This year, we’re excited to present two new awards to YoungArts artists in Dance and Film. Both awards offer artists unrestricted grants to grow their practice and can be used towards a combination of experiences that advance the artist’s goals, such as residencies, mentorship, studio rental, continuation of projects, experimentation with new forms or to cover general living expenses.
2025 Robinson Dance Award Recipient: Kyreeana Breelin Alexander (2013 Dance)
The Robinson Dance Award, supported by Corey Robinson, provides $10,000 in unrestricted cash to dancers with established practices. This award supports an emerging dancer by recognizing their creative vision and granting them unrestricted resources with which to strengthen their practice.
Kyreeana Breelin Alexander is a multidisciplinary artist in dance, songwriting, music production/composition and digital artistry. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography and a Minor in Digital Arts from California Institute of the Arts, a Master of Fine Arts in Choreographic Inquiry from UCLA and an Master of Arts in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music. Additionally, Alexander is a co-collaborator with artist Vinci Lewis and the founder of an interdisciplinary performance and arts education company, Crayons and Cookies. Alexander recently performed her original song “We Cool” at the Nimoy Theater in Los Angeles. The song is also the title of her evening-length solo interdisciplinary performance, which was debuted at UCLA’s Glorya Kaufman Theater in April 2024. She was featured as an artist under the direction of fellow YoungArts award winner India Carney in “Riding the Rollercoaster: An Artist’s Life in Los Angeles.” Currently, she is teaching Tap at UCLA and is a guest artist at California Institute of the Arts, presenting choreography showcased at The Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Fall 2024.
After spending the past two years building her artistic portfolio of evening-length pieces and collaborations, Alexander plans on using this award to continue working toward seeing the full vision of her work realized and building towards her goal of a fully produced touring theater performance.
“This award came at a much-needed time; the recognition helps validate that creating as an artist is both vital and necessary.” — Kyreeana Breelin Alexander
2025 Wolfson Family Foundation Film Awardee: Sarit Sandler (2015 Film)
The Wolfson Family Foundation Film Award, supported by the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation, provides $25,000 in unrestricted cash to a YoungArts filmmaker. This award is designated for filmmakers with established practices and offers support for continued filmmaking, experimentation with new forms and momentum towards the development of new bodies of work.
Sarit Sandler is an unscripted television producer and documentary director based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Represented by William Morris Endeavor (WME) talent agency, Sarit has developed a wide range of original unscripted TV series and documentaries for top networks and streaming platforms including Netflix, Hulu, Peacock, HBO, Amazon and more. She has a knack for discovering niche talent, crafting compelling stories and is known to always push the envelope, creating shows that resonate with global audiences.
Sandlers plans on using the award to continue to self-fund new documentary project pitches and travel to Los Angeles and New York for important meetings to move her current pitched projects forward.
“This grant is more than financial support—it is an investment in my artistic journey, and will give me the ability to continue telling important stories. I am deeply thankful to YoungArts and the Wolfson Family Foundation for this incredible opportunity.” — Sarit Sandler
