Upcoming Events
Friday, September 11, 7-8:30pm, Kirby Theater, Amherst College
Five College Dance Faculty Orientation Concert and Social
Five college dancers, please join the dance faculty in celebrating the new school year! There will be faculty introductions, performance works, and afterwards, social time to connect with faculty and your dancing peers.
September 11 & 12, Placement and Auditions
Ballet Placement & FCD Fall 26 Faculty Projects Audition
The auditions page has all the info, including registration links, on ballet placement, Friday September 11 at Smith College, and the dance projects auditioning on Saturday, September 12 at Mount Holyoke College! For more info, hop over there now.
Wednesday, September 16, 7:00-9:00pm, Berenson Cook Studio, Smith College
MFA Thesis and Grad Event Auditions
More info coming soon.
Friday, September 18, 4:30-9:30pm, Mt. Holyoke College
Dance in Dialogue: Cultural Legacy Panel with Rokafella
- 4:30pm - Panel discussion in Hooker Auditorium, Mount Holyoke College
- 7:30pm - Jam Session with DJ Trends in Kendall Studio Theatre, Mount Holyoke College
Friday, September 25, 4:30pm-6:30pm
Masterclass with Accademia Dell Arte
Join Five College Dance and UMass Amherst for a Floorwork and Contemporary Masterclass with Yuri Fortini of Accademia Dell Arte (Italy) on Friday, September 25, 4:30-6:30pm, at 472 N. Pleasant Street Dance Studios, UMass Amherst. Free with registration through this form.
UMass Amherst now offers a Summer Abroad Program in Arezzo Italy. Those interested in learning more about the program are welcome to stay after the workshop to talk with Program Leaders. This workshop is for all Five College Dance Students to practice with Yuri, regardless of interest in the summer program.
Sign Up for FCD News
Please remind your dance friends to sign up for the FCD E-Blast here and follow us at fivecollegedance.
Featured Courses
THDA 126H Monday & Wednesday 1:05-2:20, Amherst College
Afro-Cuban Dance with Neri Torres
This course explores Cuban dance traditions---including Orisha dances, rumba, and Bantu-derived forms---rooted in African ethnic groups such as the Yoruba, Bantu and Fon, and examines their central role in shaping the island's cultural idenity within the African diaspora. Students analyze movement in close relationship with musical structures such as polyrhythm, call-and-response, percussion, and song, as well as the spritual and social contexts from which these practices emerge.
DAN 171 Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:25-10:40, Smith College
Dance History: Political Bodies with Neri Torres
Through readings, discussions, dance viewings, movement activities and sessions in the Museum of Art, Josten Library and Sophia Smith Collection, students examine how notions of race, nationality, gender, sexuality and political ideology inform dance.
Dance 133 Monday & Wednesday 3:15-4:30, Mount Holyoke College
Intermediate Breakin' with Andres Ramirez
In this course, we will deepen our understanding of the history and foundation of Hip Hop Culture from its birth to both the current underground and commercial scenes. We will work on both foundational and dynamic movements to continue developing the skills of each student. We will also introduce in-person classes on battle etiquette and, as community work, visit at least one local event where students will learn about the importance of community within the Hip Hop culture.
Dance 318, Tuesday & Thursday 1:45-3:00, Mt. Holyoke College
Advanced Contemporary Dance Technique
Advanced study in modern technique focuses on body level issues of strength, support, alignment, articulation, and initiation; and performance issues of rhythmic clarity, spatial clarity, intention, embodiment, intricate coordinations, and expanding personal vocabularies. Students will build capacity for physical endurance and active presence as well as a deepening awareness of the body's potential.
Announcements
Special Announcement! Fall 26 FCD Repertory Project
Find out all about "From Before" and Garth Fagan Dance on the FCD Repertory webpage with a video of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performing the work as well as a short documentary of the work featuring Garth Fagan's company. Neri Torres at Amherst College will be the rehearsal director.
Dance Magazine's 25 to Watch List
Julia Antinozzi '18
Congratulations to Julia for making Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch List." See our Five College Dance Spotlight on Julia here. From the article:
"Antinozzi graduated from Smith College in 2018 with a dance degree and an astronomy minor, and has been choreographing for her own dancers since 2022...Taken altogether, her works [The Suite and Third Variation both from 2024] illustrate a probing of her fascination with classical ballet filtered through a contemporary—and uniquely Antinozzi—lens, daring viewers to take a closer look."
Five College Dance featured in Dance Magazine
Five College Dance was featured in Dance Magazine this fall in an article by Stav Ziv. The piece includes information about the FCD program, this year's guest artist repertory project, an excerpt of Lucinda Childs's Dance, and interviews with faculty and students. Download a PDF of the article to read below.