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American Dance Festival

Current and Upcoming Programming ›

Throughout its 87-year history, ADF has been a nationally recognized leader in our indigenous art form of modern dance. Generations of dancers and choreographers have come to ADF as students, taught as faculty, and created and performed work as professional artists. Each summer, ADF has been the beating heart of the dance world. The best companies in the world premiere work on ADF’s stage, much of it commissioned by the festival. Other festivals and season programs are measured against ADF. Over 25,000 people see performances by more than 20 companies each season. The festival has commissioned 442 works and premiered over 700 pieces including dances by Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and Paul Taylor. Each summer at ADF, more than 300 students from some 28 countries and 38 states study with ADF’s 70 faculty members. They come as kids in leotards with as many doubts as dreams. They leave as dancers and artists — and sometimes even new members of companies. Lives change in those 5½ sweaty weeks. Beyond the summer, ADF maintains year-round dance studios offering movement classes to over 650 participants, provides over 180 free classes to almost 4,000 local dancers, and offers choreographic residencies providing artists with the necessary space and time to create.

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americandancefestival.org
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adf@americandancefestival.org (919) 684-6402
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Pilobolus performs at ADF. Photo by Ben McKeown.

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ADF's Samuel H. Scripps Studios
721 Broad St, Durham, NC 27705, USA
 

Past Programming

Online Pre-Professional Dance Intensive
Online Pre-Professional Dance Intensive
American Dance Festival Jul 19th 2021 - Jul 31st, 2021

Ages 13-17 The Pre-Professional Dance Intensive provides rigorous training for intermediate and advanced dancers. This…
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Application Fee: $50 (Nonrefundable)
Online Tuition Fees (1-week): $500 ($150 deposit is nonrefundable and applied towards tuition)
Online Tuition Fees (2-weeks): $900 ($150 deposit is nonrefundable and applied towards tuition)

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Online Dance Professional Workshops
Online Dance Professional Workshops
American Dance Festival Jul 12th 2021 - Jul 16th, 2021

This Dance Professional Workshop is designed for educators of all sectors and led by Gerri…
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Application Fee: $50 (Nonrefundable)
Tuition Fees: $325 ($100 deposit is nonrefundable and applied toward tuition)
ADF offers a 20% tuition discount to members of NCDEO, NDEO, or an ACDA Institution.

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Suitable for 18+

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Tatiana Baganova’s “Bluebeard”
Tatiana Baganova’s “Bluebeard”
American Dance Festival Jul 12th 2021 - Jul 18th, 2021

Boundaries and opportunities, trust, power, and love—the new international project Bluebeard from Tatiana Baganova has it all.…
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$15 per household

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Livstream Event!
2608 Erwin Rd Suite 156, Durham, NC 27705, USA

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Tatiana Baganova’s “Bluebeard”
Tatiana Baganova’s “Bluebeard”
American Dance Festival Jun 27th 2021 - Jun 27th, 2021

Boundaries and opportunities, trust, power, and love—the new international project Bluebeard from Tatiana Baganova has it all.…
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$15 per household

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Livstream Event!
2608 Erwin Rd Suite 156, Durham, NC 27705, USA

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“Untold Secrets of the Heart Chamber”
“Untold Secrets of the Heart Chamber”
American Dance Festival Feb 25th 2021 - Mar 27th, 2021

ADF and DANCECleveland to premiere  Untold Secrets of the Heart Chamber by GREGORY VUYANI  MAQOMA and…
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Free

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dendy/donovan projects “tHe aGe oF aNXieTy”
dendy/donovan projects “tHe aGe oF aNXieTy”
American Dance Festival Jun 20th 2021 - Jun 26th, 2021

The American Dance Festival (ADF) is pleased to present dendy/ donovan projects’ Mark Dendy (Obie…
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Free

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Online Summer Dance Intensive
Online Summer Dance Intensive
American Dance Festival Jun 21st 2021 - Jul 17th, 2021

AGES 18+ The Summer Dance Intensive immerses you in four weeks of movement-intensive classes that…
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Free

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Suitable for 18+

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Chris Yon & Taryn Griggs “Pairs in the Park”
Chris Yon & Taryn Griggs “Pairs in the Park”
American Dance Festival Jul 22nd 2021 - Jul 25th, 2021

Pairs in the Park is a collection of site-specific duets choreographed by Chris Yon and Taryn…
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Free

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North Carolina Museum of Art
2110 Blue Ridge Rd, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA

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General Manager

Elena K. Holy is proud to join the 4A movement as General Manager. Her 30+ year arts management career includes NYC’s non-profit Roundabout Theatre Company, commercial Broadway and Off-Broadway at Richard Frankel Productions, and founding and running The Present Theatre Company,  where she co-created the New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC). FringeNYC was once the largest multi-arts festival in North America – with an all-volunteer staff of 100 people, 2500+ additional volunteers, and 5000 artists representing 200 companies from all over the world, and producing nearly 1100 performances annually, with many now-famous alumni and productions.

