Summer Dance Experience

Summer Dance Experience 2025: July 7-25, 2025

The ��˾�� University Department of Dance is delighted to present its 2025 Summer Dance Experience. Residential and commuter options are available for dancers who have a minimum of four years of ballet training (pointe is not necessary) and who will be at least 12 years old and no older than 23 years old by the time classes begin. Come dance in an environment designed to spark curiosity, grace, confidence, and bravery in your dancing while also fostering nimble habits of mind—we'd love to spend the summer with you!

Quality Education: Our summer program provides dance education with a solid foundation in ballet, kinesthetically sound practices, artistic exploration, and intellectual growth through both seminars and physical practice.
Valuable Introduction: We provide a safe environment where students can immerse themselves in a university setting while experiencing a diverse range of dance genres and styles.
Artistic Growth and Musicality: We encourage dancers to explore and hone all aspects of their craft by providing movement classes in collaboration with experienced musicians, and we hope they will be proud of how much they have grown when they return to their year-round training program.
Personalized Attention: We prefer to keep class sizes small, so the dancers receive individualized attention, which helps foster agency as students take ownership of their progress.
Experienced Faculty: We bring dance artists with broad perspectives to work with the students. ��˾�� dance faculty and alumni, as well as locally, regionally, and nationally recognized dance educators, share their experiences in the field as dancers, teachers, choreographers, administrators, and scholars.

Sample Schedule

9 to 10 a.m. — Pilates/Yoga/Dance Prehab
10:15 a.m. to noon — Ballet Technique
12:15 to 1:15 p.m. — Lunch
1:30 to 3 p.m. — Pointe/Variations/Repertoire
3:15 to 4:45 p.m. — Contemporary/Modern/Jazz/Choreography
5 to 6 p.m. — Dinner
6 to 7 p.m. — Seminar: Artist Talk, College/Company, Nutrition for Dancers, Dance/Film, etc.

2025 Summer Dance Experience guest faculty will be announced soon!

Pricing

Tuition (1 week): $475, $575 after May 12
Tuition (2 weeks): $875, $975 after May 12
Tuition (3 weeks): $1275, $1375 after May 12
Chaperone fee (for students under 18 years of age at the time of the program, whether residential or commuter): $50 per week.
Housing in Warde Hall: $100 plus $25 cleaning fee per week
Meal plan information is coming soon!

Additional Information

We will do weekly grocery shopping trips.
Sunday Suppers for all students.
Weekend trips to Presque Isle State Park, Wintergreen Gorge, and other outings in Erie.

Summer Dance Experience

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Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, all students who were born on or before July 7, 2013, are eligible for the SDE.

No. Although pointe is an integral part of the classical ballet curriculum, students who do not take pointe or are not ready for pointe work at their studio may take those classes in ballet slippers; they will still be strengthening their fundamental technique.

Due to limited enrollment capacity, our registration form will not accept new signups when we've reached our cap. If you were not able to enroll and wish to be placed on the waitlist, please reach out to jmcnamara@mercyhurst.edu.

Jennifer McNamara, MFA
Assistant Professor of Dance
Program Administrator, Summer Dance Experience