American Dance Festival Camps
Located in Durham
What's offered
The camp experience
Timing & booking
Weeklong, full-day summer camps run from 9 AM – 3 PM, Monday through Friday; the Pilobolus shadow camp week runs Monday through Saturday.
Staffing & leadership
Each summer camp week is led by a visiting professional dance company or artist: D’Vorah Dance Arts, Johnnie Cruise Mercer and the artists of TheREDprojectNYC, David Dorfman Dance company members, and Gaspard&Dancers. Year-round studio faculty include Gerri Houlihan, Tony C. Johnson, Amanda K. Miller and Susan Saenger.
About the organization
Website ↗Since 1934, the American Dance Festival has been a recognized leader in modern dance presenting dance performances, and offering educational opportunities and community programs, while maintaining an international reach. The American Dance Festival traces its origins to the Bennington School of the Dance, founded in 1934 in Bennington, Vermont, by several notable figures in the emerging art of modern dance: Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman. The school, led by Martha Hill, allowed choreographers to experiment and teach dance techniques. A performance series, held in conjunction with the school, provided the choreographers with opportunities to present their newly created works. For one season, in 1939, the festival was held at Mills College in Oakland, California, but returned to Bennington the following year. Beginning in 1948, the festival was held at Connecticut College, and in 1978, it moved to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
