Student-Led Dance Groups

STUDENT-LED DANCE GROUP LEADERS 

Student-led Dance Group Leaders regularly gather as a cohort together with Dance Center staff for advisement, knowledge-sharing, fellowship, and professional development workshops. 

If you are a new incoming director of a student-led dance group, please contact Elizabeth Epsen. 

Previous workshops offered:

• Introduction to Campfire: An introduction to a new online, community-building platform Campfire, co-created by Dance Center alum Jenny Liu ’20, which was awarded an Innovation Grant from Harvard’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging.  
• Video Production Workshops: Broken up into two parts and led by Kathryn Abarbanel GSD’19, workshops offered students both an introduction to video editing as well as intermediate level editing using Adobe Premiere Suite.
• Diversity Peer Educators (DPE's) Workshops: Led by DPE's from the Office of Diversity Education and Support around best practices for leading and cultivating an inclusive environment for dance organizations.
• Disability Inclusion Workshop led by dancer, teacher, and global disability rights activist Kerry Thompson Ed.M.08 for a 101 on disability inclusion best practices in the arts. 
• Office of Sexualt Assualt Prevention and Reponse (OSAPR) Workshop: A discussion led by OSAPR case coordinator Rose Poyau on tools and frameworks for addressing identity, gender, and sexual violence. 

Student-Led Dance Group Residency

All student-led dance groups may apply for a residency at the Harvard Dance Center. Two residencies will be held per academic year (one per semester), however, collaboration is encouraged and two or more student-led dance groups may submit a combined application for a joint residency. 

Selected student-led dance groups are given access to the Dance Center's 3,500 square foot Studio 1 during available hours. Examples of residency activities during the week are meet-and-greets, cyphers, open rehearsals, informal showings, workshops, community conversations, and performances. Students are invited to think creatively and broadly about how to use the time and space. 

Dance Center staff and faculty are available for mentorship and support throughout the year and can also help connect students to other potential advisors and/or collaborators. Students are expected to take full ownership of all managing and producing aspects of their residency. A required residency orientation meeting with the Dance Center staff will be scheduled in the first two weeks of the semester.

Additional Residency Information: 
Harvard Dance Center Residencies include the use of Studio 1. Multiple options are available to support the residency activities including: the (supervised) use of risers; setting up chairs in different audience configurations; use of the sound system via portable device, laptop, etc.; and pre-programmed lights accessible via Studio 1 wall panel. For residencies that include a showing or performance, a production meeting with the Dance Center's Production Manager will be required. Lighting design and production mentorship is available throughout the residency. Students are expected to set up, manage and operate all technical aspects of activities that use lighting and production elements.

Students are encouraged to think about how residency activities will be accessed for people with disabilities. Selected student groups will be required to attend a Dance Center offered workshop focusing on equity and inclusion best practices. 

Fall 2021 Application

Fall Application Deadline: Monday, September 13, 2021
Dance Center Residency Dates: Sunday, October 31-Sunday, November 7, 2021

SUBMIT ONLINE APPLICATION

For questions or to talk through a residency proposal, contact Elizabeth Epsen at epsen@fas.harvard.edu.