MOVE|NYC|: Empowering the Next Generation with Nigel Campbell
Today we had the amazing opportunity to chat with Nigel Campbell, who is the Co-Founder, Artistic Director & CEO of Programming & Artist Development at MOVE|NYC|.
MOVE|NYC| is taking flight as they’re celebrating their 10th anniversary.
Founded in 2015, MOVE|NYC| is a leading-edge arts and social justice organization whose mission is to cultivate greater diversity and equity within the dance profession and beyond. MOVE|NYC| holds the important responsibility of shaping the next generation of dance artists and leaders and actualizes this responsibility by providing artistic training, mentorship, professional development, presenting opportunities, and other quintessential resources for career advancement.
Through programs and activities, MOVE|NYC| is committed to artistic excellence, mentorship, community engagement, equity, and social change in capacity to level skewed access to a professional and sustainable dance career for artists at the earliest stages of their artistic pursuits.
MOVE|NYC| imagines a field in which exceptionally gifted dancers, no matter where they are from, have access to the best training. They imagine more artists who are empowered to bring their own cultural backgrounds to their specialized fields. They imagine more artists creating new ways to move the field forward. They imagine an art form that will connect with more audiences.
HustleMania: Hello Nigel, thank you for sitting down with us today, we appreciate the opportunity to learn more about a beautiful organization like MOVE|NYC|. Jumping right in, What inspired you to establish MOVE|NYC|, and how did your personal journey in dance and social justice shape the organization's mission?
Nigel Campbell: Thank you so much for inviting me to talk today. I created MOVE|NYC| with my lifelong best friend and business partner, Chanel DaSilva. We grew up together in New York City. I'm from the Bronx and Chanel is from Brooklyn. We grew up in one of the most diverse places in the world and that's at the core of who we are. It wasn't until college and when we got into the professional field that we looked around and noticed that for most of our training and careers, we had been the only, or one of the only people of color in the room. In 2013, I was living in Sweden and Chanel was in Idaho. This was during the rise of the first movement of Black Lives Matter. Chanel came to visit me in Sweden. While we were sitting down over Burger and Beer at an Irish Pub in Sweden, we had this aha moment where we just took stock of where our lives had taken us. We'd been able to see the world doing what we love and getting paid for it, and we asked ourselves in that moment, why more people who look like us from communities like ours didn't have access to the beautiful life that art had given us? So we started asking directors of companies, why there weren't more people of color? The answer that they gave us was not that many are auditioning and the ones that are auditioning are not fitting what the company is looking for in terms of the artistic esthetic. So we went backwards, looked at the cost of education in dance and we realized, it's something that we felt and knew, but when we actually took a hard look at it, the cost of training a dancer to be at that professional level that gets you into top colleges for dance was so exorbitant that it was locking out whole demographics of young artists who have the drive, who have the talent, and who want this as a career. As an example, a summer program might cost $5,000 to $7,000. Training after school might be $10,000. Even people who are middle class, their parents might not have an extra $15,000 or $20,000 a year just for training. We asked ourselves, if we take away the barrier of cost, would we see a field that was more reflective of the world? That’s when we started MOVE|NYC| in 2015 with a mission to cultivate greater diversity and equity in the dance field. We started as a tuition free summer dance program that grew into what is now, the year round Young Professionals Program. It is a mentorship and college prep program for New York City teenagers. The organization now has seven programs total with the Young Professionals Program being our core program, but it was really birthed out of us looking at the field and feeling like it should be more reflective of the world and then deciding to do something about it.
HustleMania: That is an amazing origin story that follows the journey we align with as well. Can you share some of the recent achievements or milestones that MOVE|NYC| has celebrated in the past year, particularly in promoting diversity and equity within the dance community?
Nigel Campbell: Absolutely. Well, one major milestone is happening this year. 2025 is our 10th anniversary! We have been doing this for 10 years, which is crazy, because you look up and say where did the time go? We are super proud that in those 10 years, we have a 100% acceptance rate to the nation's top colleges and conservatories for dance. We have dancers starting to graduate from college into the field. We have dancers who are working in concert dance in the United States, Canada, Germany, Holland and the UK. We have dancers on Broadway. We have a dancer who just joined the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. We have dancers dancing for Doja Cat and Teyana Taylor. We have dancers on cruise lines. They are really actualizing the mission in real time. We're seeing them into the field. We're seeing the demographics of the field change. We're seeing the demographics of collegiate dance change because these young dancers have been empowered. Fall of 2024 we received the inaugural outstanding dance organization award from the National Dance Education organization. We had our national television debut at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, We also got to open for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. What was so great about that was we got to open for the show and then we got to watch as one of our alumni performed in that show. It has been super exciting. Really, really wonderful things happening and we feel really proud of our achievements thus far.
