About the Queensboro Dance Festival
 
The Queensboro Dance Festival is an annual summer tour of performances and classes throughout Queens neighborhoods, featuring all Queens-based dance companies of diverse cultures and styles. We tour Queens' unique indoor and outdoor venues including theaters, parks, plazas, libraries, and street events, to make high-quality local dance accessible to our many communities.  QDF supports our participating dancers by offering free rehearsal space, performance footage, professional development workshops, master classes, networking events, teaching opportunities, and special access to Queens arts institutions, as well as a vibrant Queens dance community to connect to! 

Established in 2014, The Queensboro Dance Festival (QDF) was created out of a need for a more accessible, unified sense of community among Queens dancers. As a dancer living in Queens, I kept finding myself leaving the borough to take class, rehearse, see shows, and perform-- why?  I knew there must be many more dancers like me here in Queens and we just didn't know how to easily meet one another.  Other boroughs seemed to have a dance "scene" identity or reputation; what does Queens dance look like? What are Queens dancers creating? How is where we live influencing our work? How can we make professional Queens dance accessible to local audiences to cultivate a local demand and support for our artists?

Put simply, I started the festival to get an idea of what the Queens dance landscape looked like. It has been a journey reflecting not only the amazing diversity of the World's Borough, but the needs of our dancers as well. QDF's goal is to serve the Queens dance community and greater Queens public, elevate the value & reputation of Queens dance, and represent a slice of our diverse cultures, neighborhoods, and dance styles by coming together each season.  We strive to be a platform for underrepresented dance cultures and perspectives in Queens. To date, QDF is a growing network of over 130 diverse Queens dance companies and reaches about 10,000 people each season.

The mission of the festival is to strengthen the dance community in Queens, and garner a greater appreciation for Queens dance.  QDF has been recognized for its community impact in the first ever Create NYC Cultural Plan released in 2017 as part of a space and accessibility case study, and was a 2018 honoree of the Queens Pride organization with a Proclamation from the New York State Comptroller's Office Thomas P. DiNapoli and certificate from NYC Public Advocate Letitia James.  In 2019, QDF was named the Best in Arts & Humanities with the Long Island City Game Changer award and certificate recognition from Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan. QDF became a non-profit organization in 2021.

-- Karesia Batan, Founding Executive Director




The Queensboro Dance Festival is recognized as a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Tax ID: 85-2034730). Contributions to organizations with 501(c)(3) status may be tax deductible.  Please consult your tax professional to determine deductibility.