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Venues

Small and Intimate 
The Dance Complex, Green Street Studios, Casania, Mobius, the Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Springstep, Casania and Hibernian Hall offer black-box-style theatres, seating 50-200 and offering a range of production services.

Mid-sized 
Tower Auditorium of the Mass College of Art and the C.Walsh Theatre of Suffolk University seat 400-500 and offer full production values. Other mid-sized theatres are Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center, Boston Colleges’ Robsham Theatre Arts Center and the Boston Conservatory Theatre. 

Large 
Boston’s Theatre District has three dance-appropriate theatres: the Wang Center for Performing Arts (seating 3,600); Shubert Theatre (www.wangcenter.org) (seating 1,600) and Emerson College’s Majestic Theatre  (seating 1,000). Given the Wang’s size, it is used primarily for Boston Ballet and national touring productions such as Alvin Ailey. Both the Wang and the Shubert host touring Broadway shows, and the Shubert also hosts mid-sized dance companies visiting through the FleetBoston Celebrity Series. The Emerson is Boston’s most frequent home for dance. Less frequently used (but nevertheless appropriate) theatres include The Strand, Copley Theatre, Hancock Hall, Northeastern University’s Blackman Auditorium and Somerville Theatre.

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Classes

See the Boston Dance Alliance Classes section for current courses.

A wide variety of classes are offered throughout Greater Boston during both the day and evenings and weekends. What follows is a sampling of what’s offered:

Ballet – from Vaganova to Balanchine
Modern/Post-modern – from Denishawn-influences to post-modern to contact improv
Ethnic – flamenco, West African, Irish, Balkan, Israeli, East Asian, Brazilian, Argentine tango, salsa, Bulgarian, Hawaiian, Kathak, Classic Indian, and Afro-Cuban 
Jazz – Horton influences, Broadway-style, Cole influences, hip-hop
Body/Mind – Yoga, Alexander, Authentic Movement, Pilates
Tap – a small but sustaining community

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Thinking of Moving Here?

Every city has its idiosyncrasies, and greater Boston abounds with unique features that leave newcomers dazed and confused. Here are some insights that will make you feel more at home:

Who we are, What we do >>> Boston is a diverse city, with 50% of its population comprised of minorities. African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics make up the bulk of our people of color, but our ethnicities also include Vietnamese, Cambodian, Irish, Portuguese, Italian, Central American, Haitian, Dominican, Cape Verdean, and Brazilian. We also have very strong gay and lesbian communities in Boston’s South End and Cambridge. Boston’s economy is driven by service industries. There are so many financial service companies, universities, hospitals and technology firms, that finding a day job with flexible hours is relatively easy. There’s a comfortable niche for every socio-economic strata – students, blue collar workers, suburban families, Brahmins, dot-commers, figureheads of commerce and industry. 

The Appeal >>> Although the cost of living can be high, for-profit salaries can be proportionately higher to accommodate that. And the environmental payoff is wonderful – Boston is rightfully described as the US’s most European city. Our streets feature elegant 18th and 19th century architecture, beautiful parks and green spaces, high-end shopping boulevards, many varied artistic institutions, and a sense of cosmopolitanism. It’s simply a great city to live in, more manageable than New York and none of San Francisco’s earthquakes!

Getting Around >>> A reliable public transportation system services Greater Boston (MBTA). The subway, known locally as the “T,” includes subways, buses and commuter rail trains. It serves the community well and is the recommended way of getting around town, because driving and parking here can be difficult.

Media >>> The major media institutions vary in the coverage of the dance scene. The two daily newspapers, the Boston Globe (www.boston.com/globe) and the Boston Herald (www.bostonherald.com), often critique dance performances. The Herald also features a regular weekly column on the dance scene. The CNC Tab and the Boston Phoenix (www.bostonphoenix.com), Boston’s weekly papers, also offer intelligent coverage. The local PBS station, WGBH (www.wgbh.org), offers a locally produced show, “Greater Boston Arts,” that frequently features important dance events. 

