Featured: Jordan Powell (BFA ’22), Jakevis Thomason (BFA ’20) Photos by Rose Eichenbaum

Celebratory gala on Saturday, May 3, 2025 to feature special performances by USC Kaufman BFA students and alumni. Producing advisors for the gala include USC Kaufman Board of Councilors members Anita Mann, Kenny Ortega, Jeff Thacker.

The USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance is pleased to announce plans for its 10th anniversary celebration, beginning with a spring gala and fundraiser honoring the school’s founder and lead benefactor, Glorya Kaufman, on Saturday, May 3, 2025, at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center.

The gala kicks off the school’s year-long 10th anniversary celebration, which will begin in spring of 2025 and run for the duration of the 2025-2026 academic year. Special events and performances related to the 10th anniversary will be announced throughout the year.

“The impact of USC Kaufman over the last ten years has been felt here in Los Angeles and in communities across the country and the world,” said Dean Julia M. Ritter. “This is an opportunity for us to look at the next ten years and ask ourselves who we want to be. It’s also a chance to celebrate Glorya Kaufman, our founder, who has been instrumental in shaping the landscape of the dance field. It will be a moment to look back and also look ahead.”

The 10-anniversary gala celebration, which will also serve as a fundraising opportunity to support the growth of the school, is set to feature a world premiere performance by BFA dance majors and USC Kaufman alumni, in addition to historical video retrospectives of the school’s first ten years of existence. The evening will also highlight the philanthropy and generosity of school founder Glorya Kaufman, whose influence and vision continue to shape the trajectory of dance in Los Angeles and beyond. The gala will also spotlight the school’s next decade of dance.

“As we honor the past, it’s also time to think about what’s ahead for our school,” said Patrick Leder-Morrow, Assistant Dean and Chief Development Officer. “The fundraising component of the 10th anniversary gala celebration is intended to get us there through any number of ways – scholarship support, professional touring opportunities, and building our curriculum. All of these are essential to a Kaufman education and our continued growth. We’re looking forward to making an impact on the philanthropic side, just as Glorya did early on. She quite literally has changed the direction of people’s lives for the better. It’s a cornerstone of her legacy that we plan to honor.”

A new and impactful history

The idea for a new arts school at USC came to be in 2011. At the time, the school’s founder and lead benefactor, Glorya Kaufman, charged the university with establishing a conservatory-style dance school that rivaled the world’s best. The premise was simple: Kaufman envisioned a school that would prepare young artists to meet the needs of a changing field while blossoming into world-class artists and the leaders of tomorrow. In 2012, Kaufman made a transformative gift that would change the landscape of USC and the Los Angeles region by establishing USC Kaufman.

Four years later in 2015, USC admitted its first cohort of bachelor of fine arts dance majors. A mere year after that, the university opened the doors of the newly built, 54,000 square-foot Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center, a state-of-the-art facility that represented the sixth performing arts school at USC — the first new school to open at USC in nearly 40 years.

In the decade since, USC Kaufman has gone on to serve bachelor of fine arts majors, dance minors and elective students and continues to achieve new milestones since its founding — from student performances at New York’s Joyce Theater and the prestigious Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival to study-abroad opportunities in Paris, London, Germany and South Korea. Its community engagement program, Kaufman Connections, reaches hundreds of regional elementary school students each year.

Graduates of the BFA program have secured contracts with Broadway productions, cruise ships, and dance companies including Ballet Austin, Ballet BC, Ballet Hispánico, Ballets Jazz Montréal, BalletX, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Gibney Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet, LA Dance Project, Oregon Ballet Theatre, RUBBERBAND, Staatsballett Berlin, and Sydney Dance Company, among others. Alumni have also performed at the Academy Awards, Super Bowl, in movies and commercials, at Coachella and other music festivals, and on tour with artists like Kali Uchis, Olivia Rodrigo, and Jennifer Lopez. They have also gone on to pursue careers in choreography, arts administration, marketing, and business.

10th anniversary gala committee

In anticipation of the 10th anniversary celebration, USC Kaufman has formed a gala committee that includes distinguished members of the USC Kaufman Board of Councilors, alumni, alumni parents, and parents of current students. Committee members are charged with overseeing the planning of the gala event and helping to ensure the fundraising goals for the event are met.

Committee Chair
Debbie Felix

Members
Charlene Achki Repko
Celeste Alleyne
Ramona Cappello
Beate Caso
Isabella Caso
Linda Florin
Ann Gianopulos
Ellie Kitta
Gale Luce
Renae Williams Niles
Ava Noble
Natalie Noble
Sue Tsao

Ex-Officio Members
Robert Braun, USC Kaufman Board of Councilors Co-Chair
Bryn DeBeikes, USC Kaufman Board of Councilors Co-Chair
Julia M. Ritter, Dean

Gala Producing Advisors
Anita Mann
Kenny Ortega
Jeff Thacker