About
Inlet Dance Theatre is a contemporary dance company with roots in American Modern Dance. The company’s aesthetic is a rare combination of three base techniques of Erick Hawkins-based release technique, Alison Chase/Pilobolus-based nontraditional partnering, and structured improvisation. Additionally, all of Inlet’s repertoire is created in a unique collaborative creative process.
The Inlet Trainee & Apprentice Program offers progressive retread training for dancers who wish to enhance their development and discover opportunities within the performing arts. The program is designed for individuals who are serious about dancing professionally or for preparing for elevated success in an undergraduate or graduate degree in dance. The tuition-based and/or part-time position program has a long history of attracting dancers who have finished their undergraduate degree, dancers who have danced professionally with other companies, and post-high school career-focused dancers.
Personally, the Inlet Trainee & Apprentice Program gives me a place where I do feel valued and appreciated for both dancing and my opinions. Everyone is friendly, loving, and wants me to succeed. Professionally, the Trainee & Apprentice Program has given me a lot of tools that I’ve alreay implemented for teaching my own students and the program helped me learn about myself: how I learn new material, how I handle any frustrations, and how to overcome them.
Vision
While few programs exist to ease the difficult transition from academic to professional dance, this program produces viable dancers for today’s marketplace. In contrast to an industry where people are often used to furthering the dance agenda, Inlet offers a nurturing environment focused on the individual’s training and development needs. In addition to dance technique instruction, rehearsing with the company members, and performance opportunities, the program also features mentoring in dance education programming, Inlet’s unique collaborative culture, and insights into the business aspects of running a dance company or studio. As a result, program participants emerge better informed and prepared to find success in the dance industry. Because of the company’s distinct aesthetic, the Inlet Trainee & Apprentice Program is a prerequisite for becoming a company member of Inlet Dance Theatre. All of the current company members have passed through the Program.
Instruction Alumni Have performed professionally for:
- Ad Deum Dance Company
- Ballet Hispanico
- Battleworks Dance Company
- Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company
- Inlet Dance Theatre
- Parsons Dance
- Pilobolus Dance Theatre
- TALK Dance Company
- …and many others
And Have Entered the following Dance Departments (Many on Scholarship):
- The Julliard School (NYC)
- Belhaven University (Jackson, MS)
- Ohio University (Athens, OH)
- Soc Ecole Int Theatre Jacques Lecoq (Paris, France)
- University of Hawaii
- …and more
Program Includes:
- Instruction in American Modern dance, dance composition, improvisation, nontraditional partnering and other movement styles
- Hawkins-based release technique class with the Company Members three days per week
- At least two additional technique classes per week based on program participant needs
- Rehearsals with Inlet company members and Artistic Director
- Performance opportunities
- Education Outreach training
- Focused mentoring relationships
- Personal mission statement development, business administration and other related skill development
- Winter & Summer breaks