A rigorous foundation in Graham Technique.
The Martha Graham School offers intensives for young dancers through professional level artists.
All classes are taught by world-class dance professionals, including former and current Martha Graham Company dancers, held in-person at our studios in New York City
The 2027 Graham School Winter Intensive
DECEMBER 28 – JANUARY 15
The Martha Graham School Winter Intensive offers dancers a rigorous program in the Martha Graham Technique™, Martha Graham Repertory, Dance Composition, Ballet, and Contemporary.
Open to dancers 18 years or older, the Winter Intensive is specifically designed for students and professionals who are unable to attend the Martha Graham School year-round or who wish to progress rapidly in a short amount of time in the Graham Technique. The Intensive culminates in a studio showing on January 15th, highlighting student achievements in Repertory and Composition classes. Students will also have the option to audition for Professional Certificate Programs on Saturday, January 16th.
INTENSIVE COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Levels I, II, III, IV
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.
Graham Teachers evaluate each dancer to ensure they are in the proper level. Students may not change level (higher or lower) during the Intensive without prior approval by their assigned Graham Instructor.
Click here to see Graham level descriptions
Intermediate and Advanced
Repertory introduces students to Graham’s classic choreography to gain a deeper understanding of her expressive style as well as practice in valuable performance techniques. Dancers must register for Graham Technique for the duration of the Repertory class, which is offered at an intermediate or advanced pace.
Advanced Beginner/Intermediate and Advanced
Martha Graham School ballet training is adapted for individual student abilities at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Classes are structured to enhance and support the study of Martha Graham Technique.
Advanced Beginner/Intermediate and Advanced
Contemporary classes build upon Graham Technique and encourage dancers to explore the connections between this classic approach and post-modern styles.
We understand that emerging choreographers struggle with generating movement ideas and organizing their movement ideas in ways that make sense to them. We have designed this course to help choreographers explore a range of ways to work by “trying on” the creative processes of other established choreographers. Each week, you will be able to explore a different choreographer’s way of working and solving creative problems.
This class will be used as a survey of the many different ways to use Improvisation in dance. We will use the dance elements as prompts for Improvisational exploration and structure: Body Exploration, Energy Exploration, Space Exploration, and Time Exploration.
We are excited to offer a contemporary partnering class that will explore a range of partnering tips/tricks to be safe, traditional and contemporary ways of partnering and new ideas for sharing weight with another person.
MODERN CLASSICS MASTERCLASS SERIES
The Modern Classics Series is a sequence of three weekly master classes celebrating early classic modern dance form creators, including Lester Horton, Katherine Dunham and Merce Cunningham. Each left a legacy that continues to inspire artists and audiences around the world. Many of their students carried the classics forwards and left important impacts on the art form themselves.
All masterclasses are held on Wednesdays for 90 minutes followed by a 30 minute Q & A with the instructor. Open to all levels attending the Winter Intensive and a minimum of 1 week of Graham Technique enrollment is required for participation.
GRAHAM TEACHER WORKSHOPS
NEW STRUCTURE Each week, there will be in-person workshops, designed for instructors with or without Graham teaching experience who wish to deepen their understanding of the Martha Graham Technique. Each workshop is 10 hours of detailed instruction (5 days, 2 hours each day), course materials and costs $600. Click a workshop for more information and learn about the instructor.
Register for one workshop or all three!
MASTER TEACHERS, DIRECT LINEAGE
The Winter Intensive is led by senior faculty trained directly in the Graham technique, including former and current members of the Martha Graham Dance Company. Many of our distinguished faculty have learned from Martha Graham herself. Full roster announced October 2026.
INVEST IN YOUR PRACTICE
Tuition is structured by class type and number of weeks. Build your schedule around Graham Technique as the foundation, then add electives to suit your training goals.
The Winter Intensive runs as a single 3-week session (Dec 28 – Jan 15). All per-week and per-session prices below reflect the 3-week rate. Classes fill quickly — register early to ensure placement.
| CLASS | 1 WEEK | 2 WEEKS | 3 WEEKS (full) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Technique | $200 | $400 | $600 |
| Contemporary | $50 | $95 | $140 |
| Ballet | $50 | $95 | $140 |
| Modern Classics Series* | $40 | $80 | $120 |
| Repertory** | 3-week session only | $375 | |
| ChoreoLAB* | 3-week session only | $375 | |
| Improvisation* | 3-week session only | $150 | |
| Contemporary Partnering* | 3-week session only | $150 | |
* Requires at least 1 week of Graham Technique enrollment.
** Requires 3 weeks of Graham Technique. Levels III and IV require prior approval of a Graham teacher.
The 2027 Graham School Summer Intensive
The Martha Graham School Summer Intensive offers dancers a rigorous program in the Martha Graham Technique™, Martha Graham Repertory, Dance Composition, Ballet, and Contemporary.
Open to dancers 18 years or older, the Summer Intensive is specifically designed for students and professionals who are unable to attend the Martha Graham School year-round or who wish to progress rapidly in a short amount of time in the Graham Technique.
Open to dancers 18 years or older, the Martha Graham School Summer Intensive provides dancers with a rigorous program in Graham Technique, Ballet, Contemporary, Graham Repertory, and Composition, with a master class series celebrating early modern dance form creators, and a two-week intensive Graham Teacher Workshop. All classes are held in-person at Martha Graham Studios in New York City.
Open to dancers 18 years or older, the Martha Graham School Summer Intensive provides dancers with a rigorous program in Graham Technique, Ballet, Contemporary, Graham Repertory, and Composition, with a master class series celebrating early modern dance form creators. All classes are held in-person at Martha Graham Studios in New York City.
Experience the expressive power and physical rigor of the Martha Graham Technique through a progressive curriculum designed for dancers of all experience levels. Rooted in the foundational principles of contraction and release, breath, floor work, and dynamic movement, classes develop strength, coordination, musicality, and artistry while guiding students from fundamental movement concepts to increasingly complex phrase work, repertory, and performance-level execution. Whether you are new to Graham or refining advanced technical and artistic skills, each class supports continued growth within Martha Graham’s iconic movement language.
Contemporary classes encourage dancers to discover connections between multiple dance genres including modern dance, improvisation, ballet, jazz, etc. Emphasizing physical dynamics, range, spatial awareness, musicality, and body specificity- contemporary dance classes provide a safe and inclusive environment to explore a wealth of textures within the dancing body and mind.
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.
We understand that emerging choreographers struggle with generating movement ideas and organizing their movement ideas in ways that make sense to them. We have designed this course to help choreographers explore a range of ways to work by “trying on” the creative processes of other established choreographers. Each week, you will be able to explore a different choreographer’s way of working and solving creative problems.