOGRAPHER'S FELLOWSHIP INCLUDES:

• all of the above Dance Fellow offerings +

• talented dancers to play, create, and discover with 

• budget of up to $1,000 for  sets, props, and costumes

• intern: help in the studio, perform research, source materials, run errands, etc.

• pre-fellowship inquiry with Alex Ketley

• planning session with Lillian Barbeito

• feedback sessions 

• tech and dress rehearsals

• performance venue 

• post-performance reception

• video of  The Showcase

+ option to participate in:

• daily technique classes

• Ballare Carmel repertory sessions

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CHOREOGRAPHER'S NOMINATION PROCESS

 

​1)  PROCESSING FEE ~ $65

To have your nomination reviewed by our selection committee, choreographer should submit $65 nomination fee by requesting a PayPal invoice from    lillian@carmeldancefestival.org.​

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Income varies significantly across the globe. For choreographers with proof of residing outside the U.S., we will adjust the nomination review fee to reflect the average income in your region, ensuring a fair and accessible process.

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2) NOMINATION

At  CDF we understand the importance of and deeply value teamwork. Therefore, to encourage teamwork, choreographers can not nominate themselves; they must be endorsed by someone else. Choreographers should not submit their materials themselves. Nominators should USE SUBJECT LINE: "2025 CHOREOGRAPHY FELLOW NOMINATION" and send the following materials to Lillian@carmeldancefestival.org:   

• Nomination Letter ~ Consider including the following: 1. What's unique about the choreography fellowship candidate? 2. Why they are deserving of an award? 3.  How would they benefit from the fellowship? 4.  What could they do with the experience gained during the fellowship in the future?  

• Candidate's Resume (must include candidate's email and phone number)

• Videos of Candidate's Choreography (see below for details)

• 1 additional letter of recommendation

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WORK SAMPLE GUIDELINES

• Works Sample ONE ~ performance footage of a complete 5+ minute piece with little or no editing (wide shot). When we refer to a "complete piece," we mean an entire work from its beginning to its end, regardless of its duration.

• Work Sample TWO ~ 3 + minutes of performance or rehearsal footage from an additional piece (any setting acceptable). This should not be a reel, but a piece or section of a work with little to no editing.  For choreographers who have created longer works (over 15 minutes), it's advisable for Work Sample Two to be an excerpt ranging from 3 to 10 minutes that showcases candidates choreographic prowess and/or promise.

• Please provide links (and include passwords if needed) to the candidate's work samples that have been uploaded to Dropbox, Vimeo, or Youtube. Videos that need to be downloaded will NOT be considered.

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CHOREOGRAPHERS' NOMINATION DEADLINE​: Sunday, September 15th at 5:00 pm Pacific 

Nominations will be accepted and reviewed from Thursday, August 1st through Sunday, September 15th at 5:00 pm Pacific Time. Three choreographers will be selected based on what candidates have done, the work proposed, and how fellow will apply what fellowship supports to future choreographic endeavors. 

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3) FINALISTS

Shortlisted choreographers will be asked to provide additional information about their proposed work in a questionnaire. Six finalists will be notified/announced on Sunday, September 29th. 2025 Choreography Fellows will be announced on October 13th. They will have two weeks to complete a production questionnaire. 

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SAMPLE FINALIST QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. brief synopsis of proposed work  

2. ideal number of dancers

3. what do you hope to give and gain during the fellowship

4. what do you hope the audience walks away with

5. any additional needs (set/props/special lighting/costumes)

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$1,000 STIPEND FOR FEMALE CHOREOGRAPHER with CHILD/CHILDREN

 

"In support of female leadership in dance," Elizabeth "Liza" Yntema is generously sponsoring a $1,000 stipend to encourage parenting choreographers to participate in this Fellowship Program.

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Elizabeth "Liza" Yntema, driven by a deep commitment to bolster female leadership within the realm of dance, is exhibiting her unwavering support by generously sponsoring a $1,000 contribution. This contribution is intended to serve as an empowering incentive for parenting choreographers to actively partake in CDF's Choreography Fellowship Program.

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It is a somber reality that choreographers who are mothers often grapple with substantial challenges when it comes to traveling and dedicating themselves to their artistic craft due to the pressing issue of childcare. In recognition of this barrier, Ms. Yntema's sponsorship has been designed to mitigate some of these challenges.

