Mission Statement

• Operate as a post-secondary educational institution, which offers training and education in dance.
• Offer the public dance classes of the highest caliber in all styles, for all ages, and in all levels of technical proficiency.
• Maintain a strong national and international presence in dance education, as a leading New York City dance school.
• Provide methodical programs of study for domestic and international students.
• Equip dancers with the requisite proficiencies, skills, and techniques to prepare them for the professional dance field.
• Give dancers the opportunity to learn repertory from, and work closely with renowned guest artists and master teachers.
• Provide affordable and safe rehearsal and performance space for artists to create and perform.

Board of Directors

About the School

For over 40 years, Peridance has been a recognizable force in the New York City dance community, a place where toddlers, teenagers, and adults can dance and learn alongside professional dancers, acclaimed teachers, and students from around the globe. Rooted in the Union Square area, in the heart of New York City, Peridance Center is housed in a beautiful landmark building, featuring six spacious, sprung and column-free studios and an in-house state-of-the-art facility, The KnJ Theater, available for rentals, showcases and performances, . The Center's robust amenities include a coffee shop.

Peridance has three main divisions: The School at Peridance Division (for children), Education and Training Programs Division (for pre-professionals), and The Open Class Program Division (for adults).

Peridance's Open Class Program offers a wide spectrum of over 250 "drop-in" dance classes and workshops in various techniques and styles on a daily basis, catering to adult students, on all levels, and from all over the world. These year-round classes are open to the community as pay-as-you-go classes.

Peridance prepares dancers for the continually evolving national and international dance arena through an array of educational training programs, led by an exceptional, world-renowned faculty, including the two-year Certificate Program, MOPTOP Universal, and the Independent Study Program. These programs admit domestic and international students.

The School at Peridance offers both recreational daily classes for students ranging from 18 months to 18 years in our Young Movers and Children/Teen Open Track Programs. As well as pre professional training for young students at an accelerated pace in our Core Pre Professional Training Program, by audition only. Top Core Level students can also audition for the Youth Ensemble. The Youth Ensemble serves as a natural extension of the School at Peridance and as a training ground for the professional world.

The Center is also home to the acclaimed Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, one of New York City's finest repertory professional dance troupes.

Commended by Dance Magazine as "a place for serious dancers", Peridance Center has continually maintained its reputation for excellence drawing students in from around the globe. Peridance Center offers technique classes in all major dance disciplines for dancers of all levels. Each year, students and professionals from all over the world come to experience a wide range of workshops and master classes offered by a roster of internationally acclaimed guest teachers and choreographers. The center's curriculum also integrates a variety of classes, for the dancer and non-dancer alike, designed to strengthen the body and increase flexibility of movement.

Read an article from The New York Times on the inclusivity at Peridance.

The Center enjoys strong affiliations and close relationships with various professional companies and dance institutions, creating a vibrant dance community that enhances both educational and networking opportunities. Students directly benefit from being immersed in this vibrant dance community, enriching their day-to-day study and obtaining opportunities to further their career.

Peridance Center is the culmination of years of hard work and a firm belief in dance as a positive force. The integration of the traditional technique classes offered alongside the cutting-edge dance styles emerging today has enabled the school to maintain its original premise: offering dance education with integrity and high quality, without being compromised by commercialism. It is the fulfillment of Igal Perry's artistic vision and a source of inspiration for those who want to make dance an important part of their lives.

Peridance Center is licensed by the State of New York to operate as an institution of dance education. International Dance School/Peridance Center is authorized under federal law to enroll non-immigrant alien students.