About

Good Dancing is not a goal, it is our vehicle

The New York Dance Festival is one of the most unique, refreshing, and inspired international dance festivals in the world! At the New York Dance Festival, healthy emotional development is at the core of our offerings. We teach the characteristics of good dance, grounded in technique and body science, with an intentional focus on teaching skills for enjoyable self improvement and healthy motivation. World class dancing is not just our goal, it is also our vehicle to foster positive emotional development.

About the New York Dance Festival

The Festival is a two week experience with eight and a half hours of dance a day, with master classes in Modern, Ballet, Hip Hop, MT Afro Hip Hop, Reinforced Motor Function, McLeod Technique, African, and more. Professional to novice, we are one of the only non-audition national programs of our caliber. Because we do not require auditions, no person is excluded or put through the emotional trials of an audition selection process, and families are welcome.

The New York Dance Festival presents McLeod Technique as a foundational technique, as MT is the perfect compliment to any dance or movement study. It is a gateway to rapid application and understanding in Classical Ballet, Professional Modern, Urban Dance, African Dance and more. As a multi-generational festival, all ages and abilities learn from one another throughout the course of the day. Each day begins with MT Morning Motivation, then moves into technique master classes with international dance personalities. The afternoon highlights an open master class and ballet and modern repertory sessions for learning choreography that is performed at the finale concert. Teacher Training and MT Certification Clinical tracks run throughout the two weeks. The Festival also includes a variety of concerts such as the Harriet Tubman Freedom Music Festival and the annual “A Day in Dance” Gala. The quality and breadth of offerings, together with the famed “Talk Around” sessions and personality growth experienced by our participants and teachers, creates a truly one of a kind experience that is far beyond that of a traditional dance festival.

Our program is based on the emotional safety of our participants, which is reflected in the New York Institute of Dance and Education’s philosophy that “successful teaching requires paying equal attention to the heart of every participant.”

Dance Performance

Studying dance from the performer’s perspective, with opportunities to perform in various mediums. Study will include ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and ethnic. The pursuit of excellence in this area will allow for better understanding and success in the next objective.

Composition Study

The study of choreography as an art form. This program will review the foundational principals of choreography, then move to more complicated applications of creating work. Primary study will focus on creating small group works, and acquiring the tools necessary to accomplish this. This perspective requires commitment to constant learning, exploration, and personal and professional development on the part of the aspiring choreographer.

Dance Education

Based upon NYIDE’s philosophy that successful teaching requires paying equal attention to the body, mind and heart of every student. In this methodology, candidates will do detailed course study in the discipline (art) of teaching, beginning with the principles of teaching fine arts dance and then move on to more complicated applications including adjustments and corrections. Study will include teaching ballet, modern, jazz, and tap.

Business Administration and Design for the Arts

The New York Dance Festival as a classroom in Business Administration. The candidate will see programming and projects from conception to completion, learning how only good business practices allow for corporations or arts programming to flourish. They will get to see methods that help an idea become a profitable product. Candidates also learn how to design the packaging necessary to sell that product.

Our Teacher Training course is heaven-sent. The design is constructed to allow teachers to shed their fear of ridicule, in exchange for the opportunity to ask those simple questions that they’ve always wanted to ask. Teacher Training participants work in the studio side-by-side with our international faculty, getting an intimate and hands-on opportunity to learn the details of physical correction, material design, and instruction delivery. Participants get to re-adjust a person, moments after the master teacher, allowing for the highest amount of retention and understanding. Likewise, participants will get to sit in on selected meetings, faculty planning, and press opportunities, getting direct business application.