Movement Research at the Judson Church

Movement Research at the Judson Church is a high visibility, low-tech performance series on Monday nights at Judson Memorial Church in Manhattan throughout the fall and spring seasons. Movement Research at the Judson Church series is one of a number of Movement Research (MR) programs intended to serve as a creative laboratory and incubator for wide-ranging artistic investigations in movement-based forms; this series is a platform for artists at various stages of their creative development. 

Movement Research at the Judson Church is a free event and draws audiences from the dance community and general public. Because Movement Research supports creative practice and process, not final product, the Movement Research at the Judson Church series is for exploration of ideas, not a venue for fully produced work on a season’s presentation. 

Artists are selected by a rotating selection committee of peer artists. Work shown in this series must not exceed a maximum of 15 minutes. Artists selected for the series will receive a $300 performance fee upon performance. 

Please note that at Movement Research, we collect and review submissions via Submittable. The first step of the submission process is to create a Submittable account, or sign into your existing account. When creating an account, you will be asked for your name, your email address, and a password of your choosing.

Individuals for whom access to an internet- or wifi-enabled device and/or a reliable internet connection is unavailable should contact Movement Research at 212-598-0551 (voice only) for guidance.

For accessibility purposes, the application and the Demographic Information Form can be sent as attachments by email to apply@movementresearch.org. Acceptable file types: .doc, .docx, .pdf. 

To receive the full list of application questions and a fillable .pdf Demographic Information Form, send an email to apply@movementresearch.org. 

Please note that the deadline for submitting both the application and the Demographic Information Form as attachments is the same as the deadline for submitting an application online through Submittable. 

For questions regarding accessibility, please email accessibility@movementresearch.org,  subject line “Movement Research at the Judson Church Application.”

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the high volume of applications we receive for this series, anyone who showed or will show their work as part of the Movement Research at the Judson Church 2024/2025 season (September 2024 – June 2025) is ineligible to apply for this round.

Application opens: Monday, December 16, 2024

Application deadline: Tuesday, February 4, 2025 11:59pm EST

Performance Season dates: mid-September 2025 – mid-June 2026 

In the application artists are asked to indicate date ranges for which they are applying. Artists can only select one of the following three options.

• ONLY Fall 2025/Winter 2026 Season (performance dates mid-September 2025 – January 2026)
• ONLY Spring 2026 Season (March – mid-June 2026)
• BOTH seasons – Fall 2025/Winter 2026 AND Spring 2026

Notification: Applicants will be notified of selection committee decisions in mid-April 2025. 

Performance dates for artists invited to perform on the Movement Research at Judson Series will be confirmed as follows:

• Fall 2025/Winter 2026 season dates will be confirmed by May 2025. 
• Spring 2026 dates will be confirmed by December 2025.

Please note, these are the questions asked in the application, but this is not the application itself. You must complete the application by the deadline in Submittable (or by an alternate method as described in the “About the Application Process” section above).

This section is to verify the eligibility requirements to apply for Movement Research at the Judson Church. It contains 2 fields. You will need to confirm that you are 18 years of age or older (required) and that your work was not selected for and performed in the 2024/2025 season (September 2024 – June 2025) (required). 

1. I confirm that I am 18 years of age or older (Yes)
2. Have you previously applied to the Movement Research at the Judson Church series (Yes/No)
3. I confirm that my work was not or will not be performed on Movement Research at the Judson Church 2024/2025 seasons (September 2024 – June 2025) (Yes)

This section is to identify your category. It contains 1 field. You will need to select if you are applying as a Collective/Company or as an Individual artist (required). Once you have selected a category, you will be prompted to complete the Movement Research at Judson Church Application.

1. Are you applying as a collective/company or as an individual artist? (Collective/Company, Individual Artist)
2. Are there multiple lead artists or one lead artist on the project? (Multiple lead artists/ one lead artist)
   1. Please list all the lead artist names followed by their email addresses below. 

This section is to share your artist contact information.

1. Contact Information (First Name, Last Name) 
2. Contact pronouns (she/her/hers, they/them/theirs, he/him/his, Neutral, Not listed above)
3. I describe my gender identity as (optional)
4. Contact Street Address/Apartment/City/State/Zip/Country/Phone/Email
5. Website (optional)

This section is for marketing or publicity materials. It contains 1 field. You’ll need to input your/your lead artist/your collective/company’s name (required). This is how you would credit yourself in marketing or publicity materials.

1. Collective/Company name / Lead Artist or Collective/Company Name / Artist Name

This section is for your collective/company bio / your lead artist or collective/company bio / your artist bio. It contains 1 field.

