Visually impaired choreographer, educator, accessibility consultant and current Princeton Arts Fellow Christopher “Unpezverde” Núñez has received a fellowship from Dance/USA, the national service organization for dance. This year, Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists (DFA) has awarded over $905,000 in funding to 30 dance and movement-based artists with sustained practices in art for social change. Olivier Tarpaga, a current lecturer in the music department and a past lecturer in dance and 2018-19 Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence at the Lewis Center, also received a fellowship.

Núñez and Tarpaga were selected among over 400 applicants from across the country who represent an array of modalities rooted at the intersection of social and embodied practices such as community-building, culture-bearing, healing and storytelling, activism and representational justice, and more. As part of their fellowships, Núñez and Tarpaga will have the opportunity to participate in a self-led programming process that centers connection, rest and the generation of new ideas. Made possible with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, each fellowship includes a $30,167 grant that may be used at the artist’s discretion.

“The new cohort of DFA Fellows exemplifies the range of creative expression and impact that social practice artists have on the dance field and their communities more broadly,” said Maurine Knighton, chief program officer at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, which partners with Dance/USA.

Photo Credit: Walter Wlodarczyk

Born in Costa Rica, Núñez is a visually impaired choreographer, educator, and accessibility consultant based in New York City. His performances have been presented at The Brooklyn Museum for The Immigrant Artist Biennale, The Kitchen, The Joyce Theater, Danspace Project, Movement Research at The Judson Church, The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Battery Dance Festival, Performance Mix Festival, and Dixon Place, among others. His work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Brooklyn Rail, and The Dance Enthusiast. He has held residencies at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Danspace Project, The Kitchen, Movement Research, Center for Performance Research, and New Dance Alliance. As a performer, his most recent collaborations include “Dressing Up for Civil Rights” by William Pope L, presented at The Museum of Modern Art. In 2020, Núñez was invited by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs to share his story as a disabled and formally undocumented immigrant choreographer during Immigrant Heritage Week. Núñez received his green card in 2018 but continues to advocate for the rights of undocumented and disabled immigrants. He holds a B.F.A. in Science in Performing Arts from the National University of Costa Rica. This year at the Lewis Center, Núñez is teaching the interdisciplinary course “Introduction to Radical Access: Disability Justice in the Arts,” which invites students to explore disability justice as a framework for creative, dramaturgical and curatorial practices.

Photo by Margo Tamize

Olivier Tarpaga is artistic director of Nomad Express International MultiArts Festival in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; founder and artistic director of the internationally-acclaimed Dafra Drum and Dafra Kura Band; and co-founder of Baker & Tarpaga Dance Project. He danced with David Rousseve/Reality from 2006 to 2009. In 2008, Tarpaga was commissioned by Zig Zag Ballet to choreograph Visage at the Rich Forum Stanford Center for the Arts in Connecticut. In addition to the Department of Music and the Program in Dance at Princeton, he has taught at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Ohio State University, Kenyon College, Denison University, University of Iowa, and the University of California Los Angeles. Tarpaga has performed and taught dance in more than 50 countries throughout Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia. In October 2017, he performed as part of the Festival of the Arts that opened the Lewis Arts complex. He has been a guest choreographer for several Princeton Dance Festivals and premiered his new work, When Birds Refused to Fly, in October 2019 in the Hearst Dance Theater following his residency as a Hearst Choreographer. Currently, Tarpaga directs the African music ensemble for Princeton’s Department of Music and taught segments of the popular course “Introduction to Art Making” this fall at the Lewis Center.

Established in 1982, Dance/USA champions an inclusive and equitable dance field by leading, convening, advocating, and supporting individuals and organizations. Dance/USA’s core programs are focused in the areas of engagement, advocacy, research, and preservation.

Read the full press release from Dance/USA and learn more about the 2022 fellows and their work.