JULY 24 - AUGUST 2, 2026
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
NEW CENTURY DANCE PROJECT
New Mexico’s Festival of Performance & Choreography
PRESENTED BY ZEITGEIST DANCE THEATRE
"Monger"
Performed by: Zeitgeist Dance Theatre at the 2023 New Century Dance Project
Choreographed by: Barak Marshall, captured by Audrey Derrell.
New Mexico's Festival of Performance & Choreography Kicks off on July 24th, 2026
You missed out!
Our mission is to advance excellence in artistic expression, choreographic process, and performance by nurturing preprofessional dancers on their training and dancemaking journey. Festival components include a preprofessional performance ensemble, choreography fellowships, concert performances, and community outreach events.
New Century Dance Project is
Nurturing Performance Artists & Choreographers Who Are Fearless & Unapologetically Authentic
"The Child in the Violin"
Choreographed by: Helena Merlino
Danced by: Alana Casas, Audrie Gonzales-Ellsworth, Madeleine Joseph, Gredel Holladay
Music/Composer: Adios, by Benjamin Clementine
The Child in the Violin was the 2024 Critics Choice Award recipient in the High School Division
Supporting Team
FESTIVAL LEADERSHIP
Francisco Gella
Founding Artistic Director
Co-Artistic Director, Zeitgeist Dance Theatre
Francisco Gella’s distinguished career as a professional dancer, choreographer, artistic director and dance educator in the genres of ballet, modern and contemporary dance, spans more than twenty years since he took his first ballet class at the University of Washington during his freshman year. As an educator, Francisco believes that the key to excellence in dance arts moving forward is inspiring dance makers and performing artists to see what is possible through honoring historical foundations of technique and artistry, appreciating the diversity of style and genre in contemporary dance, realizing the body-mind-spirit connection in creating powerful movement, and experiencing transformative opportunities to be mentored by professional dancers who model what it takes to be successful in finding their own voice and to acquire the essential tools for success.
Festival Managing Director: Jeffrey Hoffman
Festival Operations Coordinator: Tara Debevec
Resident Dance Company: Zeitgeist Dance Theatre
Through my time at NCDP, I had the opportunity to connect with various dancers, dance-makers, and artists alike, all of which held the kindest hearts and the most honest artistic approaches, allowing care, vulnerability, and passion for the art of dance in its purest form. Presenting work alongside such an amazing group of creatives and choreographers, I left NCDP feeling heavily inspired, fulfilled, and understood in my artistry. Overall, I gained a larger trust for the uncertainty of creation and appreciating the value an idea has from its beginning, to its wavering process of workshopping, until its final resolution.
Brenan Gonzalez
2023 NCDP Critics Choice Award recipient in the undergraduate category
USC Kaufman Junior pursuing a BFA in Dance
THE 2026 FESTIVAL
DISTINGUISHED MASTER ARTISTS
Each year, the New Century Dance Project Artistic Director selects venerable, award-winning artists to share their extensive knowledge, experience and wisdom with festival intensive participants. You can find out more about them and our resident artists by visiting our teaching faculty page.
Jim Vincent
Dance & Creative Consultant, Educator, Past Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans Theater and Hubbard Street Dance
Zak Ryan Schlegel
Choreographer, Artistic Director, Educator, Dancer with Shen Wei Arts, and Founding Chief Creative Director of Congress
APPLY NOW, APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR
2026 CHOREOGRAPHIC FELLOWSHIPS
"The Child in the Violin" – Choreographed by Helena Merlino, 2024 Critics’ Choice Award Winner High School Division. Performed by Alana Casas, Audrie Gonzales-Ellsworth, Madeleine Joseph, Gredel Holladay. Captured by Audrey Durell.
THE 2025 FESTIVAL CHOREOGRAPHIC FELLOWS
NCDP offers an outstanding career advancement opportunity for three upper level collegiate through established professional choreographers to choreograph on an ensemble of advanced preprofessional dancers in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
These three talented dancemakers selected from a pool of over 200 submissions were selected as our Fellows this past summer! Each choreographer created an original work with our NCDP Contemporary Ensemble Dancers during the Festival. You can find out more about them here.
Noelle Kayser
Chicago, Illinois
Joshua Whitehead
Salt Lake City, Utah
Rhaine Marquardt
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
2026 NCDP Contemporary Ensemble
The NCDP Contemporary Ensemble is our select group of advanced pre-professional dancers (ages 17–22) chosen to participate in the New Century Dance Project’s summer intensive in Santa Fe, where they receive daily company classes, choreography workshops, and mentorship from renowned contemporary choreographers. These dancers collaborate on new, original works—each 8–12 minutes in length—developed by our Choreographic Fellows, culminating in the professional performance on August 1, 2026.
Applications for the Ensemble will open on October 15.
2026 NCDP Contemporary Ensemble
The NCDP Contemporary Ensemble is our select group of advanced pre-professional dancers (ages 17–22) chosen to participate in the New Century Dance Project’s summer intensive in Santa Fe, where they receive daily company classes, choreography workshops, and mentorship from renowned contemporary choreographers. These dancers collaborate on new, original works—each 8–12 minutes in length—developed by our Choreographic Fellows, culminating in the professional performance on August 1, 2026.
Applications for the Ensemble will open on October 15.
A Reputation for Educational & artistic Excellence
THE NCDP FESTIVAL ENSEMBLE
The NCDP Festival Ensemble is for preprofessional dancers ages 17-22. The Ensemble is a selective group of advanced dancers who are interested in pursuing careers in dance performance and to dive into exploring the craft of choreography.
Up to thirty-six dancers from across North America will work with one of three Choreographer Fellows. Fellows will create an 8-12 minute work over the course of one week. At the end of the week, all three works will premiere on the stage for New Mexico audiences alongside Zeitgeist Dance Theatre.
In addition, all Ensemble dancers will take daily company class, and jump into choreography and performance workshops before their rehearsals begin each afternoon. Zeitgeist Dance Theatre Trainees, in Santa Fe during the same period of time for their three-week residency and Company Experience, will join the Ensemble each day for the classes and workshops.
Send in your required materials by March 1 to be considered.
Please message us in the chatbox below or contact us if you have any questions about New Century Dance Project.