The Yard is a 51-year-old nonprofit organization on Martha’s Vineyard that serves as a performance platform for dance artists, musicians, and other artists from around the globe, by providing paid artist residencies, public performances, education programs, and year-round community engagement activities.
The heart of The Yard’s mission is to support diverse, contemporary choreographers and other performing artists in creating new work, while enriching our Island community through the arts. As one of the oldest nonprofits on Martha’s Vineyard, The Yard provides intergenerational community engagement programs and classes, on and off our picturesque campus, as well as dance and creativity-centered education programs in schools throughout the Island’s six rural towns.
The Yard was founded in 1973 by the late choreographer Patricia N. Nanon, who envisioned The Yard as "a playground without walls, a place to explore, to experiment, construct..." The Yard has supported thousands of national and international artists, taking a leadership role in the performing arts field through commissioning and providing artist residencies for research, development, and presentation.
The Yard is an inclusive and welcoming community with an expressed commitment to anti-racism, cultural exploration, and the cultivation of diverse forms of expression. Residencies enable and amplify the work of artists by providing financial stipends, access to rehearsal and performance spaces, teaching opportunities, support in technical production, and marketing. Community engagement with the residents of and visitors to the island includes public performances; free community pop-ups; partnerships with farms, libraries, wildlife preserves, and other community services; and intergenerational dance classes and workshops.
The Yard is a 51-year-old nonprofit organization on Martha’s Vineyard that serves as a performance platform for dance artists, musicians, and other artists from around the globe, by providing paid artist residencies, public performances, education programs, and year-round community engagement activities.
The heart of The Yard’s mission is to support diverse, contemporary choreographers and other performing artists in creating new work, while enriching our Island community through the arts. As one of the oldest nonprofits on Martha’s Vineyard, The Yard provides intergenerational community engagement programs and classes, on and off our picturesque campus, as well as dance and creativity-centered education programs in schools throughout the Island’s six rural towns.
The Yard was founded in 1973 by the late choreographer Patricia N. Nanon, who envisioned The Yard as "a playground without walls, a place to explore, to experiment, construct..." The Yard has…