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Updated 11/30/2017

DanceTheYard

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

DanceTheYard (DTY) is The Yard’s resident dance collective (The Yard is a non-profit performing arts organization located in Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard).  DTY is co-directed by The Yard’s Executive Director, Alison Manning, and The Yard’s Director of Island Programs & Education, Jesse Keller, with Artistic Advisor David R. White.  Choreographing together since 2011, Alison and Jesse have created an emerging body of work and fostered a collective of professional artists—hailing from Martha’s Vineyard and New York City—who are committed to seeing the work presented in both the local and national dance arena.

DTY presents an annual weekend of performances, as part of the Yard Arts summer series.  The collective also performs regularly at various community based events on Martha’s Vineyard, often inviting community members—of all ages and abilities—to participate in the work.  Off island, DTY has performed in the Women In Motion series at NYC's TheaterLab, at NYC's Triskelion Arts Center, at NACHMO Boston, and at universities in Ohio, New York, and throughout New England.   

At the heart of DTY is The Yard’s mission to support artists and their instrumentality through paid creative research and residency, public performance, and long-term educational application and community engagement across all ages and cultural populations. 

 

Find Me

Jesse Keller
Job Title: Co-Director of DanceTheYard
Phone: 5086459662
Address:
1 The Yard
Middle Road (near Beetlebung Corner)
Chilmark, MA 02535

Social Media:

Additional Content:

  • About

    Visit DTY's page on The Yard's website

  • Atlas

    DTY's newest evening length work, Atlas, which premiered at The Yard in September 2015

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Nonprofit - Embedded in cultural private organization

Parent Organization:

The Yard

Year Founded:

2011

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Nonprofit - Embedded in cultural private organization

Parent Organization:

The Yard

Year Founded:

2011

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Dance - Modern / Contemporary

Additional Disciplines:

  • Dance - Modern / Contemporary

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Arts Instruction / Lessons
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Curriculum Development
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Professional Development / Training
  • Public Art Projects (In Free, Public Spaces)
  • Residency - Community
  • Residency - In School
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 10

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Businesses
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • Nonprofits
  • People with Disabilities
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • Youth-At-Risk

Geographic Reach:

  • Town / City
  • Multi-State Region
  • National

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

THE FORUM

Performance Facility

Date: 03/2016

In March 2016 DTY co-director Jesse Keller will perform a solo at The Forum in Saint Thomas.  

Ohio University

Date: 02/2016

Members of Dance The Yard have traveled to Ohio University for the past three years (2014, 2015, and 2016) to both perform and teach. 

American College Dance Association

Date: 02/2015

DTY co-director Jesse Keller has taught master classes and performed at the American College Dance Association two consecutive years (2014 & 2015). 

Triskelion Arts

Date: 09/2014

In September 2014, New York City premeir of DTY's original evening length work, The Blue of Distance. 

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Professional Associations

Professional Associations:

  • National Dance Education Organization

Professional Associations

Professional Associations:

  • National Dance Education Organization

Awards

Awards:

  • In 2014, DTY co-director Jesse Keller was awarded the Women Empowered 'Woman of the Year' for her work as the leading dance educator and teaching artist for the community of Martha's Vineyard

Education

Education:

  • Members of DTY have dance degrees from the following institutions: Ohio University, Marymount Manhattan College, & Wesleyan University
  • DTY co-director Alison Manning was a scholarship student at The School at Jacob's Pillow in 2007

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Ages Served:

  • Pre-Kindergarten-age
  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - English Language / Literacy
  • Arts Integration - Health
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Arts Integration - Mathematics
  • Arts Integration - Science / Technology / Engineering

Certifications and Training:

  • BFA Degrees in Dance, Education, Composition

Teaching Artist

Ages Served:

  • Pre-Kindergarten-age
  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - English Language / Literacy
  • Arts Integration - Health
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Arts Integration - Mathematics
  • Arts Integration - Science / Technology / Engineering

Certifications and Training:

  • BFA Degrees in Dance, Education, Composition

Touring Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Variable

Fee Range:

$500 - $3,000

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

1

Maximum Number of Performers:

10