Chautauqua Institution today announced its School of Dance will present a four-week intensive online program for the summer of 2020.

The Chautauqua Online School of Dance will present valued aspects of the traditional School of Dance program alongside new programming designed to explore and take advantage of the virtual learning environment. The online experience is aligned with Chautauqua Institution’s decision to move its programming online in 2020 in lieu of in-person gatherings, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The Chautauqua Online School of Dance is structured to provide key elements of technical development along with innovative approaches to community-building to inspire student growth as artists this summer and beyond. Students will have the unique opportunity for our dancers to have access to renowned artistic directors such as Alonzo King, Julie Kent, Peter Boal and Paul Vasterling. 

The program also seeks to maintain some of the unique elements of study at Chautauqua Institution including developing peer support, cross-disciplinary work, and the mindset of civil dialogue and intellectual curiosity for which the Institution is nationally and internationally known. 

“The dancers invited to our School of Dance are an enormously talented group. It is important that we develop this online program for them,” said Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, director of the School of Dance. “They must have an outlet in order to continue to have courage and passion for dance.” 

In addition to the renowned School of Dance faculty, internationally acclaimed guest artists have been added to its faculty roster. Dancers such as Misa Kuranaga of San Francisco Ballet, Silas Farley of New York City Ballet, Angelica Generosa of Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Pete Walker of Aspen Santa Fe will all be teaching Chautauqua’s 2020 group of talented dancers. 

“I am immensely proud  that our School of Dance leadership reached out to our accepted students for input so that we could build an online that directly addresses students’ needs at this challenging time,” said Deborah Sunya Moore, vice president of performing and visual arts. “Through this pivot to online programming, I believe that students will feel even further supported by a panoply of mentors from across the country that are committed to art and artists, and the sense of community that they need.”   

The Chautauqua Online School of Dance will begin on Monday, July 13, and continue until Friday, August 7. Information on public master classes and open enrollment classes will be announced soon as they are confirmed.