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ChrisMastersDance Inc

Brooklyn, NY · EIN 921184337 · Form 990EZ · FY2023 · NTEE A20 · Arts, Culture & Humanities · Micro (<$100K) · chrismastersdance.org
revenue
$70K
expenses
$70K
net assets
$145
employees
mission · from form 990

To create and perform dance work with a focus on labor equity.

profile · synthesized from sources

ChrisMastersDance Inc is a Brooklyn-based performance company founded in 2012 that creates and performs dance works with a focus on labor equity and inclusion. The company blends movement, theoretical inquiry, and theatricality to interrogate themes like identity, surveillance, and self-exploitation. Its works have been presented at venues including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, La MaMa, and internationally in Beijing and Seattle.

named programs · 6 · from sources

What they call their work

A Feast That Never Comes
Dance film and music video series that received over 700 festival selections and awards, exploring technology, identity, and performance.
A Willful Host
35-minute performance exploring self-exploitation and empowerment, featuring live music by Ex-Fiancée, premiered at La MaMa.
Evergreen
40-minute work critiquing youth-driven culture and nostalgia, adapted for performances in New York, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
Exit Strategies
90-minute performance for 6–18 dancers investigating submerged identities through storytelling and movement, commissioned by Triskelion Arts.
Mausoleum
70-minute dance performance exploring memory, surveillance capitalism, and unsustainable labor, performed at BAM and in Seattle, featuring live projection and original music.
Veiled Threat
3-hour immersive dance-theatre work created for Fengchao Theatre in Beijing, examining veneer vs. intent through physical theatre and multi-zone sound design.
activities · 2 groups

What they do

  • Original Dance Performance Production 3 activities
    • Collaborative performance projects
      Engages in collaborative creation of performance works, such as the 2014 piece Exit Strategies developed with David Fishel and Robert Flynt, which was screened at international festivals.
    • Creation and performance of original dance works
      Creates and performs original dance pieces, ranging from solo to large ensemble works, presented in proscenium theaters, alternative spaces, and international venues. The organization has created over 20 dance works, including performances such as "Mausoleum" at Brooklyn Academy of Music and "Veiled Threat" in Beijing, China.
    • Production of dance films and screendance works
      Produces dance films that have achieved significant recognition in the festival circuit, including the film "A Feast That Never Comes," which received over 700 film festival selections and numerous awards in categories such as Best Music Video and Best Experimental/Screendance.
  • Ballet and Dance Education Programs 1 activity
    • Professional dance instruction
      Provides professional-level dance instruction at established institutions including the Mark Morris Dance Center and other professional dance schools, contributing to dancer training and development over multiple years.
financials · form 990EZ · fy2023
revenue
Total revenue$70K
Contributions & grants$55K78%
Program service revenue$15K22%
Investment income
Other revenue
expenses
Total expenses$70K
Program expenses
Admin / overhead
Fundraising
Salaries & benefits
Grants paid out
balance sheet
Total assets$145
Cash
Investments
Liabilities
Net assets$145
1 years on record · 2023–2023
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2023

Who runs it

board members · 5
  • Amy Lynne Barr — Director
  • Elizabeth Spiers — Director
  • Jessica Keating — Director
  • Kyle Britt — Director
  • Patrick Barth — Director
relationships · 6

Who they work with

  • Brooklyn Academy of Music Partner — Hosted performances of the dance work "Mausoleum" at its Fishman Space.
  • Danspace Project Partner — Invited the work-in-progress of "Mausoleum" to be shown, curated by Ishmael Houston-Jones.
  • David Fishel Partner — Collaborated with ChrisMastersDance on the 2014 performance piece Exit Strategies.
  • Mark Morris Dance Center Partner — Hosted professional-level dance classes led by Chris Masters and collaborators.
  • Meng Jinghui’s Fengchao Theatre Partner — Commissioned and hosted the immersive dance-theatre work "Veiled Threat" in Beijing.
  • Robert Flynt Partner — Collaborated with ChrisMastersDance on the 2014 performance piece Exit Strategies.
strategies · 4

How they approach the work

Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.

  • Collaborative Artistic Development Across Disciplines
    methodology: collaborative_artistic_development
    By co-creating with a diverse network of artists across theater, opera, film, and dance, the organization enriches its performance works with multidisciplinary perspectives, because cross-sector collaboration generates innovative forms and broadens cultural resonance.
  • Conceptual Container Model for Audience-Centered Interpretation
    methodology: container model
    By designing performances as open conceptual containers that integrate movement, theory, and theatricality, the organization enables audiences to actively construct meaning and imagine new worlds, because structured openness supports personal and collective sense-making.
  • Labor Equity in Artistic Production
    methodology: labor-equity-in-arts
    By integrating labor equity principles into dance creation and performance, the organization advances fair working conditions and inclusive authorship, because equitable labor practices enable sustainable artistic innovation and diversify creative leadership.
  • Task-Based Creative Process for Inclusive Meaning-Making
    methodology: task-based creation
    By using structured tasks that center diverse voices, the organization generates performance material that invites audiences to reflect on and reinterpret their own assumptions, because participatory creation fosters deeper engagement and pluralistic interpretation.