Breaking down boundaries: Younger Dancemakers Firm

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Young Dancemakers Company in ‘Self Portrait Movement Exploration’ at the Finale Concert. Photo by Alice Chacon.

Through key values – collaboration, community, professionalism and beyond – the annual program guides these teenage dancers to tour around NYC with original and fully-produced works. They create these works with their peers as well as world-class choreographers. The 2024 Season toured seven locations, beginning on July 24, and culminating in a Finale Performance at the Ailey Citigroup Theater on August 2.

Much is offered, and much is expected. Rigor and support are strong scaffolding for what the program achieves. Now in its 29th year, it seems that the program will continue to grow. Dance Informa speaks with Artistic Director Jessica Gaynor and Music Director William Catanzaro to delve deeper into the program — exploring their motivations, operations and impact.

All of the above reflects Founder Alice Teirstein’s original vision for the program: one beginning in 1996, and ringing true in 2024. “Alice was always passionate about teens expressing themselves through dance,” Gaynor recounts. “Back in 1996, there were very few free dance programs for teens, especially during the summer.”

“It’s kind of a flagship program…no one else is doing quite the same thing,” says Catanzaro. “I wish I had this sort of program when I was growing up. I’m now doing my part to ensure that today’s kids have the opportunity.”

Teens in the driver’s seat

Young Dancemakers Company at Jacob’s Pillow. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

YDC students study dance at an intensive level, with top notch choreographers. These choreographers “want to work with teens,” Gaynor underscores. Students also have the opportunity (not obligation) to create their own work, with faculty support and guidance. “We direct, but they have autonomy over their own work…they’re in the driver’s seat.”

She underscores that the works they create focus on issues that interest and impact them. “We ask them, ‘What’s going on in your world, what do you want to talk about?’” For example, works this year focused on mass incarceration, female unification through African cultural dance and mental health.”

It all begins with movement exploration. Students start with an exercise called “self portraits” — beginning with improvisation, each dancer creates a short solo, introducing themselves to the audience. “That gives a name to each dancer, and a chance to say something in movement – even if they don’t choreograph a full piece,” Gaynor notes. Guided improvisation is also a big part of the audition process; choreographers can get a sense of who truly understands what they’re envisioning, Gaynor explains.

Much given, much asked: Rigor and high expectations

Students also gain a whole movement toolbox to bring forward with them in their continued work. They learn how to draw choreography from improvisation. They investigate how to use elements like space, time and energy to tell stories on moving bodies. “In the first week of the program, we spend hours on these choreographic tools. They’re exploring, making choices and reflecting,” Gaynor says. “We have them write in notebooks. We’re very ‘old school’ like that,” she adds with a laugh.

Learning these sophisticated choreographic devices is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the professionalism to which program participants are introduced. They engage in a range of workshops, programs and enrichment activities, including observing world-class choreographers during rehearsals. “At a young age, they’re exposed to this new world, to building blocks of the NYC dance ecosystem,” Gaynor notes.

Young Dancemakers Company in ‘Our Color’ in the Finale Concert. Photo by Alice Chacon.

Performances are also fully-produced — complete with lighting, costuming, sound…the works. “It’s a mammoth production, and we make sure that they have the best…if the theater’s microphone isn’t up to par, we bring our own,” says Catanzaro. The staff does all that they can to minimize technical issues, so students can concentrate on developing their craft. With several performances in the season, they have multiple opportunities to refine their performance, to grow within the work, Gaynor notes. “Not even all professionals get that!”

For all of this work, students are paid a stipend (like professionals). Accordingly, much is expected of them. They learn how to collaborate, show up on time and work together as a team – working through any issues that come up and getting back to the task at hand. Guest choreographers “expect excellence,” Gaynor affirms.

With just two weeks to create and learn new works, followed by a city-wide tour, the process is undoubtedly rigorous and demanding. Students receive various resources to help them navigate this challenge – including weekly check-ins with mental health therapist Eva Young. “The work often tackles intense and significant topics, so having this support is crucial,” says Gaynor. “We ask students to delve deeply, and it can be taxing. Eva serves as a bridge between us and the students or simply provides a listening ear. Our goal is to ensure that students feel supported throughout.”

Collaboration is key

Catanzaro and Gaynor also highlight collaboration as a core value and practice at YDC. The program features a professional composer segment – where since 2018, composers have collaborated with choreographers throughout the entire process to create original compositions. “It’s original work all around,” Catanzaro explains.

All choreographers and composers get to choose who they want to work with – and so far it’s worked out that those matches happen fairly smoothly, he adds. “The matches themselves make something unique…the work of John Cage and Merce Cunningham wouldn’t be the same without them working together.” Students have been amazed how intently the composers listen to them, Gaynor says – that someone is invested in their idea and working hard to help realize it.

Young Dancemakers Company in ‘Voices in My Head’ in the Finale Concert. Photo by Alice Chacon.

To boot, the 10 pieces in the program showcase a wide range of musical influences — spanning from African to jazz to pop and beyond. Catanzaro sees that as “a concept in itself.” At the same time, Gaynor points out that it all begins with movement. “The movement originates from an idea, and then we layer the music on top of that.”

…and so is community

Community is also a key operating principle of the program. For one, students perform in each borough where they come  from. In so doing, they perform for over 1,000 younger students in summer camps and community centers. Program artists can engage with these young audiences through such traditions as post-show “Q and A” sessions.

“There have been really beautiful interactions between those kids and students in our program…it’s great for them to be able to talk about their work and their process,” Gaynor says, smiling big. There are even general community members who attend – some who come to the first and last performances on the tour, to see how the pieces have evolved, she notes.

The importance of community also shines through the program itself, such as through alumni often returning to contribute to the program; Gaynor emphasizes that they hire as many alumni as possible. Some even serve as mentors for current students. “We love this cycle of people coming back,” Gaynor says.

The impact of these values at work together – collaboration, community and professionalism – show up in the students’ growth. “On day one, when I ask them to improvise, some of them stare at me like I have five heads…and then we see what they ultimately do. It’s just amazing to witness,” Gaynor says. Then there are students such as a returning dancer who, after three years in the program, believed that it fully changed her life. “We’ve both been growing,” Gaynor told her.

Indeed, the YDC team is always learning, always attuned to how they can make the program better and better each year – even more relevant, even more impactful. “There’s a real love for this program all around. Everyone on the team makes it possible,” says Catanzaro. In turn, transparency within the team is important, Gaynor says. “We want to make sure people feel valued. There are no secrets, and we keep pushing each other to do our best.”

Young Dancemakers Company in ‘Our Color’ in the Finale Concert. Photo by Alice Chacon.

Asked where to from here, Catanzaro and Gaynor both confirm that there is a lot they know – for instance, the importance of the mission, and what best practices help them work toward it – yet also a lot that they don’t know. “The fascinating and exciting thing about the program is that we don’t really ever know what will happen next. We do have a plan, a compass, but the future is ours to make,” Catanzaro says. “Nothing is new, and everything is new,” Gaynor quips. “We tell the teens, ‘We don’t know what it is yet, but it’s there.’”