As Producer, Holy was awarded the 1997 New York Magazine Award for her “creativity, vision and enterprise”. In 2006, she was named one of New York Magazine’s “Influentials” because she “turned the Fringe Festival, which she founded in 1996, into Sundance for the theater crowd – a place where anyone with an idea and a tiny budget can get noticed. Urinetown, the 1999 Fringe musical that made it to Broadway and won three Tonys, is the most extreme example, but more than a dozen Fringe shows have gone on to significant Off Broadway runs. Her triumph: retaining the fest’s brilliant lunacy amid commercial success.”

Other achievements include the 2007 Mayor’s Award for Arts & Culture, serving as a Tony Awards Nominator from 2008, and being named an Indie Theater Hall of Fame “Person of the Decade” in 2015. As FringeNYC ended (and the pandemic began) she became Interim Managing Director at SHADOWLAND STAGES in beautiful Ellenville, New York where she and husband Kevin share a home with their two westies, Daisy and JuneBug. She serves as Treasurer for the local Chamber of Commerce and is an active member of her community.

Communications and Marketing Coordinator

Working as the Communications and Marketing Coordinator of 4A Arts fulfills Alex Carrillo’s dream to bring his knowledge of the entertainment industry to the broader arts and culture world. Born in Oakland, CA and raised in the Tri-Cities of Washington state, Alex envisaged himself exiting generational poverty and eventually working in the music industry.

After high school, without scholarships, funding, or other support to help him reach his goals, he enlisted in the U.S. military in 2013, joining the Army Infantry. Alex received his basic training in Fort Benning, Georgia before being stationed in Fort Drum, New York, where he proudly became a member of 4-31 Charlie Company, the Mountain Division (the world’s best kept secret). In 2015, Alex was deployed to Afghanistan in a classified combat war zone through early  2016. 

After his time in the service, Alex returned home to seek his college degree. He enrolled at The Los Angeles Recording School, a division of the Los AngelesFilm School, where he received his associate’s degree in Music Production and bachelor’s  in Entertainment Business. 

While still studying at the L.A. Recording School,  Alex landed a publishing deal with Position Music, earning his music a place in the Netflix movie Moxie and in the video game NBA2k22 with his album Locked In. 

After receiving his Bachelor’s degree, Alex began working on the business side of the industry, managing artists, performing social and digital marketing, and distribution, among other duties. Alex joined 4A Arts in the summer of 2022, bringing those talents to the nonprofit world.

Director of Research and Operations

Whitney S. Christiansen is a native Kentuckian with an interdisciplinary background in arts, education, and advocacy. She spent nearly a decade teaching secondary English and drama in public schools, receiving a master’s in Interdisciplinary Humanities from the University of Louisville in 2017, where she received that year’s Grady Nutt Award for the year’s most creative directed study project, “Summoned,” an interdisciplinary practicum that combined research on medieval morality plays and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus with contemporary concepts of costume and set design. From 2009-2015 she was a cast member and later director for the Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival, where she inaugurated and directed the festival’s teen cast, who developed two stage shows in the commedia dell’arte tradition. 

Leaving the classroom in 2019, Whitney received her second master’s degree from Colorado State University in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management, where she began working with Be An #ArtsHero, a grassroots campaign dedicated to bringing COVID relief to Arts Workers (now Arts Workers United.) She was the researcher on staff for AWU’s lobbying team for the U.S. House Small Business Committee’s January 2022 hearing on the creative economy, and for Ovation TV’s The Green Room with Nadia Brown, an educational comedy show about the creative economy that launched in March of 2022. Formerly the general manager of the Center for Music Ecosystems, Whitney heads up 4A Arts’ new research initiative alongside her work managing central operations.

executive director

Actor, entrepreneur, political strategist, and father of two, Gavin Lodge comes to 4A Arts with a unique perspective on arts and culture in America. A 20-year veteran of stage and screen, Gavin grew up in suburban Colorado and traversed the country in his work with political campaigns at the senate and presidential levels as well as touring for shows.

After studying international affairs and philosophy at the University of Colorado, he worked as a field organizer in the Iowa Caucus followed by the role of “body guy” to then-candidate Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington State. Politics empowered him to move to New York City to pursue a performing career. Ultimately, he performed in multiple Broadway shows (including 42nd Street, Spamalot, and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) as well as regional theater, national tours and several network television appearances.

Though he was thrilled every time he stepped onto a theatrical or sound stage, Gavin was equally happy to take on leadership roles in his local union and later his kids’ PTA.  

With the Covid-19 pandemic, Gavin jumped back into the political realm, working as a strategist for Bryson Gillette, a minority-owned PR firm focused on politics and public affairs. He also volunteered for Be an #ArtsHero, an arts advocacy movement blossoming during the first few months of the pandemic. During his time with Be an #ArtsHero, he was part of a team that successfully lobbied for a first-of-its-kind hearing on the creative economy in front of the House of Representatives Small Business Committee.

Gavin lives in rural Connecticut with his partner (a composer and orchestral conductor), his TikTok-dancing daughter (who is musically gifted in unparalleled ways) and his soccer-playing son who recently told him “Dad? I’m just not into concerts and theater stuff.” As he told his son, Gavin believes there is much more to American arts and culture than “concerts and theater stuff.” From the video games his son loves to play to low-rider paint jobs to streaming television series while sitting on the couch, Gavin sees American arts and culture as an inclusive, “big tent” spectrum where everyone is an artist and everyone is a member of an audience.

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