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In line with her vision, we highly encourage the nomination of mothers who are nursing or have children aged 4 and under. By doing so, we aim to create an inclusive and nurturing environment that supports the talents and aspirations of these remarkable individuals. Your participation and nominations are pivotal in making this initiative a resounding success. We look forward to your contributions in fostering a more diverse and inclusive landscape within the world of dance.

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ALEX KETLEY (Filmmaker, Choreographer, Stanford Professor, & Guggenheim Fellow)

is an independent choreographer, filmmaker, and Director of The Foundry. Formally a classical dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, he left the company to create The Foundry as a platform to explore his interests in alternative methods of devising performance. The company has allowed Ketley the freedom to pursue projects that would be difficult to realize within his commissioning career. A few examples of these are; Syntax, an hour-long duet systemically using the mechanics of language as an organizing mechanism, Lost Line researched how the application of environment effects the generation of movement and studied in direct response to California’s diverse physical landscapes, Please Love Me jettisoned the structure of performing in a theater context and was developed with a curiosity about how people genuinely connect and experience artwork, and the No Hero Trilogy which was a multi-year project that explored what dance and performance mean to the lives of people living throughout rural America.

 

For his independent work as a choreographer, he has been commissioned extensively throughout the United States and has received acknowledgment from the Hubbard Street National Choreographic Competition, the International Choreographic Competition of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Saveaur, the Choo-San Goh Award, the Princess Grace Award for Choreography, four Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography Residencies, the Gerbode-Hewlett Choreographer Award, the Eben Demarest Award, the National Choreographic Initiative Residency, a Kenneth Rainin Foundation New and Experimental Works Grant, three CHIME Fellowships, the Artistry Award from the Superfest International Disability Film Festival, and his work was featured on national television through an invitation from the show So You Think You Can Dance. His pieces and collaborations have also been awarded Isadora Duncan Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the categories of; Ensemble, Choreography, as well as Full Company, and nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design.

 

As an educator, he has taught throughout the world and is currently a Lecturer at Stanford University’s Theater and Performance Studies Department and was the founding Resident Choreographer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance for 14 years until its closure in 2018.

 

In 2020 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, one of the most prestigious honors in the United States recognizing individuals "who have demonstrated exceptional creative ability in the arts.”

 

 

LILLIAN BARBEITO  (Carmel Dance Festival Co-Founder/Ballare Carmel Artistic Director)

brings more than 35 years of dance experience as an artist, producer, director, and educator to her role as Artistic Director of Ballare Carmel. During the course of her career, she has been a performer with contemporary dance companies, the co-founder of a world-renowned non-profit organization, the founder of an innovative corporation, and an internationally recognized, certified teacher of Countertechnique. 

 

Barbeito grew up in the desert under the blues skies of Santa Fe, New Mexico where she trained with the Santa Fe Dance Foundation and worked with The Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Southwest Ballet, and the Santa Fe Opera. She earned her BFA from The Juilliard School where she studied on a 4 year, full-tuition scholarship awarded by Tomorrow’s Leaders of America for her essay about the world dancing together in harmony. Barbeito had an extensive performance career that took her to Europe, New York, and then finally to Los Angeles, where she founded BODYTRAFFIC with Tina Berkett. Under her co-direction, the ensemble received critical acclaim and toured to the most prestigious dance venues across the globe from the Hollywood Bowl to Jacob's Pillow to the Mariinsky Theatre. She has taught internationally for organizations such as CalArts, Idyllwild Arts Academy, L'Artere and L’ecole de Danse in Quebec City, Lyon Opera Ballet, Northwest Dance Project, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Southland Ballet Academy,  The Wooden Floor, and UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures. Barbeito is one of 36 teachers in the world who is certified to teach Anouk van Dijk’s groundbreaking Countertechnique. She has choreographed over 50 works for high schools, universities, competitions, regional ballet companies, and professional modern dance companies throughout the US and Canada. She is the Founder and CEO of HAVEN Global Sanctuary for Dance, a platform dedicated to shaping an equitable, diverse, and inclusive future of dance. 

 

Barbeito is married to filmmaker and environmentalist Grant Barbeito. They relocated their two sons, Oliver who is 13, and Forest who is 9, two bearded dragons, and an Irish-doodle named Harvey to Carmel Valley to launch Carmel Dance Festival and Ballare Carmel.