Young Dancemakers Company Unveils 2024 Touring Season

Young Dancemakers Company, a tuition-free dance ensemble of students drawn from NYC’s public high schools, working under the guidance of acclaimed professionals, will present its 29th annual touring season. The series, in which young artists develop their original choreography and present it in free public showings, will run from July 24th through August 2nd, at various locations across four NYC boroughs – beginning at the Fieldston School in the Bronx and concluding with a finale concert at The Ailey Citigroup Theater in Manhattan. The program features works developed under the tutelage of Jessica Gaynor and William Catanzaro, as well as with 2024 guest artists Ephrat Asherie, Eriko Jimbo and Dorren “Moglii” Smith of Ephrat Asherie Dance, and in a workshop with members of the acclaimed Bridgman|Packer Dance. Additionally, as part of the 7th iteration of YDC’s annual Choreographer/Composer Project, the student dances include original music pieces by guest professional composers: Clifton Anderson, Sidney Marquez Boquiren, Kennedy Taylor Dixon, Matt Evans, Kevin Farrell, Matt Frey, Mitch Marcus, Victor See Yuen, Teodora Stepančić and Anna Young. All performances are free and open to the public.

Reservations are required. To reserve tickets, visit Bit.ly/ydcevents. For group sales, email youngdancemakers@gmail.com.

Founded in 1996 by the beloved teacher and choreographer Alice Teirstein (1929-2022), the Young Dancemakers Company strives to enable teens to develop as dance artists, trust themselves as creators, and take ownership of their work. Over the years, it has served countless NYC public school pupils, offering them an opportunity to access the world of the performing arts. Every summer, the teenagers go through daily intensive training and rehearsal sessions, creating pieces that reflect their personal experiences – some of the past themes included bullying, self-discovery, the immigrant experience, current affairs, and more.
  
Artistic Director Jessica Gaynor explains: “I am thrilled that we can continue to offer a program that provides teenagers with tools for self-expression through improvisational structures, technique, repertory, and choreographic processes. This season, we welcome Ephrat Asherie Dance artists as instructors – our students will perform an excerpt from the company’s repertory as part of the performance tour, alongside their original work, and take part in a Q&A with the audience after each show. We are also very excited to continue our Choreographer/Composer Project, an unprecedented program pairing young artists with professional composers – for the last six years, this project has been a rare and invaluable experience for both our teen choreographers and collaborating professionals and has elevated the program vastly.”