Invitation from the deans
Can you imagine being in an environment for six and a half weeks with a community of creative and like-minded individuals who share your passion for dance and thrive on teaching it, making it, watching it, talking about it, and living it every day? This is what makes a summer at ADF such an extraordinary experience, prompting students, teachers, and musicians to come back year after year. But ADF is more than an incredible dancing experience; it’s a life-changing experience. At ADF, we discover ourselves and our potential. As one 2014 ADF student wrote, “ADF didn’t just teach me about dance technique. It taught me to live and love life again.”
Courtesy of KADF
We invite you to join us in a creative adventure that will challenge you, empower you, and open up new possibilities for who you thought you could be. We invite you to experience the magic of ADF with us this summer!
Gerri Houlihan Leah Cox Dean Associate Dean
About the American Dance Festival
The American Dance Festival is held for six and a half weeks each summer at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1934 in Bennington, Vermont, with choreographers Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. Heralded as “One of the nation’s most important institutions” by the New York Times and as “The world’s greatest dance festival” by the New York Post, the American Dance Festival’s sustained record of creative achievement is indivisible from the history of modern dance. Through its school and performance season, ADF serves professional and pre-professional choreographers and dancers from around the world.
1
Want a life changing experience? Sounds like you need ADF. –2014 ADF student
Photos by Grant Halverson © ADF 2014 unless otherwise noted.
three Week School (3ws)
dancers to develop as performers and artists, contribute to creative processes, and experience the intensity of the professional dance world in a controlled environment.
The Three Week School for Young Dancers (3WS) provides excellent training in a supportive and nurturing environment. Designed specifically for students ages 12-16, the 3WS enables students to form memorable friendships with their teachers and peers and to develop skills that will last them for years to come.
Requirements: The ideal applicant should currently be taking dance classes a minimum of three days a week and have at least three consecutive years of training in either ballet, modern, or hip hop. Some experience in one of the other techniques offered in the curriculum is encouraged but not mandatory.
Junior Division: 12-14 year olds
Outside of the studios
The Junior Division provides a warm community in which young dancers experience dance’s breadth and cultivates a fun, yet disciplined approach to training. The curriculum enables students to gain literacy and proficiency in a range of foundational techniques. Dancers take daily classes in dance conditioning, ballet, and modern, complemented by classes in hip hop and African dance three times a week. Additional classes in other forms are scheduled on evenings and weekends. Over the course of the three weeks, movers gain strength and versatility that will support and inform their future decisions to specialize in a specific technique or area of dance. Requirements: The ideal applicant should currently be enrolled in dance classes and have at least two consecutive years of experience in ballet, modern, or hip hop. Some experience in one of the other techniques offered in the curriculum is encouraged but not mandatory.
All 3WS students live in double, air-conditioned rooms in a dormitory on Duke’s East Campus. Three meals a day are included in the room/board fee. Students who live in the area have the option to commute daily from home. Junior and Senior Division students participate in age-appropriate social activities and are supervised by experienced youth counselors who live in the dormitory with 3WS dancers. All counselors are students in the 6WS. All students will receive a complimentary ticket to each ADF performance at Reynolds Industries Theater and Durham Performing Arts Center during the three week program.
Scholarships are available!
Limited scholarships are available for each division of the Three Week School. The deadline for submitting required scholarship documents is April 1, 2015.
Senior Division: 15-16 year olds
The Senior Division intensifies the training begun in the junior division and prepares dancers to participate in ADF’s Six Week School (6WS) as well as college and university dance programs. The curriculum for the Senior Division fosters excellence in a core group of foundational techniques and prepares dancers for professional settings. Dancers take daily classes in dance conditioning, ballet, and modern, complemented by classes in repertory and hip hop three times a week. Classes in other forms are scheduled on evenings and weekends, including masterclasses in composition and improvisation. Additional activities with 6WS students and faculty round out the experience and enable Senior Division
This has been such a wonderful, creative experience, and I feel like I’ve grown so much as a person and a dancer. Words can’t express my love for ADF. –2013 3WS student
Learn more: americandancefestival.org
2
[
[
ADF made me remember why I dance. It’s not about impressing your teachers or your peers or even yourself. It’s about following your passion wherever it may take you, and it’s truly amazing to see the passion for dance that everyone at ADF has. –2014 6WS student
Six Week School (6ws)
3
that students will participate in and shape for future generations. Please check the ADF website in the spring for more information on performance offerings.
