BEHIND THE DANCE NOW STORY

My vision is to incite awareness of dance through non-traditional means. To join artists and audiences in inspirational experiences for both.

The daughter of a painter, I went to Goucher College to study visual and creative arts. As their first dance major, I paved the way for one of today’s most vital college dance programs in the country. My visual arts background led me into unusual urban spaces, inspiring my first gallery performance at 101 Wooster Street in 1993. The intimacy and enormous connection between the artists and audience members at this performance predicted DANCE NOW’s artistic direction.

DN has worked over the past two and a half decades to make dance accessible and welcoming. Bending the rules, we offer artists a new way to think about creating, and audiences a new way to experience dance. COVID-19 has shifted our programming, but not our vision. As we move into the next decade of live and digital events, we will continue to embrace the untraditional and the unknown.

As an artist, I am aware of the enormous challenges that face performers, choreographers and companies. Additionally, I am directed by my concern for the survival of dance makers as an arts administrator — particularly young artists and BIPOC dance artists. I am steadfast in providing opportunities that present new choices, stimulate creativity, and advance careers. I encourage exploration of the untried, defy the archetypical and carve a path to uncover new means of expression.

Hear Robin's Story >

Whether working as a dancer, choreographer, teacher, or arts administrator, I achieve the most joy from seeing others experience dance in a new, unique way.

I came to develop a deep passion for dance after initially starting my undergraduate degree at Connecticut College as just a theater major. I have gone on to perform with artists such as David Parker, Lorraine Chapman, Annie Kloppenberg, and others while working as a freelance dance artist in Boston, before moving to NYC in 2016 to pursue my MFA in Dance at Sarah Lawrence College. Under the name Grant Jacoby & Dancers, I have presented my own choreography throughout New England, New York City, and in France.

I am thrilled to be joining the DN team in 2021 to further develop how we as a community can connect and share our love for the arts during this highly unprecedented time.

As a Gemini, I have never followed a straight path, but instead pursued wide-ranging interests across the arts, community building, and social justice.
 
A few years after moving to NYC, I had the great fortune to become the first managing director for Zvi Gotheiner’s dance company and dance studio. Despite knowing almost nothing about dance when I started, I found a real home there. Together with Robin, I helped start Dance Now, bringing dance to galleries, gyms and empty pools. After earning a graduate degree in Urban Planning, I worked for Partnerships for Parks supporting community leadership in neighborhood parks, before becoming Executive Director of Fourth Arts Block (FABNYC). For 8 years, I led a coalition of theaters and dance companies to preserve the rich heritage and creative energy of the Lower East Side, while leveraging more than $25 million in capital funding to renovate cultural facilities. I also co-founded Naturally Occurring Cultural Districts New York (NOCD-NY), a citywide coalition of arts and community organizations. In 2015, I was hired by the Mayor’s Office to direct Building Healthy Communities, a place-based initiative to improve community health and wellness through fresh food access, physical activity, and safe and vibrant public spaces. I have since integrated this work into the Mayor’s Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety, connecting community-based safety and wellness efforts in a variety of NYC neighborhoods.
 
Throughout all my career twists and turns, DANCE NOW has been a constant. At the heart of my work and life is a deep commitment to the value of arts and culture and the importance of extending creative opportunity to all individuals and communities.