(SUMMIT, NJ) -- New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble (NJDTE) has received a grant from The Investors Foundation to support this summer’s 2017 INKUBATE® Dance Festival, presented in collaboration with Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit, NJ.

“We are honored and grateful for the support of the Investors Foundation, as we realize our vision of making INKUBATE® a renowned summer dance festival and to establish Summit as a destination for dance and culture in the region,” NJDTE Artistic Director Nancy Turano said.

Since 2015, INKUBATE® has provided choreographic residencies for contemporary dance artists at NJDTE’s state-of-the-art, 8,800 square foot facility in downtown Summit that culminate in outdoor performances at nearby Reeves-Reed Arboretum. During their NJDTE residencies, the curated dance artists and choreographers investigate movement in a think-tank that enables them to grow their ideas into a body of work. In turn, these artists give back by choreographing and/or performing at one of the site-specific INKUBATE® dance events.

INKUBATE® artists have included master choreographer and legendary Alvin Ailey dancer Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish and Shannon Gillen, Artistic Director of V/M V/GOR dance company in NYC. In 2016, over 650 nature and arts enthusiasts immersed themselves in the INKUBATE® performance experience that Dance New Jersey called “an exhilarating and enchanting evening of dance.”

The Investors Foundation gift will help NJDTE to bring in master artists for the 2017 INKUBATE® Festival, including NJDTE alumni Samuel Asher Kunzman and Magdalyn Segale, and contemporary choreographers Adam Barruch and Patrick Coker.

The 2017 INKUBATE® performances will be held on Wednesday evenings at 6pm this summer at Reeves-Reed Arboretum on June 21, July 12, and August 2. Tickets are free for Arboretum members, $10 for non-members, and $5 for students.

New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble celebrates over 48 years of excellence as a pre-professional training school and performing company. Since its inception in 1969, NJDTE has maintained a successful dance curriculum with an unparalleled outcome of artistic excellence. NJDTE provides mentorship programs and access to master artists and choreographers as role models, providing a network for its dancers to succeed as performing artists in higher education and as professionals in the field. An esteemed advisory panel of the country’s most inspired dance artists supports NJDTE.

Throughout the year, a full schedule of classes in ballet, modern, pointe and contemporary dance for dancers ages 5-18 are taught by faculty from prominent companies and schools, including the Paris Opera Ballet, Limón Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Twyla Tharp and Lar Lubovitch, among others. NJDTE’s MIP® & MIP2® programming offers advanced contemporary and improvisational skills in New York City for dancers ages 15-23. The Ensemble presents a full-length production of “The Nutcracker” at Montclair State University, annually premieres new works by innovative artists-in-residence with its AiR® Program, and maintains a diverse repertory by renowned choreographers. The company also offers continuing support for its alumni with employment opportunities as NJDTE staff members and guest artists. NJDTE alumnia have danced with renowned national and international companies, including Houston Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, RIOULT, Momix, Carolyn Dorfman Dance, Dance NOW! Miami, Nimbus Dance Works, ABT II, and Cas Public (Montreal). For more information, visit www.njdte.org.

The Investors Foundation assists organizations in New Jersey, New York City and Long Island that invigorate their local communities with civic-minded initiatives focused on the arts, education, health and human services, youth programs and more. For more information, visit www.investorsfoundation.org.