Kenan Arts Fellows at Limón: Building dance careers & finding artistic voices

Each spring, fourth-year students in the UNCSA School of Dance visit New York City to highlight their skill and ability through a showcase event. It’s an important step for their career development, offering the opportunity to network with alumni, past guest artists, collaborators and dance companies.

During last spring’s trip, Naya Gonzalez (B.F.A. Dance ‘25) performed with her classmates at the iconic Joyce Theater. She remembers Dean of Dance Endalyn T. Outlaw pulling her aside over intermission, asking if they could have a chat once they returned to campus. “And that’s how I learned about the Kenan Arts Fellowship,” she says.

Manhattan-based Limón Dance Company auditions and then invites around a dozen dancers annually to join Limón2, their second company, for nine months. The experience deeply immerses participants in studying and performing the Limón technique. For the first time in 2025, three UNCSA graduates joined Limón2 — their fellowships underwritten by the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts as Kenan Arts Fellows at Limón.

Naya Gonzalez (B.F.A. Dance ‘25) / Photo: Richard Mitchell

“Through this partnership with Limón, we have created a meaningful pathway for young artists — one that connects them to an esteemed institution with longstanding ties to UNCSA,” says Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Executive Director Kevin Bitterman. “We’re intentional about investing in opportunities with legacy organizations that are pillars of the artistic community, where graduates of UNCSA can expand their vision, strengthen their voice and connect to a broader creative ecosystem.”

Limón Artistic Director Dante Puleio also sees immense value in the partnership. “As artistic director, I focus on protecting the legacy of José Limón,” explains Puleio, who seeks partner organizations that are equally interested in supporting emerging artists and contributing to the future of the dance field. “This Fellowship deepens the relationship between the José Limón Dance Foundation, UNCSA and the Kenan Institute for the Arts while building necessary bridges for the next generation of artists to find their artistic homes — both within our company and the field at large.”

Through this partnership with Limón, we have created a meaningful pathway for young artists — one that connects them to an esteemed institution with longstanding ties to UNCSA.
Kevin Bitterman, Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts Executive Director

The School of Dance has a deep-seated respect and appreciation for Limón, and students study the Limón technique with faculty members who are former company members, such as Sean Sullivan. “This collaboration is especially impactful because it provides a direct link to professional experience within an institution that carries forth a storied dance lineage,” says Outlaw, “one with lasting contributions to the field of modern and contemporary dance. To be named a Kenan Arts Fellow at Limón is to be given a gift with the potential to keep giving.”

Training meets opportunity

Gonzalez was joined by fellow 2025 UNCSA graduates Cailee Harvey and Kyriaki Christoforou as inaugural Kenan Arts Fellows during the 2025–26 Limón2 season. All three dancers had the opportunity to study with alumna and current Limón company member Savannah Spratt (B.F.A. Dance ’16) during the 2024–25 school year as they prepared to perform an excerpt from Limón’s “Psalm” for Winter Dance. This allowed them to connect with the natural movements of the Limón technique and prepared them for success in the fellowship.

The days for Fellows are structured similarly to the main company, attending class between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. before moving into rehearsals. And performance opportunities are plentiful — sometimes alongside members of the first company. “Each month we have a performance or two,” describes Christoforou, who also enjoys the opportunity to participate in the numerous community outreach events planned for Fellows. “Inspiring the younger generation is a great experience, and it offers a different perspective,” she adds.

For as long as I can remember it has been my dream to be in NYC, working as a professional dancer... to work closely with the Limón company has been a great transition from school.
Naya Gonzalez

“There are a lot of questions and things I don’t know about the professional [dance] world,” continues Christoforou. “Being able to be surrounded by a professional company, explore that career path, and to see how that works and what is required to be a professional has been really helpful to me. I’ve learned a lot about myself.” Gonzalez has a similar perspective. “For as long as I can remember it has been my dream to be in NYC, working as a professional dancer,” she explains. “To have the opportunity to live here, to work with other professionals, and to work closely with the Limón company has been a great transition from school.”

Dancers in Limón2 benefit from one-on-one feedback from Limón’s Artistic Director Dante Puleio and from opportunities to perform alongside the first company. “The dance community can be tough,” says Gonzalez. “Limón has been welcoming, and it feels like a family. It’s nice to be a part of this community.”

Christoforou (left) and Harvey (right) working with Limon2. / Photo: Becca Marcela Oviatt

Harvey’s experience has a different dynamic, but has been equally impactful. In addition to the fellowship, she teaches regularly at a studio in Connecticut — choosing to live nearby and commute into the city for Limón activities. “I love to perform,” she says, “but I like to teach more.” Studying with the Limón company has informed her approach to teaching over the last several months. “Coming from a conservatory setting, I felt a lot of pressure to do things a certain way,” she explains. “But being in Limón2 and learning from current professional dancers has been refreshing and has given me a new perspective. I don’t have to be perfect all the time… It has been nice to find that within myself and to share it with my students.”

Learning beyond technique

While the fellowship provides incredible learning and growth opportunities for the dancers, moving to New York City and jumping quickly into company work isn’t without its challenges. “It has been an adjustment to come to such a big city [from Winston-Salem],” says Gonzalez. “I have appreciated having Limón during this transition because immersing myself there makes me forget some of these big changes and allows me to focus on what I’m enjoying doing right now and on my purpose for being there.” The support from the Kenan Institute for the Arts has been critical for Gonzalez as well. “I wouldn’t have been in this position without them,” she notes. “It has changed my life.”

Christoforou (center), Gonzalez (front right) and Harvey (back right) working with Limon2. / Photo: Miguel Anaya

Christoforou moved from the small island of Cyprus to North Carolina to attend UNCSA before settling in New York. While the environmental changes are striking, it’s the internal changes that have proved most challenging for her. “Finding my own voice and my own identity as an artist and as a person has been my focus,” she says. “As a student you follow a structure and a set of rules, but when you step out of a conservatory and into the world you have to search for who you are and what your purpose is.” It’s a hard journey, at times, but one worth pursuing.

“There are so many communities and so many organizations and places you can go to be inspired and to learn from,” Christoforou continues. “There aren’t many places in the world where you have this level of access to the arts, and it is something I’ve really come to appreciate living here in NYC.”

Supporting emerging artists

The annual José Limón Dance Foundation gala in April marks one of the final performance opportunities for second company members who are participating in the fellowship. Though the fellowship is winding down, opportunities are mounting for Harvey, Gonzalez and Christoforou who have been auditioning, networking and planning what comes next for their blossoming careers. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity and to have received financial support to make it possible,” says Christoforou.

This Fellowship offers a meaningful step into a company experience.
Endalyn T. Outlaw

“This Fellowship offers a meaningful step into a company experience,” reflects Outlaw. “What now happens next relies on the student artist to deliver on the level of training and work ethic they have received, passing on the richness of both history and movement quality.”

Kenan Arts Fellows at Limón will continue for the 2026–27 season to ensure that UNCSA graduates have access to transformative opportunities as they step into professional careers.

By Hannah Callaway

May 19, 2026