Choreographers Program      

Open level, ages 12+  

This class offers students an opportunity to expand their own movement vocabulary while deepening their skills in spatial design, dynamics, rhythm, and form. We will hone improvisational and collaborative skills by crafting dance in solo and group forms while at the same time uncovering how movement and space are both personal and political. Participation in the Young Choreographers Workshop requires taking at least one other technique class per week, such as Ballet, Modern, Jazz, or Breaking.

By placement, ages 14+   

Participation in this class is by invitation only. Students must commit to attending the session for the entire year and can look forward to creating work in collaboration with their peers. Since participation and partnership is an important part of this class, young artists may not miss more than 2 classes a semester. YCI participants can anticipate developing their leadership and showing initiative, which will require homework and rehearsal outside of regular class time. They will also be counted on to communicate with the director and their peers to fulfill their planning. We will discuss all expectations in a mandatory family meeting during the first thirty minutes of the first class of the session.

Young Choreographers Initiative (YCI) is an empowering ongoing project for graduates of our YCW program that builds confidence, inspires collaboration, encourages creativity, and allows free expression. The YCI experience consists of weekly dance-making classes, annual performances of choreography in progress, and collaborations with other artists/organizations.

YCI is supported by the Diane Pearlman Young Choreographers Initiative Scholarship. Launched in 2023, this scholarship underwrites the Young Choreographers Initiative tuition for all students, as well as the senior choreography project, providing graduating dancers with the studio space, professional mentorship, and production support needed for the senior solo creative process.

For more than a decade, Diane Pearlman has helped Berkshire Pulse thrive and grow, as Board president, dancer, friend, and champion of our Young Choreographers Initiative students and seniors. In 2023, she stepped out of her role as president of the Board of Directors, but continues to serve as a member of the BOD and as an active participant in our Pulse community, taking classes, performing, and always showing up to support the Young Choreographers Initiative students when a need arises.

Since 2009 her unwavering love and support have been a source of strength for Berkshire Pulse during its most challenging and celebratory moments of growth. With gratitude and love, we are thrilled to carry on Diane’s support for Pulse and the Young Choreographers Initiative with this scholarship. Support the next generation of dance makers here.

YCI began in 2016 during the Summer Dance Intensive when a group of young students explored the craft of choreography in classes with teaching artists Susan Quinn and Ian Spencer Bell and wanted to learn more. YCI has since expanded to include weekly dance-making classes, annual performances of works-in-progress, collaborations with area artists and organizations, and special workshops with renowned choreographers. 

In past years, the YCI has focused on a variety of areas, including movement and activism and collaborating with artists in other mediums. In 2020, YCI choreographers Rubielle Nejaime and Cecilia Kittross created The Body Project, an intergenerational piece with other teen students and adult dancers from the community about body image. They received an Amplify! grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to support presenting their work at St. James Place. The YCI also participated in a project led by teaching artists Tom Truss and Susan Quinn called Moving Life Stories sharing culture and history at an evening of words and movement with Volunteers in Medicine clients. When the pandemic started, the YCI switched gears and met online with YCI alumni to create a video work moving from inside of their respective homes to the outdoors. In the Spring of 2021, they created a quartet and collaborated with composer/musician Jackson Whalan about the isolation of COVID and the joy of being able to dance together again. In 2023, YCI performed their piece “If Anything Happens” at Mass Cultural Council’s Creative Youth Development Teaching Artist Showcase and Community Day in Boston. This work explored the impact of gun violence in schools.

In 2019, YCI’s piece Untitled about sexual assault was selected from 1 of 10 works across the nation to perform at the National Youth Artist Summit in Austin, TX. At this conference organized by teens for teens only, the YCI also led a workshop on sexual assault and consent. Other collaborations have included connecting with artists in Arts in Recovery for Youth (AIRY)–a suicide prevention and peer support program based in Pittsfield–and developing choreography based on their paintings for a fundraising event. YCI has also partnered with Kimball Farms (the retirement community in Lenox) on The Moving Life Stories Project where they were matched with senior residents to create pieces that combine poetry, prose, and dance to tell the seniors’ life stories.

