World Arts West
The World Arts West Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund (WAW CDC Fund) supports California-based cultural dance organizations whose work sustains and uplifts diverse cultural traditions, advances well-being in their communities, and strengthens connections across generations.
World Arts West is honored to be part of The Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Well-Being in the Arts National Arts Partners initiative, alongside 11 other BIPOC-led arts service organizations. This initiative is designed to increase access to resources, foster equity in funding, and amplify the voices of under-resourced cultural communities.
Grantees will receive direct funding and join a cohort-based engagement model, creating opportunities for exchange, collaboration, and mutual support. The cohort model is designed to strengthen not just individual cultural dance organizations, but the entire cultural dance ecosystem. World Arts West will also promote grantee activities during the grant period.
World Arts West is honored to be part of The Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Well-Being in the Arts National Arts Partners initiative, alongside 11 other BIPOC-led arts service organizations. This initiative is designed to increase access to resources, foster equity in funding, and amplify the voices of under-resourced cultural communities.
Grantees will receive direct funding and join a cohort-based engagement model, creating opportunities for exchange, collaboration, and mutual support. The cohort model is designed to strengthen not just individual cultural dance organizations, but the entire cultural dance ecosystem. World Arts West will also promote grantee activities during the grant period.
2026 WAW Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund Grantees
World Arts West has awarded $493,500 in grants to 20 cultural dance organizations across California, marking a historic milestone for the California-based arts organization and a major investment in the preservation and advancement of cultural dance traditions statewide. This is World Arts West’s first time as a grantmaker!
Through the inaugural Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund, each organization will receive $24,675 to strengthen programming, support cultural bearers, expand community engagement, and ensure the continuation of traditions that have been passed down through generations.
Read the grantees organizational descriptions.
World Arts West received 100+ applications for this first round of funding from organizations across the 9 counties of the Bay Area and throughout Central and Southern California. These grantees represent traditional and contemporary dance forms from India, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mongolia, Cuba, the Philippines, Haiti, Thailand, and the United States.
A New Chapter for Cultural Dance in California
This announcement comes as World Arts West prepares for the next evolution of its signature dance festival, which will expand its focus in 2026 to center liberation, cultural visibility, accessibility, and community connection. For decades, the organization has championed cultural dance traditions through performance, education, and advocacy, and the Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund represents a significant expansion of that mission.
World Arts West has awarded $493,500 in grants to 20 cultural dance organizations across California, marking a historic milestone for the California-based arts organization and a major investment in the preservation and advancement of cultural dance traditions statewide. This is World Arts West’s first time as a grantmaker!
Through the inaugural Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund, each organization will receive $24,675 to strengthen programming, support cultural bearers, expand community engagement, and ensure the continuation of traditions that have been passed down through generations.
- Abhinaya Dance Company of San José
- Afro Urban Society
- AfroRooted
- Axé Oakland
- Bahareque LLC
- Ballet Folklórico Nube de Oro
- BCA Dance Company
- Calpulli Ocelocihuatl
- CarOlé Flamenco’s Flamenco Spanish Dance Theatre of América
- Cheza Nami Foundation, Inc
- Danza Azteca Citlaltonac
- Fogo Na Roupa
- Fua Dia Kongo
- GER Youth Center
- Herencia Guantanamera
- MPWRD Artists Collective
- Parangal
- Rara Tou Limen
- Shruti Abhishek Dance
- Thai Cultural Council
Read the grantees organizational descriptions.
World Arts West received 100+ applications for this first round of funding from organizations across the 9 counties of the Bay Area and throughout Central and Southern California. These grantees represent traditional and contemporary dance forms from India, Colombia, Bolivia, Mexico, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mongolia, Cuba, the Philippines, Haiti, Thailand, and the United States.
A New Chapter for Cultural Dance in California
This announcement comes as World Arts West prepares for the next evolution of its signature dance festival, which will expand its focus in 2026 to center liberation, cultural visibility, accessibility, and community connection. For decades, the organization has championed cultural dance traditions through performance, education, and advocacy, and the Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund represents a significant expansion of that mission.
WAW Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund is part of World Arts West's Cultural Dance Sustainability Initiative (CDSI).
CDSI includes the following artist service programs:
As well as:
CDSI includes the following artist service programs:
- WAW Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund
- Grants Accelerator Program (GAP)
- Special Artist Commissions (SAC)
- Career Pathways Roundtable (CPR)
- Professional Development Workshops
As well as: