About

Founded in 1996, Velocity is an artist-led nonprofit in Seattle, WA that is dedicated to providing Seattle dance-makers with the resources, advocacy, and collaborative support they need to blossom their ideas into impactful art and community actions. This is central to our mission to advance contemporary dance and movement-based art by fostering the creative explorations of artists and audiences. We do this through flexible and responsive platforms that support dance research and creation, movement education, and opportunities to share and experience contemporary dance performance. 

Our core programs include Velocity’s Creative Residency Programs, a ladder of new work incubator programs and process-driven residencies; Movement Education Programs, which provide training and classes for beginning through professional dancers, including the Seattle Festival of Dance + Improvisation; and Velocity Presents, a full season of performances, discussions, and community collaborations. 

Velocity’s programs create employment and artistic opportunities for more than 100 artists each year and our work reaches up to 20,000 audience members and class-takers annually. 

Within our community, we are working to specifically serve people who identify as LGBTQ+ and BIPOC and Low Income. In 2023, 59% of our programming was led by or featured artists of color and 62% LGBTQ+ artists, and 25% of our class-takers identified as Transgender, Black, Indigenous or People of Color. To increase access to training and professional development for Transgender and BIPOC individuals, Velocity offers more than $15,000 annually in fee  waivers for self-identifying TBIPOC individuals to attend all of our classes and training programs at no cost. Additionally, nearly 60% of community members qualify as low-income in Seattle. We continue to offer sliding scale and artists/low income ticket and class  pricing, work/study discount programs, and other strategies for making our programs as financially accessible as possible. 

Velocity continues to take small steps toward rebalancing power structures in the dance community while working towards an end to white supremacy, queerphobia and transphobia.