2025 Prize Winner:
Dance
A Brief Collection of Humans
by Vanessa Cook
In its fourth year, The Ariel Bybee Endowment at the Center turned its sights to dance. The Center invited choreographers to submit proposals for a contemporary ballet work that, in performance, included a component of live vocal music. The Center is pleased to announce British choreographer Vanessa Cook as the 2025 winner.
Her winning choreography proposal, A Brief Collection of Humans, explores the power of a single voice to inspire collective movement and creation. It will be set to original music by composer Dylan Findley. The contemporary ballet gradually builds in intensity before dissolving back into a solitary voice in the dark. The work promises to be a poignant reflection on the possibilities and potential of the human spirit.
In Partnership With
Vanessa Cook will work with the Utah Metropolitan Ballet company to create a contemporary ballet that will premiere in the spring of 2026 by the company at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah.
and Dance
Multitalented opera singer Ariel Bybee had a lifelong love of dance. During her career, she lived close to Lincoln Center with her family. They attended many New York City Ballet performances and knew many of the dancers there.
In 1985, she performed as a guest vocal artist with the New York City Ballet. Dressed in costume, she sang while sharing the stage with the ballet dancers’ performance. To acknowledge Ariel’s connection to and love of dance, the Endowment commissions original dance work that incorporates live vocal performance.