• “Under One Roof” at Berkshire Pulse’s Young Choreographers Workshop Presentation at The Foundry West Stockbridge: May 7, 2024
• “If Anything Happens” at Berkshire Pulse’s Spring Celebration at the Daniel Arts Center: May 27 & 28, 2023
• “If Anything Happens” at Mass Cultural Council Creative Youth Development Teaching Artist Showcase and Community Day: May 6, 2023
• حفلة at Jacob’s Pillow Community Day: June 11, 2022 (starting at @13.53)
• حفلة at Berkshire Pulse’s Spring Celebration at the Daniel Arts Center: May 27 & 28, 2022
• “438” in collaboration with Jackson Whalan at the Arts Alive! Opening at Chesterwood: June 19, 2021 
• “438” in collaboration with Jackson Whalen at the 2021 Spring Celebration: May 28 & 29, 2021
• “Rooted” at Berkshire Pulse’s Spirits of the Forest at Chesterwood: October 31, 2020
• The Body Project at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, MA: March 1, 2020
• “Untitled” at the National Young Artist’s Summit in Austin, TX: November 2, 2019 (Earlier video version here https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=515054962734116 | Video Director: Mark Farrell)
• Moving Life Stories in collaboration with Kimball Farms at Kimball Farms in Lenox, MA, and Saint James Place in Great Barrington, MA: June 15 & 16, 2019
• YCI performs “Equilibrium” and “Divided” at AIRY’s Love Yourself at the Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield, MA: February 10, 2019 | Community & Education and Awareness Event & Opening Reception in Celebration of Youth Recovery and Suicide Prevention
• Young Choreographers Initiative Fall Workshop Showing at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, MA: December 9, 2018
• Young Choreographers Workshop Showing at Berkshire Pulse: December 6, 2017

What is the Young Choreographers Program?

The Young Choreographers Program, made up of the Young Choreographers Workshop (YCW) and Initiative (YCI), was established in 2016 as a platform for students, ages 12-21, to create works that give voice to the issues affecting their generation, connect with community members outside of Pulse, and address important topics such as anxiety, body image, isolation, and joy. The program is directed by Susan Quinn.

What is the Young Choreographers Workshop (YCW)? What is the requirement for YCW?

This open-level class offers students ages 12+ an opportunity to expand their own movement vocabulary while deepening their skills in spatial design, dynamics, rhythm, and form. We will hone improvisational and collaborative skills by crafting dance in solo and group forms while at the same time uncovering how movement and space are both personal and political. 

Participation in the Young Choreographers Workshop requires taking at least one other technique class per week, such as Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Flamenco, African, or Breaking.

What is the Young Choreographers Initiative (YCI)? What is the requirement for YCI?

Young Choreographers Initiative (YCI) is an empowering ongoing project for graduates of our YCW program that builds confidence, inspires collaboration, encourages creativity, and allows free expression. The YCI experience consists of weekly dance-making classes, annual performances of choreography in progress, and collaborations with other artists/organizations.

Students must complete at least one full year of YCW before being invited to participate in YCI. Participation in this class is by invitation only for students ages 14+ and in high school. Students must commit to attending the session for the entire year and can look forward to creating work in collaboration with their peers. 

YCI is supported by the Diane Pearlman Young Choreographers Initiative Scholarship. Launched in 2023, this scholarship underwrites the Young Choreographers Initiative tuition for all students, as well as the senior choreography project, providing graduating dancers with the studio space, professional mentorship, and production support needed for the senior solo creative process. The class and senior solo process are free of cost to all eligible students.

What is the senior solo process?

Level 3 and 4 dancers who are in their final year at Berkshire Pulse will develop and craft an original dance and will ultimately choreograph a solo or group piece to be performed in the annual Spring performance. 

In the Spring session, this student will be required to work independently of class time, with additional rehearsals arranged for working with their chosen faculty mentor.

I want to do a senior solo. What do I need to do to be able to do that?

The senior solo takes place during a student’s senior year of high school. They must be Level 3 or 4 dancers enrolled in 3-5 Performing Arts Program classes per week (in addition to a choreography class). Prior to their senior year, students must have completed at least three semesters of YCW/YCI and/or supplemental summer intensive program dancemaking study at Berkshire Pulse. At the start of the Senior year, Senior students will be invited to create a senior solo subject to the Director and Artistic Director’s approval. 

*Young Choreographers Program Placement/Senior Solo eligibility is subject to director approval for students with commensurate experience in choreography in other studios/spaces.