Created by WADE after a series of listening sessions with the LGBTQA+ artistic community, the project responds to the need for underrepresented and historically marginalized artists for free rehearsal space, professional production opportunities to create work plus logistics and financial support to interact and impact the communities that are important to them. The Pride Residency, Performance and Community Engagement is divided into Spring and Fall Session.

The Spring Session revolves around the creative process. Up to four emerging LGBTQ2+ choreographers are awarded up to fifty hours of rehearsal space to create a new work or fine-tune an existing one that amplifies their voices and experiences. The rehearsal process runs from January to June for a total of twenty weeks and culminates with a performance, free to the audience in the Jack Crystal Theater in June. A moderated conversation with the artists and informal mingling session will follow the performance. The choreographers receive mentoring feedback from WADE collaborators, professional photographs and videos for their portfolio and a small stipend.

The Fall Session is dedicated to help the artists create and execute a one-of-a-kind community based event for their chosen organizations. These events can range from movement classes, to lecture demonstrations, to informal performances, Q&As, to a combination of different practices. The choreographers will receive four two-hour virtual training sessions to create a clear curriculum with specific learning objectives plus two in-person “vision sessions” in which the plans of each community based event are presented and finalized.

Resident Choreographers:
Jay Beardsley, Rylan Joenk, Dylan Richmond, and Maggie Joy/Corinne Lohner

We Wear the Sky is a celebration of boundless identity, freedom, and community. This performance explores the vibrant spectrum of self-expression, where every individual wears their identity like the sky—vast, limitless, and beautifully unique. Just as the sky stretches across the world, connecting us all, these works invite us to embrace our true selves without fear, shining in full color and visibility. It’s a powerful journey of unity, pride, and authenticity, where each movement reflects the infinite potential within us all. In this space, we are free to be seen, to stand together, and to boldly wear the sky as a symbol of who we are and who we are becoming.

ASL interpretation provided by SignNexus, a certified Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise, ensuring accessibility for all attendees.

The Pride Residency and We Wear the Sky are made possible in part with funds from Creative Engagement, a regrant program supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) with support from the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and administered by LMCC (Lower Manhattan Cultural Council).