Group Study

In-person online offerings are customizable. We will work with groups to determine the best content for their interests and goals. Basic offerings include:

• Movement or Technique Class
• Artist Discussion
• Workshop, including Audition Workshop
• Group Performance at Gibney
• Alumni Reception

Pricing for a 90-120 minute in-person session starts at $550 per session, and includes studio space.

Group pricing for drop-in classes available upon request. View the current drop-in class schedule here.

Gibney can also work with groups to create a multi-day experience during the regular semester or for Winter, Spring or Summer breaks. These intensives can be composed of movement classes, artist discussions, and workshops in a multitude of combinations.

All programs are subject to a 15% administration fee.

In-person offerings take place at Gibney: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center in Lower Manhattan. Gibney will require proof of full vaccination beginning on Tuesday, September 7th. Please find our Vaccination Policy here.

LIVE online offerings are customizable. We will work with groups to determine the best content for their interests and goals. Basic offerings include:

• Movement or Technique Class
• Artist Discussion
• Workshop

Pricing for a 60-90 minute online session starts at $250 for 1 teaching/guest artist and $500 for 2 artists. 

Groups may be required to submit a $15 Zoom account activation fee, or we can work with your school’s Zoom or other meeting platform account. 

Group pricing for drop-in classes available upon request. View the current drop-in class schedule here.

Gibney can also work with groups to create a virtual multi-day experience during the regular semester or for Winter, Spring or Summer breaks. These intensives can be composed of movement classes, artist discussions, and workshops in a multitude of combinations.  Prices vary depending on content.   

All programs are subject to a 15% administration fee. 

Expose your students to world-renowned teachers and new techniques in a supportive and welcoming environment! Drawing from the robust and diverse roster of teaching artists at Gibney, groups may opt for private Master Classes taught by industry leaders and members of Gibney Company. 

Gibney’s Training department works with an extensive community of experienced and highly skilled teachers of a range of dance styles. Groups work with the Gibney staff to identify and secure appropriate teachers for each specialized class. Gibney cannot guarantee any particular teacher and is based on teachers’ availability. 

Movement Classes Includes

Contemporary

In direct relationship to each teacher’s lineage and artistic practices, these classes offer a wide range of techniques and a variety of tools aimed at preparing dancers to excel in the ever evolving field. 

Ballet

Prioritizing the needs of the contemporary dancer, these classes will work with ballet technique to access strength-building, coordination, musicality and expression. 

Simonson Technique

Simonson Technique, developed by Lynn Simonson, is an organic approach to movement that prepares the body to dance in a way that is anatomically intelligent and somatically aware.

Limón Technique

Limón training provides an organic approach to movement that can serve dancers of various backgrounds, with an emphasis on the natural rhythms of fall and recovery, conscious use of breath, and the interplay between weight and weightlessness.

Creative Process

A look into the creative process of a choreographer. Learn about practices and tools used by professionals. 

Improvisation

Guided improvisatory practice for dancers to explore their own artistic expression. 

Street and Club Styles

Including, but not limited to, Vogue, Hip Hop, Groove, Break and House. Each street or club style is unique and highly specialized. 

Somatic Practices

Including, but not limited to, Pilates, Stretch, Floor Barre, Yoga, QiGong, Feldenkrais, Alexander Technique, IMAGE TECH for dancers, MELT Method (In Person Only), and Meditation

Artist Discussions are a great way for students to engage with active professionals from across the dance field and learn about their real experiences and perspectives. Discussions are moderated by a member of the Group Study staff, and always allow time for questions from students. Groups may opt for a general conversation with a performing artist about their journey, or groups may select a specific conversation topic, including those detailed below. 

Panelists are professionals in the field, and are curated by Group Study staff based on selected discussion topics and artist availability. 

