Sarah Cecilia Bukowski '27GS Awarded New York Public Library Dance Research Fellowship
The ethnicity and race studies major plans to expand her thesis into a book-length study exploring home, identity, and migration through dance.
Sarah Cecilia Bukowski '27GS has been awarded a prestigious New York Public Library Dance Research Fellowship, joining a cohort of dance scholars and practitioners selected to explore the legacy of Mexican-American modern dance pioneer José Limón.
The fellowship provides a $10,000 stipend, dedicated archival support from a dance librarian, and an opportunity to present research at the Library’s annual Dance Symposium.
For Bukowski, the fellowship builds directly on her undergraduate thesis, “HOME SUITE _____: Biocartographies of Performance and Belonging,” which she completed under the advisement of Dr. Deborah Paredez in Columbia’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race (CSER). The project, which earned CSER’s Outstanding Thesis Award this year, examines expressions of “home” in movement-based performance through profiles of contemporary New York experimental performance makers, combining interviews with Bukowski’s own embodied and poetic responses.
“My intention is to leverage my thesis work into a book-length study,” she said. “By digging into the archives of works Limón made on Mexican themes while working in New York and during residencies in Mexico City, I seek to gain insight into the places, textures, and relationships that drove his creative mind and body.”
This fellowship will support the development of a new chapter, “Homecoming: José Limón’s Explorations of Self and Culture,” positioning the influential choreographer as a historical anchor for Bukowski’s larger project. Through archival research and engagement with the ongoing work of the Limón Dance Company, she hopes to illuminate connections between Limón’s experiences as a Mexican-American artist and the contemporary performance makers featured in her thesis: Christopher Unpezverde Núñez, Martita Abril, and Antonio Ramos.
“As a part-time student at GS since 2020, my academic journey has shown me the value of bringing my life experience and my work in the world into my learning."
This is an incredibly meaningful moment in Bukowski’s academic journey as she heads into her final semester at GS. “In a climate where real support for dance writing can be hard to come by, the resources provided by the NYPL Dance Research Fellowship mean the world to me,” Bukowski said. “I have certainly never chosen the easy path in dedicating my life to dance, and now also to dance writing, but this is unquestionably my purpose in life.”
Bukowski’s achievement also reflects a hallmark of the GS experience: students drawing on rich personal and professional backgrounds to shape their academic work. At 40 years old, she has spent more than two decades working as a professional dancer, experiences that now directly influence both her scholarship and research.
“As a part-time student at GS since 2020, my academic journey has shown me the value of bringing my life experience and my work in the world into my learning,” she added. “This project shows just how this can be possible.”
A lifelong dancer trained in ballet, modern, and contemporary dance, Bukowski was born in Colombia, raised in the United States and Argentina, and has danced across the country for over two decades. She currently performs with the Metropolitan Opera; is a freelance dancer, writer, and labor organizer; and serves as a Governor of the Board of the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA).
As she prepares to graduate from GS in February 2027, Bukowski aims to present her research at the NYPL Dance Symposium following the fellowship, marking a significant milestone in both her academic and artistic career. “I will be so proud to graduate alongside the culmination of the Fellowship's Research Symposium. I will have so much hard work to celebrate, and I'm excited for what's to come.”