About TU Dance
Founded in 2004, TU Dance is a leading voice for contemporary dance. Its professional company has been acclaimed for its performances that draw together modern dance, classical ballet, African-based and urban vernacular movements and tackle important questions around gender, race, social justice, and more. The School at TU Dance Center offers accessible dance education to young children, teens and adults. Its CULTIVATE Trainee Program provides a bridge for young dancers with advanced training to move toward professional careers.
The Foundation was proud to support TU Dance’s 2026 Spring Dance Concert: Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Toni Pierce-Sands, a tribute to its late Founder and Artistic Director. The vibrant program featured live performances of dance works especially meaningful to Ms. Pierce-Sands, interwoven with storytelling and archival photos and video that illuminated her illustrious life, career, and legacy.
The Foundation’s latest grant will fund TU Dance’s 2027 Spring Dance Concert: THREAT, a full-length dance work by Yusha-Marie Sorzano. Sorzano’s work was featured in Edges of Ailey at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and her choreography has been performed by the United Kingdom’s Phoenix Dance Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Nashville Ballet and numerous others. Sorzano has also danced for a number of celebrated companies including Alvin Ailey, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, and TU Dance.
Photo of Toni Pierce-Sands by Michael Slobodian
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- Yusha-Marie Sorzano, “THREAT” (2024) | Photo: Canaan Mattson
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- CULTIVATE Trainees | Photo: Kari Mosel
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- Ronald K. Brown, “Four Corners” (2014) | Photo: Canaan Mattson