The Schiff Dance Collective is a contemporary dance company with a commitment to inspire and enlighten the public through the beauty of dance, while upholding the foundation, artistry and heritage of this powerful movement art. We will include, create, and support a community of artists-regardless of age, race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic class- giving them an opportunity to find their power through creativity and a medium for their voices to be heard.
Contemporary Dance, while consisting of precise moves and techniques, tends to be guided by a higher calling- usually a central thesis that the dancers attempt to portray using their bodies, movements, and music, rather than creating a dance performance that simply looks pretty or fits the song. This is no easy task, but one that the members of The Schiff Dance Collective take on with conviction and grace.
Anne Vickman
Boulder Weekly
"Jenny Schiff is timeless. Whether doing a contemporary modern piece, or a cutting edge hip hop, she will take your breath away."
Brian Friedman
Every week, I look forward to coming to Schiff and no matter what I'm dealing with , I can count on feeling better by the time I leave. I am always so confident and supported here because Schiff is a second home. I always have a positive experience and I cannot imagine dancing anywhere else. The experience for me at Schiff is incredible, we are a family, nobody left out and nobody left behind.
Leah Waltrip
Schiff Dance Student
The biggest component that I appreciated is the overwhelming feeling of love that exuded from Jenny and all of the students she worked with. They truly love the work that they are doing, and that love is contagious. She has managed to create a space that envelops the idea of self love, transforming it into the simple beauty of the human body in motion.
AIM House Graduate and Outreach Participant
The Schiff Dance Collective is a contemporary dance company with a commitment to inspire and enlighten the public through the beauty of dance, while upholding the foundation, artistry and heritage of this powerful movement art. We will include, create, and support a community of artists-regardless of age, race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic class- giving them an opportunity to find their power through creativity and a medium for their voices to be heard. We will be carried by our collective force to a place where we can be free: where we can share, where we can live, where we can heal, where we can dance.
Schiff Dance Collective was founded in 2006 with a simple purpose- to enrich the lives of our community through dance; while creating enthralling evening length works, offering exceptional dance training, and creating community through the arts. The Schiff Dance Collective encourages freedom of self-expression so that all of its activities will be fresh and evolving.
The Company
Since its inception, The Schiff Dance Collective has presented 10 original evening length works in the Denver/Boulder area, as well as performing excerpts of these works at local festivals, community functions, and fundraisers. All works are based on subject matter brought to the attention of The Schiff Dance Collective by our community through email, Facebook, interviews, and writing/movement workshops. This gives our community an outlet for expression and allows the work to be accessible to a wider audience. The Schiff Dance Collective uses their power, grace, and vulnerability to attract multicultural audiences ages 9-80.
The Schiff Dance Collective brings the power of their mission to local schools through classes, lecture/demonstrations, and mentoring of their students. These schools include New Vista High School, Sanchez Elementary School, Boulder County School of Integrated Studies, and Manhattan Middle School.
Training Program
Our pre-professional companies are designed for the beginning-advanced dancer teen-adult. Members receive exceptional training to further their expertise utilizing a whole person training method, by Jenny Schiff, Nicole O'Farrell, members of The Schiff Dance Collective, and local master teachers.
The Schiff Dance Collective believes that the art of dance supplies us with the necessary elements to succeed in life. We use a whole person training method to challenge dancers physically, mentally, and emotionally. This method is effective in guiding dancers to achieve a greater self-awareness, heightened motivation, greater work ethic, and the ability to captivate and move an audience.
The Schiff Dance Collective began its student companies with six students and one student company in 2006. We now mentor 30 students per year through three student companies. These young people ages 12-25 work together under the direction of Director and Professional Company Members to create their own evening length work each year. They participate in all aspects of this work including concept and choreography. Student company members also perform at community events such as the Dance is for Everybody showcase and the Boulder Creek Festival.
The Schiff Dance Collective keeps all of its classes open to the public and has grown from 5 to 14 classes per week. Serving the beginning-professional dancer ages 12-55. Schiff Dance drop-in classes have grown from serving 20 drop-in students per week to 40.
Outreach
In 2012 TSDC began outreach with the Residents of AIM and Earl Houses. Through performance, discussion, and improvisation TSDC guides these young people to a place of acceptance and power.
"During the Schiff-ting exercise that we did, I got to experience my own truth in movement, which was pretty cool. With my eyes closed, I found myself basking in the vulnerability of the moment. The mindfulness of each step meant something different than when I just walk. By the end of the third pass across the room, I felt a beautiful, sweeping gratitude for all those participating for allowing me to reach such a personal and spiritual space in their presence. I left quietly with a newfound sense of respect that I didn't have when I entered the space at the beginning of the night." - Daniel W.
These are just a few of the transformations that are happening in the lives of young men and women in our community thanks to the Schiff Dance Collective. By sharing their stories with us through the medium of dance, Jenny Schiff and The Schiff Dance Collective change how all of us think of our own stories. They encourage us with the expressiveness and fearlessness of their dance, and inspire us with their generosity of spirit. Their art and their message continue to be important to us.
Organization name
The Schiff Dance Collective
other names
TSDC
2006
Tax id (EIN)
20-5414417
Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Address
The Avalon Balroom 6185 Arapahoe RdMailing
Schiff Dance Office 2058 Sunridge CircleBroomfield County, CO, US
Boulder County, CO, US