Discussion Topics Include

Dancing in NYC

An introductory conversation to pursuing a professional dance career in New York City, with NYC professionals. We will discuss:

• Artists’ professional journeys
• Getting started and finding opportunities
• The NYC dance landscape
• Sustaining a career
• Advice for emerging artists

College to Career

Geared toward younger students who are currently in school or university. Conversation with artists on how they personally transitioned from school into the professional field. We will discuss:

• Artists’ pre-professional journeys and education
• Taking university experience and opportunity to prepare for entering the field
• Getting started and finding opportunities
• Advice for dance students

Being a Choreographer

For students interested in pursuing a career in choreography in the current field. We will discuss:

• Artists’ professional journeys
• Creative process
• Importance and role of collaboration
• How to show your work and creating your own opportunities
• Necessary skills and roles in leading a company
• Varied structures for choreographers/companies

*Further focus on choreographing while theaters remain closed is available and may cover:

• Artists’ adaptations during the pandemic
• Translating stage work to digital format
• Creating remotely

Beyond the Stage: Working in the Dance Field

Today’s dancers have complex careers in dance, working in the field in multiple modes. This discussion brings the focus away from only performance and toward a well-rounded career in the arts. Artists selected will hold multiple roles within the field. We will discuss:

• Artists’ performance experience
• Choreographic pursuits
• Administrative roles and skills
• Teaching and pedagogy
• Community building and social justice and dance

Arts Administration

For students interested in the administrative and management side of the field. We will discuss:

• Artists’/Administrators’ path into their careers
• Various roles within one company or organization
• Development, grants, and non-profit budgeting
• Required training or education
• Skills and advice

Additional Artist Discussion topics may include: 

Community Action and the Arts, Artists as Entrepreneurs, Dance and Disability/Accessibility, Digital Media and Dance, and Teaching Dance

If your group is interested in a topic not listed here, please let us know and we will work together to explore the possibilities.  

Workshops offer an opportunity for groups to learn about specific skills or practices. Facilitators for each workshop are professionals in the related field and are selected by Gibney or one of Gibney’s partner organizations, based on subject and availability. 

Workshop Examples

Artists As Agents of Change

We acknowledge the incredible humanity and expertise in every space and celebrate a diversity of perspectives as vital through Gibney’s philosophy for action that informs all we do: look inside, speak through movement, work together, and take care.

During this ‘Artists as Agents of Change’ workshop, we’ll engage in both moving our bodies and moving ideas – all inspired by Gibney’s ongoing work alongside survivors of intimate partner violence, and healthy relationship workshops with young folx in schools. We’ll focus on building the skills of choice-making, teamwork, and embracing the unknown; concepts we’re practicing every day in the dance studio that begin to transfer to all aspects of our lives.

Artists often have a desire to ‘give back’ or use our energies to serve the greater good, but often haven’t had access to tools that could help us leverage those skills and begin to pave a new way forward.  This workshop offers tools that aim to bring into focus the inherent empathy, compromise, collaboration, and sense of equity necessary for moving together in the dance studio in ways that inspire us all to move forward in our daily lives.

Created and led by Director of Engagement, Amy Miller.

Professional Development Workshops

Gibney’s new series of Professional Development workshops support emerging dance professionals of all backgrounds to build unique careers through accessible learning, expanding skills, and fostering a diverse and inclusive community. 

Led by experienced and talented members of the Gibney staff, administrative topics include: Entrepreneurship in the Arts, Development Demystified, Personal Budgeting Basics, Organizational Systems, and Intro to Dance Writing.

If your group is interested in an administrative topic not listed here, please let us know and we will work together to explore the possibilities. 

Hands are for Holding® Online Workshops

Space for young people to discuss healthy and unhealthy relationships, especially in the new context of COVID-19, using dance to start these conversations through Gibney’s Hands are for Holding® model. Workshops share best practices on how to support a friend, interactive self-care exercises, and resources for young people to seek help and support. If you are interested in booking Hands are for Holding® as a standalone workshop, click here to contact our Community Action team.

Career Planning for Dancers: From College to Career

Career counselors from The Actors Fund Career Center share strategies and resources to support dance students in creating overall sustainability and resilience as they move forward in their careers.

