The Martha Graham School’s Young Artists Program offers aspiring dancers ages 4 – 18 the opportunity to improve vocational skills and academic performance through study of the Graham Technique, composition, and repertory.

The School’s emphasis on young dancers directly stems from Martha Graham’s philosophical approach to her artistry. The emotional self and psychological inner landscape resonate with young artists as they transition from child- to adulthood. Independence, empowerment, and expression are central themes across all programming.

OUR CLASSES

Graham Technique

The Martha Graham Technique is based on the core power of Graham’s signature contraction and release. The Technique promotes strength, stamina, and self-expression and serves as a foundation for excellence in many styles of dance. Each level is specifically designed for students to progress rapidly.

Explore the diverse landscape of Contemporary dance, drawing from modern, postmodern, and release techniques. Classes focus on developing floor work, partnering skills, spatial awareness, and dynamic range, encouraging individual expression and improvisation within structured technical exercises.

Classes are structured to correlate with the Graham Technique. With respect to their own physical structure and range of motion, students focus on alignment, shift of weight, and the use of breath (emanating from the torso) to discover and explore the visceral possibilities of Ballet vocabulary.

Students enhance the depth of their technical ability and performance in this introduction to Graham’s classic choreography. With respect to their own physical structure and range of motion, students will perform excerpts of renowned works, where they will gain a deeper understanding of the connection between Graham’s emotional and movement vocabulary.

A laboratory for student innovation, ChoreoLab guides students in creating their own movement phrases, honing their artistic voice, and developing a personal toolbox of choreographic techniques.

This course offers students the opportunity to work with a guest choreographer in a professional setting. Students will learn how to adapt their technical and artistic skills to the choreographer’s style, expanding their versatility as dancers, while contributing to the creation of an original work.

The Modern Classics Series is a sequence of weekly master classes celebrating early class modern dance form creators, including José Limón, Lester Horton, and Katherine Dunham, in addition to Martha Graham. Each left a legacy that continues to inspire artists and audiences around the world. Many of their students, including Paul Taylor and Alvin Ailey, carried the classics forward and left formidable impacts on the art form themselves.

This class features a different guest artist each week focusing on a specific dance style, such as Vogue, Salsa, West African, or Jazz, broadening the dancer’s movement vocabulary through exposure to various techniques.

These comprehensive industry workshops are designed to equip students with the essential skills and knowledge required for a successful and sustainable career in the dance industry. Classes offer students holistic training, extending beyond technical and artistic performance to encompass the business and wellness aspects of a professional dance life.

CALLING ALL LITTLE MOVERS AGES 4 – 9

We are thrilled to announce brand new class offerings for fall 2025 specially designed to introduce your child to the joy of dance. In a nurturing and fun environment, they’ll explore movement fundamentals, fostering creativity, coordination, a strong foundation in ballet and Graham Technique, and a love for the arts.

ALL-CITY PANORAMA

The All-City Panorama Project provides public school students ages 13-18 from all five boroughs the opportunity to perform Martha Graham’s seminal work, Panorama.

Intensives

INTENSIVES

Our Summer Intensive programs are designed for dancers age 12 – 17 who wish to progress rapidly in the Graham Technique as well as other techniques and styles.