What It Is

Have you, your children or your students ever wondered:

Should I go to college? How do I pick the right school or program? Am I good enough for college, representation, a professional career? What should I do and what do I need to be prepared?

If so, Bridge is for you!

Bridge is an intense one day event designed to connect aspiring dancers to their next step. Bridge dancers, their parents, and dance teachers will learn from industry leaders how to understand the college dance landscape, the pros and cons of going to college, what colleges are looking for, the ins and outs of financial aid, how to get advice from agents and working professionals and so much more. Bridge provides specific, personalized and direct feedback from industry professionals who make the decisions and create the jobs.

Dancers will attend interactive workshops designed to help each individual figure out whether or not college is the right choice for them and make a short list of programs best suited to help them achieve their goals. They will network in small groups with agents and representatives from college programs from across the country who will help answer their questions and give them guidance.

Parents and Teachers will attend workshops designed just for them, covering topics such as financial aid, an overview of the college landscape, understanding what dancers need to be physically prepared for the future and the career prospects for professionals dancers. Parents and Teachers will also get to ask questions and engage the college reps, agents and industry leaders in “adult only” sessions.

Bridge is not a convention. At Bridge, it’s not about celebrity choreographers…it’s about you and your future. Everyone in the Bridge community shares the common goal of connecting dancers to the next chapter of their professional life in dance.

Who Should Come

Bridge is open to:

Dancers ages 14 and older who want to understand the college landscape, including scholarships, financial aid and how to present themselves as successful college applicants and/or young professionals. Dancers who want to understand the role of agents in a dancer’s career, what alternatives there are to college, and who want to network with and get advice from college representatives, agents, and industry leaders.

Parents ​of dancers who want to better understand how to navigate the financial realities of a college education in dance and get clear strategies to help their child pick the right school or launch their career.

Dance Teachers who want to better understand the options available to their students and how best to advise and prepare them for their future.

How It Works

Prior to Bridge, dancers will register by creating a profile online through our site. In this first step, dancers will also designate where their interests might lie post graduation by answering a questionnaire. How they answer these questions will determine which group of our college reps and agents they will be rated by and receive feedback from.

At Bridge, in addition to the educational workshops and Q&A sessions, dancers will participate in classes of varying disciplines taught by faculty from exceptional college dance programs from across the country and observed by the college reps and agents on the panel. After Bridge, dancers will be able to log back into their profiles and view their ratings and feedback from each rep on the panel. Aside from this invaluable feedback, participants will be seen by this diverse group of industry leaders representing various facets of the dance industry all in one place at one time.

What It Costs

Prior to Bridge, dancers will register by creating a profile online through our site. In this first step, dancers will also designate where their interests might lie post graduation by answering a questionnaire. How they answer these questions will determine which group of our college reps and agents they will be rated by and receive feedback from.

At Bridge, in addition to the educational workshops and Q&A sessions, dancers will participate in classes of varying disciplines taught by faculty from exceptional college dance programs from across the country and observed by the college reps and agents on the panel. After Bridge, dancers will be able to log back into their profiles and view their ratings and feedback from each rep on the panel. Aside from this invaluable feedback, participants will be seen by this diverse group of industry leaders representing various facets of the dance industry all in one place at one time.

Meet the Panel

Prior to Bridge, dancers will register by creating a profile online through our site. In this first step, dancers will also designate where their interests might lie post graduation by answering a questionnaire. How they answer these questions will determine which group of our college reps and agents they will be rated by and receive feedback from.

At Bridge, in addition to the educational workshops and Q&A sessions, dancers will participate in classes of varying disciplines taught by faculty from exceptional college dance programs from across the country and observed by the college reps and agents on the panel. After Bridge, dancers will be able to log back into their profiles and view their ratings and feedback from each rep on the panel. Aside from this invaluable feedback, participants will be seen by this diverse group of industry leaders representing various facets of the dance industry all in one place at one time.