HustleMania: WOW! That is such an amazing journey so far, you are hitting all the top levels at a young age for an organization. Most people don’t change their haircut in 10 years! Going back to your mission. How does MOVE|NYC| actively involve the community in its programs and initiatives, and what strategies do you find most effective in fostering meaningful connections?
Nigel Campbell: That's a great question. MOVE|NYC| is from the community. I feel like everything that we do is rooted in the community. In the beginning, we went around to all the dance schools we could find to promote the work that we were doing. Obviously, we made everything completely tuition free so that this type of work, this type of training was more accessible to all demographics of people who were talented and motivated for a career in dance. We embarked on a five borough audition tour. We decided we were going to go out to the boroughs, to where the people were and not make them come into Manhattan, unless they wanted to. That took us a month! We would do it over the weekend. To make it accessible, we made it free. We sat down with the parents and the students and built individualized pathways for each of these families based on what the child said that they wanted. In addition to that, once they're a part of the Young Professionals Program, we do performances all over the city, in the community. For years we did free performances on a street corner in Harlem. We did the BAM Kids Film Festival, which is a free Film Festival for children in Brooklyn. We would perform in between the different films that we're playing. The dancers not only come from the community but we instill in them that it's already time to give back to the community. They're getting so much and it's a wonderful opportunity to share dance in areas that might not already get it, for the young people to get valuable performance experience as well.
HustleMania: You seem to be covering all bases and Boroughs! Amazing work. Looking ahead, what are some of the key goals or projects you envision for MOVE|NYC| over the next few years, especially in relation to expanding access to the arts for underrepresented groups?
Nigel Campbell: I love this question. I think our goal is to both expand wider and expand deeper. Currently, we have our core program which serves dancers in high school between ages of 13 to 18. We created the pre-Young Professional Program, which is a high school access program so we can get young dancers as early as middle school to start doing this work. Now that our dancers are graduating and enter the field, we asked, what do they need? We started SWEATLab, which is a choreographic incubator for emerging choreographers. That takes our pipeline from middle school directly into the field. In terms of expansion, we also launched the DC experience, which started just as the Young Professionals Program did, As a summer intensive in DC. We now offer quarterly touch points with master classes, professional development, mentorship and performance viewing. Our goal is to continue building our programming in DC, in partnership with the primary training programs the DC Experience dancers also attend. If that's successful, then that will be the first of several potential places that we could expand this work and make sure that any young dancer in the country who's passionate and motivated for a career in the arts has the access that they need. To make it a bit more micro, this year we are taking the young dancers on tour to Pittsburgh to perform at the International Association of Blacks In Dance Conference this January. We also are taking the dancers from New York and DC to Scotland over the summer to do an exchange with the Scottish Ballet Youth Exchange Program. This year is seeing national and international touring and performance opportunities for our young people. We're super excited to continue building on the foundation that we've laid, and always asking ourselves how we can continue to deepen and expand the work that we're doing.
HustleMania: You have already created so much opportunity and seem to have the framework in place to take things to the next level. How do you measure the impact of MOVE|NYC|’s initiatives on both the participants and the broader dance community, and what feedback have you received that has influenced the organization's direction?
Nigel Campbell: So, how do we measure impact? I think when I look at some of these dance companies where our dancers are going. I look at the collegiate landscape today. I see the field getting closer towards that ideal, which is a dance community that reflects the world. And in 10 years, I've seen a shift. Obviously, that's not just us. The world is also shifting these conversations about diversity and equity. We’ve been having a lot more conversations as well, but I feel proud when I look at the field and I know that I've been an active part in moving the needle towards a more just and equitable profession in terms of our students. The measure of the impact and the success is watching them achieve their wildest dreams. Now, fortunately enough, 10 years in, I'm going to shows and seeing my alumni on stage. That's the dream. Our vision was to see a more diverse dance field. Knowing that we were a part of the journey of making these young people's dreams come true. That them making their dreams come true is making the field better. That right there is the highest measure of impact that we could have.
HustleMania: That is just awesome. I really think you encapsulated what impact truly means. I want to say, we really appreciate you taking some time out of your super busy schedule to sit down and really fill us in on not only what MOVE|NYC| has done, but has on the horizon very soon. Thank you so much. We will share ways people can learn more about you and also how they can support your organization. Where and when is the next performance? I know we will be there.
Nigel Campbell: Our next performance is on Friday, February 21st at 6pm & 8pm at the Mark Morris Dance Center. Please come and support!
Thank you so much for the opportunity to talk about MOVE|NYC| and help broadcast our message of diversity in dance and supporting communities.
HustleMania: See you in Brooklyn on February 21! Can’t wait. It was our pleasure to speak. Supporting communities and people is the message we believe in as well. Thanks again.
Ways to learn more about MOVE|NYC|
Visit their website here.
Want to give them your support? Click here to donate.