Rehearsal Subsidy Program
The Rehearsal Subsidy Program provides both a monetary award for rehearsal space costs and discounted rehearsal space provided through DMDC Institutional Members. Each rehearsal subsidy recipient will receive 10 hours of rehearsal space per month for two months. DMDC will pay the studios directly. It will be up to the awardee to schedule their rehearsal time.
Congrats to our 19-20 awardees!
September/October: Halcyon
Originally from New York City, Juanita Winston began her dance training in South Orange, New Jersey where she studied ballet, jazz and modern for 15 years. She continued her education, pursuing her B.A in Dance at The Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where she presented her early modern choreography at the annual B.A dance showcase. Subsequently, Juanita has taught ballet, jazz, and hip-hop throughout many studios in the Northern and Central Jersey area. Upon her relocation to the Washington, D.C. area, Juanita became the Founder and Artistic Director of her own company, the Juanita Maria Dance Company (JMDC).
JMDC seeks to celebrate the uniqueness of the Caribbean cultural experience through a choreographic style that uses a mixture of jazz and ballet for the company’s repertoire. As the current Artistic Director, Juanita’s greatest gift is lending new perspectives to old narratives and connecting the human emotions present in each story. The Company uses contemporary experimental works to convey its core values of equity and a compassionate collective identity. As a dancer and choreographer, Juanita always looks to display high-quality modern technique, while being relatable to a day-to-day audience. The Juanita Maria Dance Company's next performance will be on Saturday, October 26th at 8PM at Joy of Motion's Jack Guidone Theater.
November/December: Dance Institute of Washington
Mariah Lopez Solonick is a magna cum laude graduate from Rider University with a degree in Dance Education and International Relations. Mariah has been teaching students since 2011 and has been dancing/ choreographing professionally since 2015. Mariah has had the privilege to show work in NJ, PA, NY, MD, VA, and D.C. as well as danced for Artistic Visions Dance Company and was a guest artist with Nikki Manx Dance Project. Mariah recently completed Dance ICONS choreographic Institute as a partial scholarship recipient in 2019. Currently, Mariah works in the DMV area full time as a dance educator and commission artist. Mariah is excited to get the opportunity to receive this subsidies space to work on a new piece. For more information please visit www.artbysolo.com.
February/March: Joe’s Movement Emporium
Mikayla McKee graduated magna cum laude from George Mason University with a B.F.A in Dance in 2017. There, she choreographed and performed many modern works for her fellow peers and she performed in works by department head, Susan Shields. Mikayla also received a George Mason University School of Dance scholarship, The Provost Achievement Award, was consistently on the University’s Dean’s List, and a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society. When Mikayla is not dancing or choreographing, she may be found using her 3 years of experience as a Social Media Specialist for Mason’s dance department doing head shots and other photography. Mikayla spent 2017/18 dancing with Metropolitan Ballet Ensemble and Company Danzante. Most recently she had received the first ever sponsorship award from RawArts Dance company. She performed with the company and choreographed a new work that the company performed this past July. She is excited to continue working on this new dance, titled “Impressions.” It will performed again next April in “Choreographers from Different Crossroads” at Dance Loft!