Workshops, Intensives, Master Classes, and Open Houses

In this energetic, creative class, students ages 8-12 explore the dance elements of Space, Time, and Energy while building kinesthetic awareness and confidence. They learn foundational Modern Dance skills and movement vocabulary, and they also get to improvise and create their own dances. No previous experience needed—just curiosity and a willingness to move!

Wednesdays, 4:30-5:30pm
July 8, 15, 22, and 29

Cost: $60 for 4 classes
Instructor: Kim Lewis

Come gain new jazz perspectives with Rhythmically Speaking’s 2026 Visiting Artists at our upcoming MoveTogethers (collaborative company classes):

Maiya Redding: Jazz and Chicago House
Friday, July 10 from 10:00-11:30am
Location: Hothouse
Cost: $19.00 drop-in (register through Hothouse)

Alexis Robbins: Contemporary Tap
Friday, July 17 from 10:00-11:30am
Location: BallareTeatro
Cost: $19.00 drop-in (paid via cash or Venmo at class)

Maiya (NYC) and Alexis (New Haven, CT) are visiting the Twin Cites to create new works for our 18th annual Summer show Groovers & Makers 2026. We hope you’ll come check out the fruits of that artistic labor.

We also hope you’ll join us for future MoveTogethers! After these two classes with our 2026 visiting artists, our regularly-scheduled last Friday of the month 3:30-5:00pm MoveTogethers will likely resume in September 2026. We’ll share notices here, on our socials and in our emails when the schedule for our next series has been set.

Nritya Kalakshetra Academy’s Summer Intensive: Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi one-week immersive training program.

The Summer Intensive 2026 is designed to refine technique, elevate expression, and deepen each dancer’s understanding of movement, rhythm, and storytelling within the rich traditions of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.

Register here.
For any questions, please contact us by calling 201-355-7476 or emailing nrityakalakshetra01@gmail.com.

We look forward to welcoming you this summer!

Beginning July 14, Young Dance will host a 120-hour DanceAbility Teacher Certification for anyone interested in teaching integrated groups in dance, improvisation and movements arts.

Facilitated by DanceAbility Master Trainer, Michaela Knox, this course prepares participants to teach DanceAbility classes for any population, to create mixed-abilities dance choreography, provide leadership and development skills that can enable participants to create organizations in their own communities.

The certification is taught in three modules:

Module 1: July 14-17 and 20-23 (break for the weekend)
Module 2: October 15-18
Module 3 (2027):  July 7-9 and 12-16 (break for the weekend)

Registration is still open! Cost is $1,600 for all three modules. A $50 deposit is required at the time of registration to secure your spot. However, Young Dance is committed to making this program financially accessible to participants. If you indicate on your registration form that you are in need of financial assistance or require a payment plan, we will reach out to you to discuss options.

Young Dance is a nonprofit dance school located in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul. Our mission is to transform lives through movement. Our approach to dance education centers on artistic expression, creativity, and a deep investigation into the art form. In exploring elements of Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy through an array of techniques, students develop self-awareness and critical thinking skills through dance.

We are an inclusive community where creativity flourishes, encouraging personal and artistic excellence through diverse forms of dance. At Young Dance, we believe that everyone can (and should) dance.

As part of our Regional Gathering on Dance Education & Disability: A Practice of Belonging, Young Dance is pleased to offer a hybrid session (open to both an in-person and virtual audience), presented by Pushmakers.

This session details how Pushmakers created a digital curriculum called “Wheels That Move!” to address the specific needs of emerging manual wheelchair dancers. A highly interactive, disability dreaming session, this session will encourage participants to think about similar training gaps they notice within their own groups of disabled dancers and collaboratively dream of the types and approaches to developing resources that might be successful. This session is open to anyone interested in learning and sharing.

Pushmakers: Pushing the Boundaries: Cultivating Community Leadership in Disability Dance
Friday, July 25 from 2:30-4:30pm (Central Time)
Hybrid presentation (virtual and in-person audience)

To register only for this virtual session, use this link.
To register for the full, two-day, in-person gathering, use this link.

Pushmakers is an emerging, national wheelchair dance education and advocacy organization based in Toronto, Ontario, that centers wheelchair using bodies in dance. Pushmakers champions excellence in wheelchair dance by focusing on technique education and professional development opportunities for both disabled and non-disabled dancers.

Reach out with questions to Gretchen Pick at gretchen@youngdance.org.

Over two immersive weeks, dancers will advance their classical and contemporary technique through classes in ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, musical theater, character, conditioning, and repertoire. Dancers will refine their technical skills, explore their artistic range, and collaborate with peers and teaching artists in a supportive, high-energy environment.

This intensive will conclude with a free showing for family and friends. Here, dancers will perform the Company repertoire they learned, showcasing the growth developed throughout the intensive.

