Group Study at Gibney

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 $600 per session, and includes studio space.

Group pricing for drop-in classes is $19. 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 $275 for 1 teaching/guest artist and $525 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. 

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 Education 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 INCLUDE:

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.

Graham Technique

Graham training builds strength, balance, stamina, focus, extended kinetic vocabulary. Additional goals for this class include movement skills, concentration, and self-awareness.

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

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 TOPICS INCLUDE:

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.

​Intro to Facilitation as Activism

Using a framework rooted in our ability to choose to intentionally ‘choreograph’ at any moment in the studio and beyond, this ‘Facilitation as Activism’ workshop offers an experience crafted for facilitators that focuses not on a specific subject area per se, but rather highlights overarching approaches to facilitation itself – not ‘what,’ but ‘how.’ Inspired by the encouragement from activist Grace Lee Boggs to ‘transform yourself to transform the world’, this experiential workshop holds space for sensing how even small changes in an approach can serve great impact. Facilitation philosophies offered highlight ways to bake in practices aimed at softening our resistance of difference, the unknown, and others’ successes – three skills that may begin to chip away at the roots of the oppressive systems and supremacy culture within which we have all been conditioned and have largely normalized in our daily lives.

Inspired by Gibney’s 20 years of working alongside survivors of gender-based violence with a trauma-informed approach, we view our overall sensibility to education across our platforms as opportunities to weave artistry/innovation and social action together and out of their respective buckets to work toward a ‘new fabric’ prioritizing both priorities in equal measure across contexts. We work to expand the definition of our ‘community’ to include those we engage with every day.

This workshop will oscillate from moving our bodies to moving ideas – from embodying tasks across the floor to discussion circles and back again. We flex the muscle of facilitation as both creating and allowing – both making something happen and getting out of the way to reveal what’s already there. The workshop will offer guiding facilitation principles that could be translated to any class, workshop, meeting or discussion etc.

Created and led by Director of Engagement, Amy Miller.

Professional Development Workshops

Gibney’s 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. 

Amplify your curriculum with workshops relevant to today’s field. Led by experienced and talented members of the Gibney staff, administrative topics include: 

• Entrepreneurship in the Arts
• Development Demystified
• Personal Budgeting Basics
• Intro to Dance Writing
• Creating an Artist Statement
• Dance Resume Best Practices

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.

Harkness Center for Dance Injuries 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

Career Planning for Dancers: From College to Career

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

The Value and Benefits of a Dance Degree Online Workshop

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.

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.

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.

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.

INFORMAL SHOWING OR PERFORMANCE

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. 

Groups can book an informal studio showing at our 280 Broadway location.

Option 1: Informal Studio Showing

An opportunity for students to share works in an informal studio setting. Includes access to four hours of studio space, chairs for audience members (capacity up to 100, based on studio size), sound system, coat racks for costumes and coats, and Gibney staff support throughout.

Pricing for Informal Studio Showings starts at $800. 

Option 2: Informal Performance

Perform in one of Gibney’s theater spaces. Includes riser seating (capacity of 60 or 100 seats), one stage light look, a pipe and drape backstage area, and all components of the informal studio showing, above. Gibney staff will set up and break down space configuration and will be available throughout the event. 

Pricing for Informal Studio Showings starts at $1,500.
Limited availability.

For either option, Groups should plan to provide a stage manager, sound operator, device to connect to Gibney’s sound system, programs, and any costumes or props. All programs are subject to a 15% administration fee. 

 

Receptions are hosted in a studio at our 280 Broadway location for alumni, guests, and performers depending on availability.

Catering prices can include wine and appetizers and are based on length of event, desired menu and number of guests. Prices upon request. 

 

“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 dancer. 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