PHILADANCO!
Celebrating 52 Years of Artistic Excellence
"PHILADANCO's dancers are a miracle of skill and energy. They work in a range of idioms most companies don't even try to possess… A company that can do more than just anything. It can represent the possibilities of human spirit through dance."
Dance Magazine
The award-winning Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO!), the resident company of The Kimmel Center, turned 50 in 2020 and is now celebrating 52 years of providing exceptional dance performances and training to dancers and audiences throughout the US and around the world and is moving gracefully into the next decade.
Continuing its original mission “to present the highest quality of professional dance performance and to provide exceptional training for the improvement of skills for emerging professional dancers and choreographers in a nurturing environment while increasing the appreciation of dance among its many communities” has withstood budget cuts and the passage of time. The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO!) survives and thrives despite the current economic climate.
Since its inception in 1970, The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO!) has had a significant impact on the dance world. As a cultural ambassador representing the United States, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the City of Philadelphia, its artistic direction and renowned national and international guest choreographers have developed a reputation of producing a dance repertory with passion, power, skill, and diversity. A stellar faculty (handpicked by Joan Myers Brown, Founder of PHILADANCO!) has trained over 4,500 dancers in a comprehensive program achieving the highest level of technical skills in dance and performance. The unique blend of dance styles of PHILADANCO! and its roster of 50-60 concert performances and 45 residencies most years has made it one of the most sought-after modern dance companies in the United States.
It has received recognition such as an NEA Fellowship and the prestigious National Choreography Planning Grant. It organized the historic first two International Conferences for Black Dance Companies in Philadelphia (1988). Now for the past 30 years, more than 600 people have assembled annually for the International Conference on Black Dance, headed by the International Association of Blacks in Dance (1991). Most recent success was the collaboration with The Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc. Get On The Good Foot and Straight Outta Philly with Rennie Harris Puremovement. It constantly engages with the community through Dexel University, The University of Pennsylvania, Next Move concerts, Breaking Barriers, and others.
More importantly, PHILADANCO! believes in and continues to provide quality arts instruction to young people with authentic learning experiences that engage their minds, hearts, and bodies. Its record of performing opportunities, commissioned works, and life-changing experiences is unequaled.