Participants should have a minimum of two years of pointe experience.

July 27-August 7
Monday-Friday; full-day or mornings-only.

Young Dance is excited to offer a week-long Afro-Latin Fusion summer dance camp, which runs from July 27-30 for students ages 8-18.

In this camp, dancers move, groove, and explore the dynamic style of Afro-Latin dances! This high-energy workshop allows students to build musicality and learn about the cultural roots of dances from the Caribbean and Latin America through movement and play. Using popular social and street dance styles as inspiration, dancers develop skills in rhythm, footwork, body isolations, partner work, floorwork, and freestyle, while celebrating individuality, creativity, and connection. Led by Twin Cities performer and Young Dance Teaching Artist Belle Alvarez, you won’t want to miss out!

Monday, July 27—Thursday, July 30
9:00-11:30am
Tuition: $200
For ages 8-18
To learn more and register, visit our website at https://register.youngdance.org/.

Young Dance is a nonprofit dance school located in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul. Our mission is to transform lives through movement. Our approach to dance education centers on artistic expression, creativity, and a deep investigation into the art form. In exploring elements of Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy through an array of techniques, students develop self-awareness and critical thinking skills through dance.

We are an inclusive community where creativity flourishes, encouraging personal and artistic excellence through diverse forms of dance. At Young Dance, we believe that everyone can (and should) dance.

Photo credit: Bill Cameron

Join Concerto Dance for our annual Summer Intensive from July 27-July 31!

Classes include Advanced Jazz and Modern Technique, Ballet, Yoga, Strength and Conditioning, Non-Traditional Partnering, Improvisation, and Company Repertoire. Classes taught by Artistic Director Jolene Konkel, company members, and guest teaching artists. See our website for full class schedule and details.

Monday, July 27—Friday, July 31
9:00am-2:00pm
Location: Creo Arts and Dance Minnetonka, Minnesota
Open to Advanced, Pre-Professional and Professional Dancers Ages 16 and up.
New this year: Optional add on performance opportunity on Saturday, August 1

Cost
Full Intensive: $350
Ala carte option: $75 per day or $25 drop-in for technique class only
Financial assistance available, please inquire at info@concertodance.com.

Register online by July 13! More information and registration at www.concertodance.com/classes.

Join Hatch Dance for Expansion: Summer Intensive 2026 — an immersive week of rigorous training, creative exploration, and artistic growth for the next generation of dance artists ages 15-25. Designed for pre-professional dancers, Expansion challenges participants to dive deeper into their technique while broadening their relationship to movement, performance, and artistry.

Dancers will begin the day investigating ballet with Hatch Dance Artistic Director Helen Hatch. Helen’s approach to ballet prioritizes the individual, inviting dancers to explore efficiency through coordination, expansion through energetic length, and precision through articulation. Students will be encouraged to take ownership of their technique and cultivate artistry through presence. Participants will then dive into repertory and phrasework from Hatch Dance’s critically acclaimed body of work, known for its physical rigor, technical intricacy, and musical sensitivity.

Afternoons expand into improvisation and composition workshops led by special guest collaborators from across the dance and performing arts communities (artists to be announced). Through these workshops, dancers will experience the collaborative and interdisciplinary practices that define Hatch Dance’s creative process and invite them to take creative risks, generate original material, and engage more deeply with their own artistic voice.

The day concludes with restorative practices that support sustainability, resilience, and longevity in a dancer’s life, including yoga and Gyrokinesis®, with designated time for reflection – both individually and in community.

Expansion: Hatch Dance Summer Intensive
August 3-7, 9:30am-4:30pm
At the Saint Paul Ballet Studios.
Tuition: $600-$700
Requirements: Minimum 4 years of ballet and contemporary/modern training.
Scholarships: Limited full and partial scholarships available. Email hatchdancemn@gmail.com for more information.

Colorful Creatures: A Movement, Music, and Making Dream Shop

What does blue sound like? How does red move? What kind of creature might live inside yellow, green, or purple? In this playful five-day Dream Shop, young artists will explore how colors can help us move, feel, sound, and imagine. Each day, participants will investigate different elements of dance, including body, action, space, time, energy, and tempo, using color as a creative guide. Through movement games, drumming, rhythm-making, costume design, and collaborative storytelling, students will discover how a color can become a feeling, a shape, a sound, a creature, or an entire world.

Participants will also create their own unique instruments and build original creature-inspired costumes, bringing together movement, music, visual art, and imagination. The week will culminate in a short, informal performance where students share their colorful characters, original sounds, and movement discoveries with family and friends. This workshop is perfect for young artists who love to move, make noise, create characters, and dream up bold, colorful worlds.

