The USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance provides students with opportunities to collaborate and innovate both on and off campus with leading artists, scholars and institutions.
Focused on interdisciplinary innovation, USC Kaufman emphasizes the importance of collaborative work professionally as well as artistically. The school’s established partnerships offer unparalleled experiences for students to make new connections while strengthening the already-vibrant dance landscape.
The Music Center
Connected by our esteemed patroness Glorya Kaufman, the USC Kaufman School of Dance and The Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County (The Music Center), work together to provide USC BFA students direct engagement with companies presented by Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center. Prior events have included master classes, guest lecturers, artist Q&As, and salons with companies such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Jessica Lang Dance, and the Mariinsky Ballet.
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
As part of its groundbreaking mission to create well-rounded dancers and leaders, USC Kaufman prioritizes knowledge of dance science and physical wellness within its curriculum. Working with experts from USC’s renowned PT program through the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Kaufman dancers receive regular assessments by licensed physical therapists and have access to screenings, evaluations, triage care, preventative care and performance enhancement services. Weekly on-site clinics ensure that students receive appropriate care and ongoing relationships with PTs promotes continued learning.
USC Thornton School of Music
Under the shared leadership of former dean Robert Cutietta, the USC Kaufman School of Dance and USC Thornton School of Music fostered a seamless partnership between dance and music. This partnership produced “Choreographers and Composers,” a performance featuring the works of student composers and student dancers and choreographers.
USC Libraries
The USC Libraries and the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance are collaborating to build and preserve the Dance Heritage Video Archive (DHVA). Established with generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the DHVA is a digital collection of culturally significant film and video recordings that document global and U.S. dance traditions, creative work by outstanding choreographers and performers, and performances that helped to advance the art form.
A.I.M by Kyle Abraham
The mission of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham is to create a body of dance-based work that is galvanized by Black culture and history. The work, informed by and made in conjunction with artists across a range of disciplines, entwines a sensual and provocative vocabulary with a strong emphasis on music, text, video, and visual art. While grounded in choreographer Kyle Abraham’s artistic vision, A.I.M draws inspiration from a multitude of sources and movement styles. A.I.M will host its annual winter intensive at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center every December. USC Kaufman BFA students will also have the opportunity to study and perform the work of Kyle Abraham, who joined the faculty of USC Kaufman as its Claude and Alfred Mann Endowed Professor of Dance.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
Drawn together by their efforts to reinvent dance practices in the twenty-first century through new movement systems grounded in multiple styles, USC Kaufman and Complexions Contemporary Ballet are working together to bring the innovative choreography and training of Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson to the Southern California dance community. Complexions Dance Academy has housed its summer intensive at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center. USC Kaufman BFA students have also had the opportunity to study and perform the repertoire of Artist in Residence Dwight Rhoden and to be trained by Artist in Residence Desmond Richardson.
Gaga USA
A shared goal of developing new and innovative choreographic practices brought Gaga USA and USC Kaufman to form a partnership in 2016 aimed at exposing Southern California dancers to the movement system of renowned artist and dance maker Ohad Naharin. Gaga USA has hosted its summer and winter dance intensives at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center and has provided Gaga movement classes to USC BFA students during the academic year.
Paul Taylor American Modern Dance
Paul Taylor American Modern Dance has become a standard of excellence in the presentation of modern dance, and has made great strides in creating a home to celebrate the magnificent history of modern dance as well as ensuring its successful future. Through this partnership, USC Kaufman and Paul Taylor American Modern Dance continue to raise awareness of the late Paul Taylor’s work. PTAMD has hosted its summer intensive at the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center. USC Kaufman BFA students have also had the opportunity to study and perform the work of Paul Taylor and to be trained by former Paul Taylor Dance Company dancer Patrick Corbin.