Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Specific directions are available on this website under How to Apply.

1.  The Intent to Apply will open on August 13th, 2025. This step is optional, and you may submit a full application if you did not complete the Intent to Apply form.

2. Final applications will be due March 18th, 2026 at 3:00pm CST. Check our website after mid-January 2025 for specific information on how to submit your final application.

• Read all the guidelines, eligibility information, and FAQs thoroughly.

• Watch the videos about the program and application.

• Attend a webinar in the late summer and/or winter.
  Start your application materials early and Apply Early! No late applications will be accepted.

• Contact us with any questions you may have at McKnightFellowships@springboardforthearts.org

Yes, applicants who miss the Intent to Apply deadline may still submit a final application. However, we strongly encourage the Intent to Apply as it is a very important step. Without the Intent to Apply you will not receive deadline reminders or important updates about the application. Also, the panel will not view your live performances.

First-time applicants who missed the Intent to Apply deadline can contact us at McKnightFellowships@springboardforthearts.org  for application assistance.

The panel looks for choreographers who are clearly beyond early practice or the emerging stage, whose work is of exceptional artistic merit, and who have created a substantial body of work over time.

In other words, these awards are not intended for a choreographer at the beginning stage of their career. This is also not for a single work of merit.

Above all, the panel looks for artistic excellence in a choreographer's full body of work. The panel also takes into account whether an applicant has received a prior McKnight Fellowship at the $25,000 level in any discipline – including how recently and how many prior awards since 2001.

Artists who are beyond the emerging stage of their career will have a history of sustained and committed choreographic work over a period of at least eight years, demonstrated through performances, creative work, or other work in the field. Applicants should demonstrate a substantial body of work, created over a period of time in their application materials.

These accomplishments must be from outside of full-time, accredited degree programs (i.e. student performances will not count towards the eight-year period of committed artistic work.) The panel will review the application and assess whether a choreographer is clearly beyond the emerging stage of their career.

Applicants must be residents of Minnesota (or in a Native Nation that shares this geography) for at least one year before applying and fellows must remain in residence in Minnesota during the fellowship year or forfeit the award.  Applicants may not be enrolled full-time in an academic program. Recipients of 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025

McKnight Fellowships in any field/medium are not eligible. Applicants to this program may not apply to any other McKnight Artist & Culture Bearer Fellowship program in the same year. Applicants cannot be employed by the McKnight Foundation or Springboard for the Arts St. Paul office, nor be a partner or immediate family members to any employee. Applicants must have a social security number or other federal tax number to be awarded.

Please see complete information on eligibility requirements in the guidelines.

The final application asks you to upload a copy of your Minnesota driver’s license Minnesota State Identification card or tribal ID indicating a geographic location in Minnesota or a Native Nation that shares this geography. If you do not have any of those documents, contact the program staff at McKnightFellowships@springboardforthearts.org  for other supporting documents to use.

Here is a list of other ways to show you are a resident of Minnesota:

• Tribal identification card

• Minnesota property tax statement for at least one year

• Minnesota vehicle insurance card for at least one year

• Paychecks stubs with Minnesota address for at least one year

• Minnesota rental or lease agreement at for least one year

• Minnesota utility statement in your name for at least one year

The McKnight Artist and Culture Bearer Fellowships are unrestricted funds available to choreographers to support their work and artistry. The fellowships are not project grants, and the panel does not evaluate project proposals as criteria in the selection process.

A fellowship can help an artist set aside periods for study, reflection, experimentation, and exploration, take advantage of an opportunity, or work on a new project. Applicants cannot be enrolled in a full-time, accredited academic program during the fellowship year and the fellowships’ funds may not be used to support work associated with a degree program. However, fellowships may be used to support professional study.

If you have further questions about what the fellowship may support, please contact us at McKnightFellowships@springboardforthearts.org 

Beyond the $25,000 award, Choreography Fellows are offered a two-part professional development opportunity.

Fellows will be invited to New York City during the Association for Performing Arts Presenters’ (APAP) annual conference in January. The goal of this fully supported opportunity is to establish dance contacts and connections outside of Minnesota, develop an oral presentation and promotional materials, connect with other Fellows, and immerse artists in the performances available. An experience in NYC allows Fellows to broaden their exposure and foster connections, perhaps setting the stage for future opportunities. 

The second part of the opportunity offers funds for artistic research and development, nicknamed “People & Space.”  It is designed so that fellows may tailor an opportunity suited to their needs that involves collaborators (People), space rental (Space) or a combination of the two. These funds must be utilized during the Fellowship year.

In addition, there are several professional development opportunities such as a Fellow retreat at Tofte Lake Center, consultation time with Fellowship program staff and Springboard for the Arts, and a Fellow dinner for all Dancer and Choreographer Fellows that year.

Currently, each McKnight Fellow is offered a 1-2 week individual residency thru the Artist Communities Alliance to take place the year after the fellowship ends. To learn more about the past national residency program and where the recent McKnight Fellows have been placed, Visit this Page

A panel of four (three National and one Minnesota-based) artists and/or arts administrators reviews applications and selects fellows. Panelists are knowledgeable about choreography and the panel represents a range of backgrounds and areas of expertise. Panelists will have a demonstrated experience as choreographers or a background as a practitioner in the dance field.

The panel makeup changes each year. The panel is confidential and the names of panelists are not revealed until after the selection process is complete. See below for list of past panelists.

Yes. There is one Minnesota-based panelist who attends live performances throughout the season. The panelist is available to see work in the summer prior to the Intent to Apply deadline and continues to see work until early May 2026. You must complete the fall Intent to Apply form to be eligible to have your work viewed.

To keep the panel informed of your upcoming performances (if you have submitted an Intent to Apply) fill out the online Calendar Form for each of your performances this season. You may fill out this form when you submit your Intent to Apply (opens in a new window), letting us know about your performances for the entire season and may add performances throughout the year. If you have performances in the summertime prior to the Intent to Apply deadline, you may submit the Calendar Form even before you submit the Intent to Apply form.

While we cannot guarantee that every performance will be seen, we recommend submitting your performance information as early as possible (minimum 4-6 weeks suggested.)