An applicant must meet all of the following to be considered:

1. Hold a BA, BFA, MA, MFA, or professional certificate in dance.

2. Have at least two years of experience inside a professional dance company.

3. Have a record of self-producing their own choreographic work.

4. Have experience teaching youth.

5. Have reliable transportation.

6. Be able to commit to Atlanta residency for the full fellowship term.

The Fellowship runs two years, beginning with the founding cohort in 2026 and concluding in 2028. This is a pilot program. Structure, terms, and expectations may be refined for future cohorts based on what is learned during this one; any such changes will not be applied retroactively to a Fellow already under agreement.

Rehearsal Space

Recurring rehearsal space at Ursa Major Academy, two days per week, three hours per session, six hours per week total, for the development of the Fellow's own choreographic work. This is separate from any Signature Lab teaching time.

The Fellow must use their assigned rehearsal space directly. It may not be subleased, loaned, or transferred to anyone else. Within their assigned block, the Fellow may use the space to rehearse with their own dancers, to plan, to hold meetings, or to host studio visits.

A paid performance held inside the rehearsal block, whether an informal in-studio sharing or the Year Two split-bill production, requires T. Lang's approval in advance. Ten percent of ticket sales from any paid performance inside Ursa Major's space goes to T. Lang Dance.

Presenting Space

Presenting space, in kind, for the Fellow's own choreographic work. Production requirements scale across the two-year term:

Year One

1. In-studio work-in-progress showing

2. Presenting space; lower-overhead, smaller-crew format

Year Two

1. Split-bill showing, shared with the other Fellow

2. Presenting space; venue and crew costs split between both Fellows

This is not a full evening-length production requirement. The Fellow is responsible for funding their own production crew, including lighting, sound, and stage management, and for paying their dancers.

Fiscal Sponsorship

Fiscal sponsorship through T. Lang Dance's nonprofit status, allowing the Fellow to apply for grants at a scale generally unavailable to individual artists. This includes support pursuing funders such as Fulton County Arts & Culture, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the Office of Cultural Affairs, and the Georgia Council for the Arts.

Mentorship

Three points of contact from T. Lang across every Signature Lab a Fellow leads, focused on pedagogy: Opening Master Teacher, Midpoint Mentor, and Final Critique and Showcase Director.

A fourth point of contact goes deeper. The week following the close of each three-week lab, T. Lang meets privately with the Fellow to review their teaching, and to discuss whatever else is live for them: choreography, grant questions, and anything else bearing on their practice.

Separately, as a residency benefit tied to their own rehearsal process rather than their teaching, T. Lang comes into each Fellow's rehearsal once a month to observe their process and give feedback directly. A Fellow may request additional sessions beyond the monthly visit, based on availability.

In exchange for the above, each Fellow agrees to the following:

1. Apply to four grants annually in pursuit of funding for their own artistic work.

2. Choreograph one new work for Ursa Major Academy students annually, presented as part of the Signature Lab series.

3. Teach a share of the six Signature Labs offered annually, alternating with the other Fellow based on artistic expertise.

4. Complete pedagogy workshops with T. Lang each September, before teaching begins, and not begin teaching until this training is complete.

5. Submit lesson plans mapping each week's milestones one week before their assigned lab begins.

6. Follow the weekly theme and milestone T. Lang sets for each lab, and how she directs the course to be operated. Planning time is for translating that direction into lesson delivery, not for independent curriculum design.

7. Arrive 30 minutes before class and remain 30 minutes after it ends, to reset the space and lock up.

8. Promote their own lab online to support enrollment.

9. Fund their own production crew and dancers for any presentation of their own work.

10. If unable to teach a scheduled class, arrange coverage directly with the other Fellow and pay them their standard rate for the session covered.

Lab Length

Three weeks, Monday through Thursday, 6:00 to 8:00pm

Teaching Hours

Approximately 8 hours of direct instruction per lab

Planning Hours

Approximately 2 hours per lab

Rate

$75 per hour, $750 total per lab

Labs Per Year

Six labs total annually, alternating between two Fellows

September Training

Three days, compensated by a gas and parking stipend, not hourly teaching pay

Teaching compensation is paid separately from Fellowship residency benefits. Rehearsal space, presenting space, and fiscal sponsorship are provided in kind and are not cash compensation.

Ursa Major Academy's students depend on consistent instruction. A missed class is treated differently depending on whether it was covered.

Covered Absence

If the Fellow arranges coverage in advance through the other Fellow, as required in Section 4, and the class is taught as scheduled, this does not count against the Fellow. The coverage system exists precisely so a personal emergency does not become a missed lesson for students.

Uncovered Absence

If a class goes untaught, with no coverage arranged, the following applies:

1. First instance: a direct conversation with T. Lang.

2. Second instance: a formal written warning.

3. Third instance: a review of the Fellow's continued fit within the Fellowship. This may result in continuation, revised terms, or termination, at T. Lang's discretion, based on the specific circumstances.

Ursa Major Academy is not affiliated with any single dance style. Fellows should work inside improvisation, including partnering, as a means of generating movement, and should be actively developing a choreographic voice and philosophy of their own. Work should be studied and shaped through an ancestral lens; all cultures and lineages are welcome, including but not limited to Irish jig, Chicago stepping, West African dance forms, and capoeira. Traditional or folk forms are studied as source material and developed into contemporary work, not taught or presented as folk dance in isolation.

Ursa Major Academy's studio is first-floor and ramp accessible, with an accessible bathroom on site. Parking nearby is limited; accessible parking options are being actively developed. Fellows requiring accommodations are encouraged to raise this directly during the application process.

A letter of interest of 500 words, addressing alignment with T. Lang Dance's mission, background and how it has shaped eligibility, what the applicant truthfully wants from the Fellowship, their interest in choreography, teaching, producing, or a combination, and what specific outcome would let them know the Fellowship was successful for them. For more details, click the Apply Today button below.