Who’s Involved

Bridge was originally the vision of two professionals from opposite ends of the dance industry; Jacob Flynn, Founder and Executive Director of In10sity Dance & The In10sive, and 3-time Emmy Award winning choreographer, Marguerite Derricks, arguably the most successful and diverse commercial choreographer of our generation. Jacob and Marguerite first met when Marguerite taught for The In10sive as a guest faculty member. Guest teaching quickly evolved into working together to produce intimate in-studio audition workshops, in which Marguerite led youth dancers through a comprehensive mock-audition process while providing each dancer with personalized feedback. Marguerite loved the incredible talent these events attracted, which enabled her to easily obtain a new crop of dancers for her professional projects, while Jacob enjoyed the invaluable information and education Marguerite was providing the dancers with, which under normal circumstances would have taken years to acquire. The entire experience brought to light a void in the dance industry and spurred Jacob and Marguerite to create a unique and invaluable opportunity for youth dancers interested in pursuing dance post-graduation.

In 2016 Jacob met Kai Hazelwood, the founder of NexTakes, which offers workshops focused on understanding the wide variety of professional and educational options available to aspiring dancers. Kai is a working professional dancer and choreographer with a BFA in dance, and has worked extensively recruiting dancers for collegiate programs. She personally and professionally understands the college dance market, as well as what young professionals need to succeed in it. She loved the Bridge format after attending as a panelist and since then she and Jacob have worked together to re-envision what Bridge can be and how it can best help its participant reach their goals.

Bridge Panelists

Our Bridge Panelists will be representing the following organizations. We encourage you to click the link of each organization to view their website.

PACE School of Performing Arts

Our dance program is the only one in New York to offer training that bridges the gap from classical technique to the professional world of commercial dance.

Our BFA program is an exclusive blend of the highest quality of professional dance training and theater studies. In addition to working on the disciplines of ballet, jazz, modern, tap, contemporary, aerial arts, and other dance, you will be prepared for a professional career on stage, television, and commercials by training with current working professionals in acting, vocal studies, and technical theater.

Plus, students put their technique into action by performing in more than 50 annual productions in one of our many performance spaces including plays, performance labs, and the dance concerts, Dancespace, and Dance Out Loud. Students are also encouraged to gain additional “real-world” experience in the industry and regularly work on and off-Broadway, on television, film, and behind the scenes in various entertainment corporations.

Learn More About PACE School Of Performing Arts

Clear Talent Group

Clear Talent Group is a full-service talent agency headquartered in Los Angeles with additional offices in New York and New Orleans with partnerships in Chicago and Atlanta. Established in 2003, CTG has assembled a staff of respected agents that represents actors, models, young people, directors, dancers, choreographers and designers in all areas of the entertainment industry.

Learn More About Clear Talent Group

USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance

The hallmark of USC Kaufman – as expressed in its motto “The New Movement” — is the development of new movement models for dance, where intersecting dance techniques create hybrid forms to be expressed in new media, scholarship, studio practice, and choreography. With opportunities for interdisciplinary study interwoven into the curriculum, students are able to explore collaborations and innovations with established partners, including Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center, the USC Thornton School of Music, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Situated in Los Angeles, one of the world’s creative capitals, USC Kaufman offers a wealth of opportunity for students to intern, perform and collaborate with artists throughout the city.

Featuring a rigorous curriculum within a conservatory style environment, USC Kaufman provides students with opportunities to work and collaborate with world-renowned artists and to study in a range of dance styles, from ballet to hip-hop, contemporary, and ballroom. In fall of 2016, the school’s vision was realized in brick and mortar with the opening of the more than 54,000-square-foot Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center.

Learn More About USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance

The American Musical and Dramatic Academy

AMDA’s Dance Theatre Program is designed for ambitious dancers who want to become versatile, multidisciplined performers. The eight-term program’s rigorous course of physical study is grounded in classical technique and complemented by focused courses in a variety of styles. The curriculum assures an artistic foundation that combines in-depth training in dance technique and performance. The intensive performance-based training is blended with a challenging range of academic-based studies, all resulting in a well-rounded education in the arts.

Learn More About AMDA

Joffrey Ballet School

This Jazz & Contemporary division at the Joffrey Ballet School is geared toward those dancers who want to focus their training on Jazz and Contemporary styles of movement, while incorporating a wider knowledge of Classical Ballet training and Modern dance.

Students are exposed to a diverse range of styles from both past and present. The student’s attention will be focused on body awareness and creativity to prepare them for careers in education, performance, and choreography in Jazz and Contemporary styles of dance.