This section is for your project information. It contains 3 fields. You’ll need to input your Artistic Statement (required), Summary of Proposed Investigation (required), and Statement of Intent (required). 

1. Artistic Statement (suggested up to 250 words) that briefly and clearly illuminates your artistic practice and the ideas/process you are currently investigating. 
2. Summary of Proposed Investigation (suggested up to 100 words) 3-4 sentences clearly and concisely sharing information on the investigation you are proposing to share in the Movement Research at the Judson Church series. Please include any known details about the performance. (Examples may include solo/duet/trio/group work, a collaborative project; includes live sound, projection, etc.)

Brief Statement of Intent (suggested up to 75 words) Movement Research at the Judson Church is an in-process, low-tech series. How do you hope your work will be informed, or what do you hope to explore or understand by showing work in this context?

One (1) Work Sample that represents your current artistic process. Your sample may be a performance sample or a sample of ideas- or work-in-process (for example, rehearsal footage of current research). Your sample does NOT need to be of the work you are proposing for this series. 

This section is for your work sample. It contains 10 fields. You’ll need to input if this is a version of the work you are proposing for the Movement Research at the Judson Church series (required), work sample information (required), collaborators (required), title (required), venue (required), date performed (required), duration (required), cue point (required), URL (required) and password (optional).

Please take into account the following considerations when submitting your work sample:

• We are only able to accept online videos. Please provide a link to a URL, preferably YouTube or Vimeo. (Please note that TikTok and Instagram videos are not ideal for selection committee viewing purposes).
• Sample may be footage from a performance, rehearsal, or in-process showing. When possible, choose a sample that unfolds in “real time”, as opposed to multiple clips edited together. Please do not submit “promo videos,” “teasers,” or “choreography reels.”
• Include one cue point of a 2 minute section. Be aware that, due to the volume of applicants, we cannot guarantee that the selection committee will watch more than 2 minutes of your sample. Please choose your cue point accordingly.
• Important: Sample should contain as much of the work / rehearsal as possible in case the committee wants to view more than the 2-minute cued selection.

1. Is this work sample a version of the work you are proposing to perform at Movement Research at the Judson Church? (required)
   1. Yes/No
2. Work Sample Information (suggested up to 150 words) please share context and details about your Work Sample. Please share why you chose this specific work sample and how it relates to your current artistic practice. If the Sample is related to the investigation you are proposing to share in the Movement Research at the Judson Church series, please note the stage of development of your project this work sample represents. (delete sentence that lived here) (required)
   1. The Selection Committee likes to understand the relationship between your work sample and your current artistic practice and research. Please explain how the work sample you have selected relates to your proposed investigation.
3. Please list any collaborators, performers, composers, designers, etc. or additional credits that are applicable to your Work Sample. (required).
4. Title of Work Sample (required)
5. Venue (required)
6. Date Performed (required)
7. Duration of Work Sample (required)
   1. 45 character limit
   2. To give the Selection Committee more context, how long is the work sample you are sharing?
8. Cue Point (when should we start watching the work sample?) Remember, the selection committee is only required to watch 2 minutes in their review of your application. (required)
9. URL (required)
10. Password. Only required if your work sample is password protected. (optional)

This section is for your season preference. It contains 1 multiple choice question. This application is for the full year from mid-September through mid-June. Please indicate the date range for which you are applying.

Please select only one option.

Season Dates:

• I am applying ONLY for the Fall 2025/Winter 2026 season (performance dates mid-September 2025 – January 2026)
• I am applying ONLY for the Spring 2026 Season (March – mid-June 2026)
• I am applying for BOTH seasons – Fall 2025/Winter 2026 AND Spring 2026

Movement Research collects demographic information for internal use only. This information is used to evaluate the reach and access of our programs, and in reporting to our funders. Please note:

• We request that the Demographic Information Form be completed and submitted to consider your application complete.
• If there are multiple lead artists on your application, each person must fill out the demographic form.
• This information will NOT be made available to the Selection Committee as a part of your application. The Selection Committee will be provided anonymous aggregated data of the full applicant pool.

We realize that you may have filled out this form in previous years, but we ask that you complete it again at this time. It is important that we collect this information each year in order to evaluate this information in relationship to specific programs. If you have already completed the FY25 Demographic Information Form, Submittable will notify you that your submission has already been received, and you will not need to complete again.

In keeping with Movement Research’s mission to support the development of ideas (vs. fully produced finished works), there is only standard lighting and a sound system that connects via an auxiliary cord to devices such as iPhone (6 and lower), iPod, laptop, etc. available. No other technical equipment will be available for use unless you provide and operate that equipment independently. The dance floor dimensions are 46’7” wide by 49’5” deep. This measurement does not include the altar, audience, or back of house.