Click here to download the 2026 Creative Movement Daily Schedule. For questions and level placement, please contact us at education@tudance.org or (651) 724-9708.

During this 1-week program, students (ages 5-8) will experience the connection between movement and creativity through rhythmically driven classes aided by live percussion.

Creative Movement: August 3-7
Monday-Friday, 9:00-11:00am
10 hours/week, with a sharing on Friday.
Tuition: $295

Be a part of the magic! We are thrilled to once again open Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy workshops to all local dance students! Participating workshop attendees have the opportunity to learn selections from the production’s iconic choreography with coaching from the Nutcracker Artistic Team and special guest instructors. Workshop participants are invited – but not required – to audition for the 2026 production of Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy on the final day of the workshop week.

Nutcracker Workshops for Ages 6+: Monday, August 17-Friday, August 21
Ages 12-18: 9:30am-12:30pm
Ages 6-11: 1:00-4:00pm
Location: Lundstrum Performing Arts

Pointe Technique Workshop for Ages 12-18: Monday, August 10-Thursday, August 14
Ages 12-18: 2:00-4:00pm
Participants will refine and strengthen their pointe work through focused technique classes and repertory selections from the Nutcracker corps de ballet and soloist roles en pointe.

Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy is performed to a live orchestra at the historic State Theatre, December 12-20. Learn more about workshops and Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy here.

Dancers who wish to audition for the production but cannot attend workshops may sign up for auditions only here.

Young Dance is thrilled for Erinn Liebhard, founder and Artistic/Executive Director of Rhythmically Speaking and celebrated Teaching Artist, to lead our Music as Movement camp this summer!

In this week-long summer camp, dancers explore how the body can bring music to life through movement. Campers will jump, groove, and create as they respond to rhythm, melody, tempo, and dynamics using playful exercises and imaginative dance games. Along the way, dancers build musicality, coordination, creativity, and confidence while discovering new ways to express what they hear through their bodies.

Monday, August 17—Thursday, August 20
9:00-11:30am
Tuition: $200
For ages 8-18
To learn more and register, visit our website at https://register.youngdance.org/.

Young Dance is a nonprofit dance school located in the Midway neighborhood of St. Paul. Our mission is to transform lives through movement. Our approach to dance education centers on artistic expression, creativity, and a deep investigation into the art form. In exploring elements of Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy through an array of techniques, students develop self-awareness and critical thinking skills through dance.

We are an inclusive community where creativity flourishes, encouraging personal and artistic excellence through diverse forms of dance. At Young Dance, we believe that everyone can (and should) dance.

Dance photo credit: Blake Nellis
Headshot photo credit: Galen Higgins

We would love to invite you to take part in the INSTINCT movement intensive, a one-week immersive workshop with ARENA DANCES taking place August 24-28 at The ARENA.

This intensive is designed for high-intermediate to advanced dancers. It includes daily company-led movement classes followed by an in-depth rehearsal process centered around an excerpt of “One Room” alongside professional company members.

Together, participants will explore instinct, imagination, force of movement, and kinetic response through physical investigation.

Daily Schedule
9:30-11:00am — Class
11:00am-1:15pm — Rehearsal (1)
1:15-1:45pm — Lunch Break
1:45-3:00pm — Rehearsal (2)

Tuition
Early Bird: $450 (registration must be complete by August 1 for the early bird offer)
Regular Tuition: $525

Explore the beloved ballet Coppélia in this 3-week workshop designed for adult dancers. In addition to learning this repertoire, students will deepen their art form through classes in ballet technique, Progressing Ballet Technique©, conditioning, character, variations, and corps de ballet work. 

This workshop will conclude with a free showing on August 7 at 5:30pm for family and friends. Here, dancers will perform the Coppélia repertoire they learned.

Designed for adult dancers with at least one year of prior dance experience. Pointe work is optional in this workshop.

The Advanced Program is an intensive course of study integrating modern, ballet, African dance, and creative workshops for students ages 16-24.

For level placement, please contact us at education@tudance.org or (651) 724-9708. Placement can be done by attending an in-person class (by appointment only, a class fee applies) or by submitting a video link (modern and ballet phrase), or during the first day of classes of the intensive.

To register, please complete the four-step registration process:

• Please find the online pre-registration below under the specific level you are interested in and select a payment option.
• Make a tuition payment in full or by selecting a payment plan. If requesting a payment plan, please submit the Summer 2026 Payment Plan Form and submit a 2026 Intermediate Summer Intensive online registration form or a 2026 Advanced Summer Intensive online registration form.

Registration Deadlines:
Program Dates: August 3-15, 2026
Advanced Level: July 31 (single-week registration available)

Full and partial scholarships available. Contact us at education@tudance.org or (651) 724-9708 for more information.