Students will be encouraged to embrace and explore a broad range of material that will help each of them develop his or her individual voice as an artist in this evolving art form. The curriculum will consist of both technical and academic/creative classes designed to fully prepare students for careers in dance, dance education, and choreography. Classes will be offered in various styles of Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Classical Modern, Contemporary Modern, Modern Partnering, Choreography, and Improvisation. Practical application of the curriculum will be exhibited in performance opportunities, which include a Spring and Winter performance, and in choreographic workshops. This is a unique program that provides the most diverse training in Jazz and Contemporary dance available in the country.

Learn More About Joffrey Ballet School

Additional Workshop Teachers

Kai Hazelwood

How to pick the right next step, college, and more.

Kai Hazelwood is a choreographer, performer and educator with over 25 years of experience. Her training includes a BFA in Dance from UCLA, 6 years at the San Francisco Ballet School, summer programs at Dance Theater of Harlem and Alvin Ailey, and training at the Kirov Ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. After a season with the Oakland Ballet Company, Kai relocated to Los Angeles to complete her degree at UCLA, continue growing as a choreographer, and expand her teaching experience.

After 4 ½ years as faculty and then dance outreach coordinator for AMDA College & Conservatory Kai realized that dance students were in need of much more guidance figuring out what their options were after high school. With her insider knowledge of college dance recruiting, her personal experience as a professional dancer, and college dance program graduate Kai produces educational dance events and visits studios and schools offering group workshops, choreographing college audition solos and coaching aspiring dancers on how to launch their
careers be it college, company, commercial work or beyond.

Julie Hayman

Financial Aid

Julie Hayman is a Southern California native who has studied and worked in the arts for over 15 years. After obtaining her BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing from Emerson College in Boston, she went on to explore her love of teaching by working with children in written, visual and performing arts. Additionally, she spent over 3 1/2 years counseling prospective students and their families on the intricacies of financial aid and admissions. She gets great joy from demystifying what can often appear to be a very daunting process.

Frequently Asked Questions

ONCE I’VE REGISTERED, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Once registration is complete and payment has been made, participants will receive a confrmation email from Bridge. Further correspondence will also be sent out via email prior to the event.

WILL I BE OFFERED A JOB, MAKE A TEAM, BE CAST ON A SPECIFIC PROJECT, BE DIRECT-BOOKED, OR BE “SIGNED” BY ANY OF THE LINKS AT BRIDGE?

The intention of Bridge is for participants to obtain invaluable feedback from our Panelists, however it is not an audition. That being said, our Panelists have access to all attendees’ contact information should they take a particular interest in a given dancer or have a project for which they believe one of our attendees are suited.

DO I HAVE TO PARTICIPATE IN ALL THE CLASSES AT BRIDGE?

All attendees are required to participate in all classes. Reason being, in order for our Links to truly “see” the dancers and provide the best possible feedback, they need participants to perform in all the classes. Also, one of the greatest things about Bridge is that a given dancer may come to our event thinking they’d like to pursue a college dance team and through the feedback, ?nd numerous dance agencies interested in them and ?nd them very marketable commercially. Bridge expands a dancers scope of possibility and opportunity, but again, it only works if participants are fully committed to the event.

WHAT DO I WEAR TO BRIDGE?

All female participants in Bridge must wear a solid black sports bra or leotard and solid black trunks in the classes for both days of the event. Males must wear a solid black form ?tting top and solid black shorts. Prior to the event, all participants will be given their designated “number” which will be adhered to the chest of their top.

WHAT SHOES DO I NEED TO BRING TO BRIDGE?

It is advised that participants bring jazz shoes, soft ballet shoes, sneakers, and heels for females. Only bring heels if you have proper dance heels and have experience dancing in them.

ARE PARENTS/GUARDIANS ALLOWED TO OBSERVE THE CLASSES?

Observer passes will be available to non-Bridge participants at a rate of $100. The $100 fee also includes a financial aid workshop specifically for parents as well as an opportunity to have a Q&A session with the panelists. These observer passes are good for the entire event and the passes are non-transferable. Also, no children under the age of 12 are permitted in the classrooms. EVERYONE AND ANYONE choosing to participate as an observer must purchase a pass and they will be available for purchase on site based upon availability. When participants are broken up into the focus groups for Q & A’s with the Links, parents/guardians are invited to participate at no charge.

IS VIDEO TAPING OR ARE PICTURES PERMITTED AT BRIDGE?

Absolutely no photography or videography are permitted in the classroom. Pictures and/or videos are ok outside of the classroom.