Announcements and Upcoming Events

Step Afrika!

Join Five College Dance and UMass Fine Arts Center for a masterclass with Step Afrika! on Thursday, September 28, 11:30am-12:50pm, at Amherst College Dance Department's Kirby Theater. Please let us know you are coming! There will be a cap of 40 people for this class. Please register early and WEAR SNEAKERS to the class!

Step Afrika! YouTube

Founded in 1994 by C. Brian Williams, Step Afrika! is the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping — a polyrhythmic, percussive dance form that uses the body as an instrument. 

Step Afrika! performs Thursday evening at 8:00pm at the UMass FAC. Tickets available here. 

Dissolving Edges: And Evening of Dance with Maya Mizrahi and Jenna Riegel

Join us for an evening of dance in the Amherst College Center for Russian Culture, where Amherst College alum Maya Mizrahi and Amherst College Professor of Theater and Dance Jenna Riegel will be performing two new choreographic works to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated space!

Hampshire Friends and Family Concert

Previously titled Co-Act, and now titled SEEP - Show Up, Express, Exchange, Perform, this show is part of Hampshire's Family and Friends weekend. This community-based and collaborative performance is created in a day. We are looking for creative collaborators and crew members to construct this concert. Being a part of this show is a great opportunity to get to know the dance program here at Hampshire. We invite current students, as well as Hampshire alums and Five College Dance students to be a part of this production. If you are interested in being involved in this concert, please fill out the form linked below. RSVP by October 4. 

Self-Producing 101

A one-day workshop on the basics of self-producing your dance work including sessions on lighting, publicity, and administration. Brought to you by the Five College Dance production team with special guests! PS: Required for senior dancemakers at the Five Colleges.

Fall Faculty Dance Lecture

Five College Dance is happy to announce that Lucinda Childs will give the Five College Dance Lecture on Friday, October 27 at 4:30pm at Theater 14, Mendenhall Performing Arts Center, Smith College. Childs’ Dance 1 (1979), a section from her classic work Dance with music by Phillip Glass and decor by Sol LeWitt, is the FCD repertory project for this academic year. A seminal American choreographer, Lucinda Childs’ postmodern works are minimalist yet energetic and complex; Dance 1 epitomizes her style. Dance 1 will be performed by students from all five colleges at Smith College's faculty dance concert on Nov 16-18 and at UMass Amherst / Hampshire College's faculty dance concert on November 30 - December 2. The repertory work is staged by Caitlin Scranton, SC ’05, a soloist in the Lucinda Childs Dance Company performing featured roles in Ms. Childs’ work. Smith dance professor Angie Hauser is the rehearsal director for this advanced-level work. 

Dance Course Travel Packages

Find the compete list of Five College Dance Travel Packages on our website here.

Five College Dance Joint Lecturer
Five College Dance has an opening for a Joint Lecturer in Dance of Africa and African Diaspora through Amherst College. Priority applications due January 1, 2024. Please spread the word!

Assistant Professor of Dance at Amherst College
Candidates should have a primary expertise in choreography and performance-making, and the ability to contribute courses in dance techniques, improvisation, composition, and dance history and theory.

Assistant Professor of Dance at Mt Holyoke College
Mt Holyoke seeks an artist and scholar with expertise in dance practices not traditionally linked to western concert dance. Priority date: October 16, 2023.

Assistant Professor of Dance at Hampshire College
Coming soon. 

From: Kelli Forman, Creative Netwerk

Hello Five College Dancers,
We are inviting YOU to be a part of the World Culture Festival Hip Hop 50 Year Anniversary Performance happening this September 30th! All interested dance students at the Five Colleges (dancers who are 18 years of age or older) are invited to travel to Washington DC and perform with dancers from all across the US to perform.... To be clear, this is a volunteer non-paid engagement, and you are responsible to cover your travel expenses. This is not a Five College Dance event. You can get a glimpse of the past events and the vision of this event in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn4rPptRK-U If you are interested, please register and be in touch with Prof. Shakia Barron at MHC for more info.