Jan Van Dyke was a talented choreographer, teacher, scholar, and community leader in the world of dance. She spent four decades creating and showing her work across the US and Europe. In 1973, she founded Dance Project in Washington, DC. Following a period of international work, Jan restarted Dance Project in Greensboro in 1989.
Dance Project encompasses the NC Dance festival, a showcase of artists in the field of modern dance across the state; The School, their community dance studios in the Greensboro Cultural Center; and the Van Dyke Dance Group, which performs and manages the repertory of Jan Van Dyke.
Executive Directors Anne Morris and Lauren Joyner currently lead the charge at Dance Project. Morris and Joyner studied with Jan Van Dyke at UNCG and worked with Van Dyke at Dance Project until her passing in 2015. With the passion of Jan Van Dyke guiding them, Joyner works mainly with the School at City Art, and Morris serves as an event coordinator for NC Dance Festival. Both Morris and Joyner lead classes within the dance school.
“Specifically in the work that I do with the festival, I love getting to give artists space to create,” says Morris when asked her favorite part about Dance Project. “We provide dance space for choreographers in the area, so they can have the ability to create freely and explore their art.”
Dance Project strives to create a cohesive and vibrant dance community. Dance Project supports dancers of all ages, helping them see what all dance offers.
“We are not a competitive studio,” says Morris. “We approach students as human beings, not technicians.” Dance Project has created a task force to ensure access, equity, and belonging among all dancers within the organization. This task force is one of the ways Dance Project fosters its dancers’ artistic and personal development.
Dance Project offers classes for dancers of all ages and levels. Spring semester registration for youth classes opens in November. More information about classes, performances, and workshops can be found at danceproject.org.