Wellness Workshop

A practitioner from the world-renowned Harkness Center for Dance Injuries works with your group and presents seminar-style workshops that include movement-based practices addressing topics including:

1. Foundations of Injury Prevention Workshop
2. Mental Health Considerations for Dancers
3. Dynamic Warm-up
4. Self-release techniques
5. Hypermobility vs. Flexibility: Healthy Stretching for Dancers
6. Extrinsic Variable Considerations When Dancing from Home: Creating a Safe Space*
7. Guidelines for a Conscientious Return to the Studio*

*Topics specific to the pandemic

Maximizing Your Digital Portfolio

Being successful as a professional dancer or choreographer is based on so much more than the work that you do in the studio. Today, video presentation has become a major factor in the success of dancers and choreographers. How do you make a dance or choreography reel? How do you document and share rehearsal footage with dancers? How do you use a video portfolio to secure a job with a company or choreographer? While having a budget helps, any dancer can get professional quality out of a modern-day iPhone. This hands-on workshop with Gibney’s Digital Media Initiative will take students through the basics, providing tools and resources to prepare the necessary video assets.

Solutions in Motion: High School Dancers
The Value and Benefits of a Dance Degree

Learn how a degree in dance prepares students for sustainable careers in dance, employment in other fields, and leadership in today’s 21st Century creative (gig) economy. Bring your questions and concerns about pursuing a dance degree in college. Students, parents, and teachers are welcome.

Solutions in Motion: College and Career Planning for High School Dancers

For intentional short- and long-term planning. Understanding where to start can be overwhelming. This workshop guides high school dancers in developing SMART goals and creating action plans for pursuing a college education and dance career.

Solutions in Motion: What to know and questions to ask when choosing a college dance program

College searches, admissions, dance auditions, interviews, different types of dance degrees, timelines, scholarships, engaging with dance faculty and college staff. These topics and more are discussed to help high school dancers and their parents make informed decisions on selecting a good fit college dance program.

Freelancing 101

Presented by Being A Dancer (Wendy Reinert and Macy Sullivan). For soon-to-be professionals, this 60-minute seminar offers a glimpse into adulting as a dance artist across multiple projects and revenue streams. Participants learn from NYC-based professionals how to navigate the hustle and lesser-acknowledged challenges in ways that support their artistic endeavors.

Group Study experiences are available live online as of 2020. In-person experiences will resume following Gibney’s NYC studios reopening. 

Audition Workshop

College Audition Workshop: Audition style workshop conducted by a faculty member of an area university to simulate a college entrance audition workshop. Practical is followed by a discussion focused on what a college is looking for, what to expect, and how to prepare.

Professional Audition Workshop: Audition style workshop conducted by a professional dancer/choreographer. Practical is followed by a discussion focused on what a director/choreographer is looking for, what to expect and how to prepare, other methods of contacting companies and jobs, the current professional environment, and tips for survival.

Perform in NYC

Share your work at Gibney through informal showings in a state of the art studio at 280 Broadway. Based on studio space availability. Lighting design, technical support, house management may not be available and will incur additional costs. 

Reception

Reception hosted in a studio at our 280 Broadway location for alumni, guests, and performers including refreshments.

“We enjoyed every minute and the students took so much away. It was truly something they looked forward to with a year of suspense building back up to this experience. I hope to continue to work with you and expose our students to these opportunities in the future.” – Caitlin Quinn Pittenger, Assistant Professor of Dance, Stockton University

“The workshops at Gibney Dance Study Program were a valuable addition to our students’ dance education.” –Yoav Kaddar, Director of Dance | Professor of Dance, West Virginia University

“The Group Study program at Gibney has been an essential component to the professional development and career preparation portion of our senior capstone course. Each year, the program is tailored to our needs and provides meaningful insight about how to creatively and successfully navigate the field of dance beyond graduation.”–Brandi Coleman, Assistant Professor, Jazz Dance, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University

“Gibney Group Study programs are the BEST online teaching tool out there! Gibney offers topics applicable for the novice to the emerging professional dancer4. The workshops are tailored to your time and your students’ needs. If your budget only allows for one online tool this semester, let it be Gibney: Professional, Approachable and Memorable.” – Susan Lloyd, Las Positas College

“Our experience with the Gibney online learning program was engaging and fulfilling on a variety of levels. The students and I felt connected to the presented material and the educator despite the physical distance. We will certainly be working with Gibney in this format again!” – Heather Trommer-Beardslee, Central Michigan University Dance Program Coordinator, Department of Theatre and Dance