Performance and Choreographic Opportunities

Performing and choreographing are integral parts of a well-developed artistic education and are important components of Peridance's Certificate Program. The Program allows dancers to transition from the studio to the professional stage by involving all students in numerous professional productions both within and outside the Center. Beginning in the students' first semester and continuing throughout the Program, students learn original choreography and work exclusively with established artists currently shaping the local and international dance scenes. Students also study improvisation and composition and are given the opportunity to choreograph and perform work of their own. Throughout the year, students participate in informal studio showings at regular intervals that are open to the public to show what they have been working on and receive constructive feedback to further their abilities and talent.

Performances

All Certificate Program students in both tracks take what they have learned in their technique classes, workshops, and seminars to the NYC stage each semester. In the Fall, students rehearse for a Winter production in December. In the Spring, the semester culminates in a June production, which marks the end of the academic year. All students work directly and intimately with multiple choreographers who create or set original work for the Certificate Program students in several different genres within each track.

See below for the choreographers the Certificate Program students have worked with so far!

• Igal Perry
• Robert Battle
• Sidra Bell
• La Jon Dantzler
• Mary Ann Lamb
• Mary MacLeod
• Joanna Numata
• Charlotta Ofverholm
• Alex Sanchez
• Kristin Sudeikis

All performances take place at the state-of-the-art Salvatore Capezio Theater at Peridance, a 160-seat blackbox theater. All performances are ticketed and open to the public.

Choreography

Certificate Program students have numerous opportunities to create choreography and have their work shown! Students may chose to choreograph for their Independent Study Project (see below), using dancers within and/or outside the Program to create their work on. Students are allotted space to create and rehearse to eventually perform their work in an Independent Study Showing. The Program Coordinator then chooses a handful of works to be performed in the informal Studio Showcases each semester and only one from there to be presented in each semester's final production.

Beyond the opportunities within the Program, Peridance hosts its biannual Student Showcase at the Salvatore Capezio Theater in February and August. The Showcase is a great platform for Certificate Program students to go a step further and show their work in a fully produced show alongside other aspiring choreographers on a NYC stage.

Independent Study Opportunities

Each semester, students are required to develop, create, and present an Independent Study Project to the Program Coordinator. These studies are meant to enhance the training already being received through the Program, allowing students to focus on their individual interests and talents beyond dancing and performing. While some students may chose to choreograph, others may wish to put their photography skills to use! In the Spring 2012 semester, Mei Suzuki, Certificate Program June 2012 Graduate, and Adriana Recchia chose to do photography projects.

Events

The Nutcracker - December 15th and 16th

Certificate Program students from both the Ballet/Contemporary and Commercial Tracks join Peridance Capezio Center's Artistic Director and choreographer Igal Perry for an innovative contemporary Nutcracker experience, a new tradition that pushes boundaries of the holiday favorite you know and love!