At the heart of ADF is the Six Week School (6WS), where dancers from around the country and around the world come to train and to create, to see and be seen. Over the course of the festival, students of all levels work each day with ADF’s diverse faculty, extraordinary musicians, and vibrant student body to create rewarding, lifechanging experiences. The six-and-a-half week commitment results in the enduring, hard-won benefits that only long-term training can yield.
At press time, ADF is excited to announce that 2015 students will have the opportunity to learn repertory works by the following choreographers, taught by former and current company members who have worked with them closely: Merce Cunningham, William Forsythe, Bill T. Jones, and Shen Wei. Additional repertory opportunities will be announced on the ADF website in the spring.
The curriculum at ADF is founded on the beliefs that dance training should cultivate artists who move, think, and create with ambition, sensitivity, and intelligence; and that dancers knowledgeable of dance’s enduring and current innovations are best equipped to create its future. To those ends, courses offered reflect the traditions of modern dance as well as the new and risky explorations that push the art form forward. Possibilities abound with up to forty classes a day and a roster of seventy faculty members. Students create and personalize their own schedules, choosing from 6WS regular course offerings (Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri.) and flexible WFSS classes (Wed., Fri. evening, Sat., Sun.) The foundation of consistent classes complemented by WFSS opportunities allows students to experience the many dance forms that ADF offers while also studying intensely with a core group of teachers. See our website to learn more about our courses.
core 6ws classes:
An essential component of the 6WS experience is the performance season. All students receive a complimentary ticket to each Reynolds Industries Theater and Durham Performing Arts Center program. Festival performances form the aspirational horizon of the school curriculum, providing contact with the professional dance world
More than 50% of ADF 6WS students receive financial assistance from ADF in the form of partial tuition scholarships, work-study scholarships, and matching scholarships. The deadline for submitting required scholarship documents is April 1, 2015.
Learn more: americandancefestival.org
Ballet Composition/Creative Process Dances of West Africa Hip Hop Improvisation Modern Technique Partnering/Contact Improvisation Repertory Voice and Gesture
Scholarships are available!
core wfss classes: ALL CORE 6WS CLASSES PLUS: Injury Prevention Musician Workshops Open Showings Panels, Lectures, Discussions Performing Company Guest Classes and Auditions Pilates Text Into Performance Yoga ...and much more!
There are few high level dance programs to attend as a dancing professional, and continued training is so important to me. I feel ADF DPW addresses all of the areas in which I hope to improve and excel: technique, artistry, physicality, improvisation, and performance, as well as new resources and techniques for dance education. –2014 DPW student
Dance Professionals Workshop (DPW) The Dance Professionals Workshop (DPW) is open to artists who have completed an undergraduate program or have at least five years of professional experience. The DPW is divided into two modes of engagement: The DPW Intensive for dance educators and the DPW Sampler for performers and choreographers.
DPW Intensive: June 20-28
The DPW Intensive is designed specifically for dance educators interested in rejuvenating their dance studies and exploring resources for their teaching practice. The nine-day program offers a unique opportunity to dialogue with members of the ADF faculty and to network with fellow educators. Participants may take advantage of a variety of classes offered in ADF’s Six Week School (6WS) in addition to attending special classes that are available only through the DPW Intensive. A selection of panel discussions, choreographic showings, special workshops, and somatic classes complement the many technique, improvisation, and composition classes available in the 6WS. The vibrant and collegial atmosphere of the ADF dance community encourages personal exploration and investigation and is known for providing dancers of all levels and ages with a safe and welcoming environment to delve into their dance research at their own pace. Come join us for an inspired nine days of dancing!
DPW Intensive scholarships are available!
We are pleased to announce that there are two full tuition scholarships available for the DPW Intensive. The deadline for submitting required scholarship documents is April 1, 2015.