Mysteries abound >>> What’s the Big Dig and will it ever end? Why does the Harvard Bridge go to MIT and not Harvard University? What’s the “Green Monster”? Why do Boston drivers make left hand turns from the right lane? Why does the Theatre District have an intersection of Tremont Street and Tremont street?!?! Ah, these mysteries give Boston its unique urban character. To explain these oddities would deconstruct and thus destroy Boston’s charm. We locals simply accept Boston in its unique splendor and try not to sweat the small stuff.

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Links

Dance Companies and Studios

Anna Myer & Dancers (www.annamyerdancers.org)
Boston Ballet (www.bostonballet.com)
Boston Liturgical Ensemble (www.frvereec@bc.edu)
carolsomers DANCE (carolsomersdance.org)
Commonwealth Ballet (http://www.commonwealthballet.org)
Dance Caliente (www.dancecaliente.com)
Dance Collective (www.dancecollective.org)
Dance Complex (www.dancecomplex.org)
EgoArt, Inc. (www.egoartinc.com)
Green Street Studios (www.greenstreetstudios.org)
Impulse Dance (www.impulsedance.com)
Jeannette Neill Dance Studio (www.jndance.com)
North Shore Civic Ballet (www.havetodance.com/marblehead)
OrigiNation (www.originationinc.org)
Peanut Butter & Jelly Dance Company (www.pbjdanceco.org)
Prometheus Dance (www.PrometheusDance.org)
Rainbow Tribe (www.rainbowtribe.org)
Rebecca Rice Dance (www.rebeccaricedance.com)
SNAPPY Dance Theater (www.snappydance.com)
Springstep (www.springstep.org)
Triiiple Threat Entertainment (www.triiiplethreatentertainment.com)
Windhover Center for the Performing Arts (www.windhover.org)
World Music (www.worldmusic.org)
Zoe Dance (www.zoedance.org)

Dance Schools/Instruction

Boston Arts Academy (artsacad.boston.k12.ma.us)
Boston Ballet (www.bostonballet.com)
Boston Conservatory (www.bostonconservatory.edu)
Cambridge Performance Project (www.cambridgeperformanceproject.org)
The Dancing Arts Center (www.dancingartscenter.com)
Dance Complex (www.dancecomplex.org)
Green Street Studios (www.greenstreetstudios.org)
Impulse Dance (www.impulsedance.com)
Jeannette Neill Dance Studio (www.jndance.com)
Marcus Schulkind (www.marcusschulkind.org)
Peanut Butter & Jelly Dance Company (www.pbjdanceco.org)
Springstep (www.springstep.org)
Topf Center for Dance Education (www.topfcenter.org)

Technical support

BAM Productions (www.bampro.com)
White Pond Productions (www.wpdesign.com)
Wooden Kiwi Productions (www.woodenkiwi.com)
Boston Alliance of Theatre Artisans (members.aol.com/batalist/batalist.htm)

Funding

The Artists Foundation (www.artistsfoundation.org)
Associated Grantmakers of Massachusetts (www.agmconnect.org)
The Boston Foundation (www.tbf.org)
The Foundation Center (www.fdncenter.org)
Massachusetts Cultural Council (www.massculturalcouncil.org)
National Endowment for the Arts (www.nea.gov)
New England Foundation for the Arts (www.nefa.org)
Women in Development (www.widgb.org)

Organizations

ACT Roxbury (www.actroxbury.org)
Arts Boston (www.artsboston.org)
Arts and Business Council (www.artsandbusinesscouncil.org)
The Art Connection (www.art2life.org)
CRASHarts (www.crasharts.org)
Cultural Access Consortium (www.culturalaccess.org)
The Dance Renewal Project (www.dancerenewalproject.org)
Dance USA (www.danceusa.org)
Jacob’s Pillow (www.jacobspillow.org)
Northeast Performing Arts Conference (www.nepac.org)
National Performance Network (www.npnweb.org)
Springstep (www.springstep.org)
StageSource (www.stagesource.org)
Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, MA (www.vlama.org)
VSA Arts of Massachusetts (www.vsamass.org)
World Music (www.worldmusic.org)

Information

Dance Online (www.danceonline.com)
Arts Journal (www.artsjournal.com)
Arts Editor (www.artseditor.com)
Arts & Culture (www.artsandculture.com)
Non-Profits (www.nonprofits.org)

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