New York Dance Festival

The New York Dance Festival is a three-week cultural festival of performing arts that takes place each summer in Auburn, Geneva, Syracuse, Rochester, Saratoga, and New York City. The Festival is hosted by one of the region’s only African American-led performing arts organizations. The Festival has become one of the nation's most novel cultural expressions and brings the world-class arts scene of New York City, and the world, to Upstate New York. The New York Dance Festival runs for three weeks in July, and includes the New York Summer Dance Intensive, the New York Drum Festival, the New York Musical Theatre Project, the Carmen De Lavallade Awards for Dance, the Thommie Walsh Song & Dance Man Gala, Fellowships, Residencies, and a World Class Concert Series.

The precursor to today’s New York Dance Festival began at the New York Dance Studio in Auburn, NY in the winter of 1990. During that time, SUNY Purchase alumni Thomas Warfield and Roxanna Young were brought to the Finger Lakes Region of New York by their classmate, Sean McLeod, Artistic Director of the Kaleidoscope Dance Theatre, to teach the classic styles of modern dance and ballet they learned while studying at the Purchase Conservatory of Dance, 40 minutes outside of New York City. In the early years, Kaleidoscope Dance Theatre’s Artistic Director Sean McLeod forged a partnership with Cayuga Community College, Director of Student Services Joy Shortell, and past college President Dr. Larry Poole, along with Purchase Conservatory of Dance alum to create this artistic platform. Additional guest artists invited to join the faculty included; Laurie Lubeck (American Ballet Theatre) and Sheryl Woodmansee (Washington Ballet) to teach in sessions twice a year (known as the Kaleidoscope Dance Theatre Winter and Summer Dance Intensives). In 1999, the name was changed and the New York Dance Festival was established. The Festival has grown in notoriety and size for providing an ever-increasing roster of opportunities through its world-class faculty, collaborative initiatives, presentational genres, and corporate economic partnerships. Under this new direction, the Festival includes not only dance but an international Drum Festival, national Musical Theatre Project, acclaimed visual arts exhibits, and World-Class Concert Series that provides opportunities to participate to both performers and the general public.

As an additional step for multi-generational, multi-cultural, and cross-economic participation, this worldwide cultural offering is one of the only non-audition Festivals of its caliber. This program serves a wide range of participants from the untrained to the world-class professional; from all economic and social levels.

The New York Dance Festival is hosted by the New York Institute of Dance and Education in association with the Kaleidoscope Dance Theatre, Inc. (a not for profit 501 c3 organization) and has included major support by New York State Council for the Arts, Altria, Alex G. Nason Foundation, the New England Foundation for the Arts, Tompkins Trust Company, the Citizen Newspaper, Cultural Resource Center, Schweinfurth Memorial Arts Center, Cayuga/Onondaga BOCES, Finger Lakes Arts and Grants Services, Assemblyman Gary Finch’s office, Governor Pataki’s office, Senator Michael Nozzolio's office, Senator Hillary Clinton's Office, Congressman Mike Arcuri and the City of Auburn.

The New York Dance Festival continues to attract performers, teachers, and distinguished guests from around the world, with critically acclaimed classes, guest lecturers, and a Gala Event, the two-week Festival is known to have created a world stage for dance, drumming, and music in the Finger Lakes.

As an additional step for multi-generational, multi-cultural, and cross-economic participation, this world-wide cultural offering is one of the only Non-Audition Festivals of its caliber that offers "no-training to world-class arts training" in the USA, allowing low-income and first-time dancers and audiences to be exposed to the power of imagination through the arts.