NCCAkron announces Dancing Lab: MoBBallet writing workshop for eight dance writers & editors
The National Center for Choreography-Akron (NCCAkron), in partnership with MoBBallet (Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet), announces the Dancing Lab: MoBBallet Writing Workshop. Created by MoBBallet founder Theresa Ruth Howard, this second iteration of the workshop continues the inquiry initiated through the inaugural MoBBallet Dance Writers Convening (Washington, D.C., 2024), expanding a critical dialogue around the role, responsibilities, and relevance of dance writing within a rapidly shifting cultural and artistic landscape. With NCCAkron, this iteration brings together writers, editors, and cultural thinkers to examine the evolving relationship between dance, criticism, storytelling, and the ways movement is documented, interpreted, and contextualized. Dancing Lab: MoBBallet Writing Workshop will take place in Akron, OH, July 13–17, 2026.
MoBBallet, founded by Theresa Ruth Howard (New York, NY), preserves, presents, and promotes the contributions and stories of Black artists in the field of Ballet. Howard has been a leading voice in advancing conversations around history, representation, equity, and the evolution of the art form. This white paper developed from the inaugural MoBBallet Dance Writers Convening, provides additional context to the scope of the initiative.
“As we watch the world of dance evolve, expand, and as social norms shift, it is imperative that the hand guiding the pen possesses a lens capable of interpreting and contextualizing those changes, while also recognizing the role it plays within the greater ecosystem,” states Theresa Ruth Howard.
Participants selected for this Dancing Lab: MoBBallet Writing Workshop include dance journalists, writers, and editors Rachel Benzing (Chicago, IL), Joe Bowie (Evanston, IL), Amy Brandt (Hillsdale, NJ), Hallie Chametzky (Bronx NY), Benji Hart (Chicago, IL), song tucker (Philadelphia, PA), Lauren Wingenroth (Chapel Hill, NC), and Caitlin Sims (San Francisco, CA).
NCCAkron, one of only two national centers for choreography in the United States, serves as a vital research and development hub for dance. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the organization continues to act as a connector and cultural matchmaker within the national dance ecosystem. Its Dancing Labs provide residency environments that bring artists together across geographic distances for rigorous play, experimentation, and dialogue around shared ideas and field-wide issues.
This latest lab builds on NCCAkron’s 2017 Dancing Lab: Low Residency Writing (co-designed with Tere O’Connor), which led to influential publications with the University of Akron Press, including Shifting Cultural Power by Hope Mohr and Artists on Creative Administration, edited by Tonya Lockyer.
By redefining how dance artists are supported, NCCAkron remains an essential force in the field. For more information, visit nccakron.org.
L to R, top row: Amy Brandt (photo courtesy of artist); Joe Bowie (photo courtesy of artist); Theresa Ruth Howard (photo courtesy of artist); Hallie Chametzky (photo by Grace Kathryn Landefeld); Benji Hart (photo by William Frederking). Lower row: song tucker (photo courtesy of artist); Caitlin Sims (photo by Jayme Thornton); Lauren Wingenroth (photo by Anna Carson DeWitt Photography); Rachel Benzing (photo by Lance Long)