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 Wednesday, 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 

Applicants who miss the Intent to Apply deadline may still submit a final application. However, we encourage the Intent to Apply as it is a very important step.

Without an 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 dancers who are beyond the early practice or 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 dancer 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 dancer'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 early practice or the emerging stage of their career will have a history of sustained and committed dance 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 with their application materials. These accomplishments must be from outside of accredited degree programs (i.e. performances by a college or university student for their academic program will not count towards the eight-year period of committed artistic work.)

• The panel will review the application and assess whether an artist 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. Furthermore, 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 at the time of application, nor during the fellowship year. Recipients of 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 McKnight Fellowships in any field are not eligible.

• Applicants to this program may not apply to any other McKnight Fellowship program in the same year.

• Applicants cannot be on the board of or employed by the McKnight Foundation or Springboard for the Arts’ St. Paul office, nor be a partner or immediate family member of any employee.  

• Applicants must have a social security number or other federal tax number to be awarded.

  Please see complete information on eligibility requirements at How to Apply.

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.orgfor other supporting documents that verify your residency for at least the past year 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 MN address for at least one year

• Minnesota rental or lease agreement at least one year

• Utility statement in your name at Minnesota address for at least one year

The McKnight Artist and Culture Bearer Fellowships are unrestricted funds available to dancers 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 school full-time during the fellowship year, and the fellowship 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 

Each McKnight Fellow receives a $25,000 unrestricted award. In addition, there are several professional development opportunities such as a Fellow retreat at Tofte Lake Center, consultation time with 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. The Fellowship Program also offers to commission a solo work to be created expressly for the Dancer Fellow and these are produced every two years on a show called SOLO.

A panel of two National and two Minnesota-based dance artists and/or administrators reviews applications and selects fellows. Panelists are knowledgeable about dance work, and the panel represents a range of backgrounds and areas of expertise. Panelists will have demonstrated experience as dance artists or choreographers, or a background as a practitioner in the dance field. The panelists change each year. The panel will remain confidential until after the selection process is complete. See below for a listing of all past panelists.

Yes. Minnesota-based panelists attend live performances throughout the season. We make an effort to have all applicants' live performances viewed, but we cannot guarantee every performance will be seen.

• You must complete the fall Intent to Apply to be eligible. The panel is available to see work before the Intent to Apply deadline and continue to see work until mid-May 2026. 

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 can complete this form when you submit your Intent to Apply, letting us know about your performances for the season. You may also add performances throughout the year.

• If you have performances in the summertime, before the Intent to Apply deadline, you may submit to the Calendar Form even before you submit the Intent to Apply form.

• We cannot guarantee that every performance will be seen, and we recommend submitting your performance information as early as possible. A minimum of 4-6 weeks notice is suggested.