The Outlet Dance Project (TODP) is an annual festival of artists sharing their ingenuity through site-specific dance and film at Grounds For Sculpture in Hamilton, NJ. It is one of the largest, most popular, and well-attended dance festivals in New Jersey. The festival celebrates the intersections of visual and moving arts, exploring relationships between sculpture and dance, between place and movement.

We seek short dance-films that not only show excellence in this genre, but also have connections to site-specificity. The theme for this year's festival is STORY.

We are thinking of story and storytelling in an expansive way. We have all shaped and been shaped by story. Octavia Butler, in her infinite wisdom, said, "Every story I create, creates me." What stories are we creating, what stories touch us, move us, invite us more deeply into our aliveness? What stories do we resist, which ones do we embrace, what stories are uniquely ours to tell. We welcome the linear, the non-linear, the surreal, the political, the abstract, the archival, the ecological, the speculative, the transcendent, the mythic, the mundane, the wilder than fiction, the polyphonic, the whispered, the haunting, the haunted, the harmonizing. We are interested in how stories are portals and the ways embodiment and inter-connectedness can be explored through this lens.

The festival is open to filmmakers and choreographers everywhere who are of marginalized genders. This includes people who are trans, cis-gender women, non-binary, two-spirit, agender, gender fluid, gender expansive, or those who may be questioning their gender.

We strongly encourage the BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and Disabled communities to apply.

Proposed films should not exceed 15 minutes in length. ​If your film is selected, you must provide a downloadable high-resolution file (1080p) for the final line up upon selection.
You may submit one film proposal per application fee. You are welcome to submit more than one application.

Whether or not your film is selected, you are entitled to a complimentary ticket for the film festival evening event as part of your application fee.

In addition to our in-person opening on October 5th, 2023 and screening of selected films throughout the weekend, there will also be an on-line screening of the festival. Selected films will receive an honorarium of at least $50 (if we secure more funding, that amount will increase).

With your submission, if not already included with your film information, please provide:
1. Contact info
2. Artist bios, including role/position in the film
3. Film synopsis
4. Any other information you think we should know.

Only completed films will be considered, please NO works-in-progress. Please note that we do not typically accept recordings of dance concerts or dance films that focus on the proscenium stage. Please also note that our Day of Dance is a family friendly event and final decision making takes this into account. If you have questions about this, please ask us.

Entrant must be the sole person responsible to make the decision to enter this film and guarantee that such exhibition will not violate any rights (including copyright, trademark, musical or contract right) of any person or entity. Entrant confirms required legal authority to submit the entry into the Festival and to use all music, images, and content in the entry.

All rights and permissions for any materials contained within the said entry have been granted and filmmaker holds harmless The Outlet Dance Project Festival from any or all disputes or claims that may arise from these rights and permissions granted.

Entry fee is non-refundable. If the entry fee is a true hardship and you need to request a fee reduction or waiver, please contact us at contact@theoutletdanceproject.com.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Leila Awadallah

    These curators ~ caretakers of artistic interweavings ~ are gorgeous. Everything was done thoughtfully and with great communication. I feel so inspired by the work they are doing and the ways they are doing it. What a great experience!

    November 2022
  • Great festival!! it was amazing to be a part of it <3

    October 2019
  • The warmest, most supportive exchange with Outlet Dance Project. Communication was excellent. Sadly, we couldn't attend - sincerely wish we could have as programming was stellar!
    It was an honor to be included in an event that celebrates everything that I am passionate about.

    October 2019
  • This is a truly epic festival that I was so privileged to be a part of! Amazing curators who are pushing the field forward with beauty and kindness and attention to detail. Highest regards to all and I highly recommend all dance filmmakers apply and become a part of this organization that already feels like family!

    October 2017
  • Jessi Erian Colon

    Phenomenal experience. The space was beautiful, the organizers and audience were so kind, warm and inviting. The quality of the films blew my mind. Cannot recommend highly enough.

    November 2016