ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Advanced Studies Certificate (ASC) is a two-year, full-time certificate program focusing on on-site training and real-world application.  Students declare a concentration in one of two key disciplines: Performance or Composition. Studies culminate in a thesis-equivalent portfolio of student work completed over the two-year period.

The program prepares students for entry into the dance field as professional performers or choreographers, and includes a minimum of eight dance classes per week, including Martha Graham Technique, Ballet, and related dance and conditioning disciplines. Students must also participate in the Winter Intensive and enroll in either Repertory or Composition (depending on their concentration). Studies are supported by a monthly Colloquium with the School’s Program Directors to discuss the professional world of dance. Students partake in field trips to observe NYC-based professional company rehearsals, and reflect on their studies. All students are required to attend four professional performances of their choice each year, one of which must be the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Using a combination of on-site training and real-world application, the ASC prepares students both in the studio and within the dance industry itself.

Each semester, ASC: Composition students audition, cast, and create new work for the School’s Fall Showing and Spring Showcase. Composition students are assigned an advisor and submit to monthly evaluations of their works-in-progress. Additionally, Composition students intern with the School’s Annual All-City Panorama Project, wherein NYC public school students audition for, and are cast to perform in, Martha Graham’s Panorama during the Martha Graham Dance Company’s NYC season. All students must also submit their choreography to a minimum of one festival, competition, or similar event each year.

In addition to Martha Graham Technique, all ASC: Composition students enroll in the following courses:

CorePower: A cross training class designed to supplement dance technique by building strength and cardiovascular endurance.

Conditioning: A flexibility and mobility course dedicated to stretching, recovery, and overall well-being.

Performance Workshop: Designed to provide students with performance experience, the class is primarily dedicated to an in-depth study of Martha Graham repertory, but may occasionally draw from other Martha Graham Dance Company non-Graham repertory. Students learn 1-2 works or excerpts in preparation for a formal presentation during the Fall Showing and Spring Showcases at the Martha Graham School.

Ballet: Training focuses on individual student abilities, and classes are structured to enhance and support the study of the Martha Graham Technique.

Graham Works: Year 1. An exploration of Martha Graham’s line of action in the development of her technique. Dancers experience the innovative exercises that Graham developed in her early years, and study the continuing change and growth of the language she was introducing through examining films and learning phrases from repertory that reflect her creative process.

Contemporary: Year 2. Classes build upon Graham Technique and encourage dancers to explore the connections between this classic approach and post-modern styles.