Congratulations to Derick McKoy, this years recipient of the Fulbright Trinity Laban Award. He will be studying on our MFA Choreography programme.
The Fulbright Trinity Laban Award is a prestigious partnership scholarship for U.S. citizens to pursue further education at Trinity Laban.
Derick McKoy, Jr. (he/him), originally from Miami, Florida, is an award-winning choreographer whose work explores identity, belonging, memory, and human connection through emotionally resonant contemporary dance. McKoy earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program and holds a Master of Arts in Performing Arts Administration from NYU Steinhardt.
McKoy has toured nationally and internationally with Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Nimbus Dance, and Jeremy McQueen’s Emmy Award-winning Black Iris Project. He began his formal training under Luctricia Welters before continuing his artistic development through scholarships and training with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Arts Umbrella, BalletX, Ballet Hispánico, Springboard Danse Montréal, and NW Dance Project.
His choreography has been commissioned and presented by the Grainger Academy of The Joffrey Ballet, Harlem Stage, NJPAC, Battery Dance Festival, Ailey Citigroup Theater, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Ades Performance Space, and Youth America Grand Prix. His choreographic contributions to Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project have been recognized with Emmy nominations, a Telly Award, and a Hermes Creative Award.
In 2025, McKoy was selected as one of four recipients of Harlem Stage’s prestigious WATERWORKS Commissioning Fellowship in partnership with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and The Ailey School. As Founding Artistic Director & CEO of McKoy Dance Project, he continues to create new work while expanding opportunities for artists through performance, mentorship, and international artistic collaboration.
Derick said: “I’m deeply honoured to join the Trinity Laban community this year and equally grateful to be the recipient of the Fulbright–Trinity Laban Award. I look forward to a fruitful year of practice, discovery, and artistic exchange – one that will deepen my own choreographic practice while allowing me to bring new knowledge, perspectives, and relationships back to my work with McKoy Dance Project (MDP).”