DPW Sampler Option 1: June 21-28 Option 2: June 28-July 5 (no classes July 4) Option 3: July 5-12 Option 4: July 12-19 The DPW Sampler allows participants to choose the dates that best suit their schedules. This program is structured to provide a self-guided exploration of the wide variety of classes offered by the ADF Six Week School. The DPW Sampler opens a myriad of possibilities for exploring dance training and provides connections to other artists and educators in the field. All DPW participants receive tickets to ADF season performances during their visit. Participants may receive a Certificate of Completion at the conclusion of the program. Students who would like to spend a second week at ADF can do so by adding a second DPW week at half the cost. This can be combined with either the DPW Sampler or the DPW Intensive. Learn more: americandancefestival.org
4
faculty & musicians ADF is fortunate to have some of the most dedicated faculty and finest dance musicians in the country on its roster. These individuals form a group of generous, inspired, and accomplished dance artists that are the foundation of the ADF community. They serve as guides and mentors, inspiring students to attain new levels of artistry and physicality. After a summer spent working side by side in the studio, seeing performances together, and dialoguing with one another, students and teachers often forge relationships that last long after the festival is over. We invite you to read about each of our faculty on the ADF website’s faculty bio page.
at press time, Faculty and Musicians include: Chris Aiken Maria Bauman Rodger Belman Gerald Casel Robbie Cook Elizabeth Corbett Douglas Corbin Leah Cox Adam Crawley Teena Marie Custer
5
Jefferson Dalby Brenda Daniels Loren Davidson Michelle Gibson Beth Gill John Hanks Courtney Harris Neil Harris Andy Hasenpflug Angie Hauser
Learn more: americandancefestival.org
Curt Haworth Gerri Houlihan Ishmael Houston-Jones Keith Johnson Terrence Karn T. Lang Rafael Lopez-Barrantes Jennifer Nugent John Osburn
Pamela Pietro Sherone Price Sara Procopio Atiba Rorie Khalid Saleem James Sutton Andrea Weber Ken Ray Wilemon Jesse Zaritt
award
Zvi Gotheiner, James Sutton, and Jaclynn Villamil are the recipients of the 2015 Balasaraswati/Joy Ann Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching.
The best part of the summer was the teachers. They demonstrated such a mastery of the material, demanded all of our presence and awareness, and pushed us (lovingly) to demand the very best from ourselves. This kind of teaching is uncommon, it’s the kind of teaching that the American Dance Festival is famous for, and it’s the kind that I crave all school year. –2011 6WS student
life at adf
Carving out time and traveling from all over the world to North Carolina can be a big undertaking. We strive to provide resources and amenities that will make the ADF experience enjoyable and safe, assisting each student and their unique situation to our best ability. ADF students have a range of housing and meal options at Duke University and in the immediate Durham area. Both ADF and Duke have designed services to provide ease in the day-to-day festival experience. This allows students to focus on the most important thing… DANCING! For information regarding housing, meals, health and wellness, physical therapy, Duke University academic credit, flex accounts, and traveling to the festival, please visit the ADF website, americandancefestival.org.
Application and Fees
All students can apply directly on the ADF website. Application checklist: • Application form. • $40 non-refundable application fee (not credited toward tuition). • Résumé of your dance training, education, and professional experience. • 6WS only: one evaluation form completed by a dance instructor (available on ADF website). ADF does not require an audition to enroll in the 3WS, 6WS, and DPW, unless the student is auditioning for a tuition scholarship. If you are a student applying for financial assistance, please see the instructions on the ADF website for additional required materials. All ADF students must be covered by health insurance. No exceptions!
☛ Six Week Students—apply early! ☛
6WS students are assigned a class registration number based on the date their application is received by the school office. Students will register for classes in numerical order. Applying early and receiving a low registration number increases the chance of getting into desired classes; many popular 6WS classes fill to capacity early in the registration period.
Tuition Fees Please visit to view payment instructions, ADF’s refund policy, and additional fees, including housing, meals, parking, etc. 6WS, 3WS, DPW Application fee: $40 6WS tuition full-time: $1,990 6WS tuition part-time: $750/course
3WS tuition: $1,550 DPW tuition: $875 DPW additional week: $438
HOW TO REACH US Nicolle Greenhood, Director of School Administration school@americandancefestival.org Alyssa Harrison, School Administration Coordinator registrar@americandancefestival.org American Dance Festival Box 90772, Durham, NC 27708 | Office: 919.684.6402 | Fax: 919.684.5459
Learn more: americandancefestival.org
6
Box 90772, Durham, NC 27708
Non-Profit Org. US Postage PAID Durham, NC Permit No. 987