Mission and History - Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre

MISSION

Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre presents theatrical and immediate works that engage audiences from start to finish and beckon a response of thought, feeling, and soul. Critically acclaimed, Selwyn’s work invites audiences into emotionally resonant experiences where expressive choreography, physical virtuosity, and evocative production design reveal the complexity of the human experience and inspire reflection, empathy, and dialogue. Our education program, Notes in Motion, brings inclusive dance programs to the NYC Public Schools in styles including modern, ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, Latin, African, and more. Programs are united by our singular approach to dance education, The Movement Exchange Method, which combines technical instruction with creative skill-building and collaborative learning. We provide access to the art form of dance to inspire the next generation of dance appreciators. With a variety of performance structures including full productions, open rehearsals, previews, immersive performances, participatory workshops, and hybrid programs in a range of performance venues and historically underserved communities, we are reaching and broadening a diverse NY audience.

Inside New York: “Amanda Selwyn is a master at illustrating the symbiosis of sound and movement, the romance of motion and emotion – she had me laughing, crying, cringing and gasping all in the short 55-minute production.”

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival’s Pillow Pages: “Choreographically, Amanda’s point of departure is not an image or a gesture, but a theatrical imperative felt in her insistence on expression.”

HISTORY

Founded in 2000, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre has presented 21 World Premiere evening-length works and dozens of shorter works at NY Performance Seasons and festival engagements, and offers residencies to colleges and universities. We have presented over 275 productions at venues including Baruch Performing Arts Center, New York Live Arts, Mark Morris Dance Center, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, The Kumble Theater, Danspace Project, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, John Jay College, Dance New Amsterdam, Peridance, Cunningham/Westbeth, and more. Selwyn’s work has been presented twice. at Jacob’s Pillow, by the CUNY Dance Initiative, in the American Dance Guild Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival, COOL NY Festival, Westfest Dance Festival, Movement Research, Earth Celebrations, Dixon Place, and Pushing Progress. Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre has been the recipient of grants from NY State Council on the Arts, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Hyde and Watson Foundation, MetLife, Friars Foundation, Dizzy Feet Foundations, Bronx Council on the Arts, NY Department Of Cultural Affairs, O’Donnell Green Foundation for Music and Dance, Laura B. Vogler Foundation, MidAtlantic Arts, NY City Council Members, Manhattan Borough President, and more. We have been featured in Dance Magazine, Dance Teacher, Dance Enthusiast, NYFA’s Current, Queens Public TV, BronxNet, WKTU, WGBB, Movers and Shakers Podcast, Whisper in the Wings Podcast, It’s in Queens, The New Yorker, Time Out, NY Times, Oberon’s Grove, Dance Informa, Dance Talk, Jacob’s Pillow Pillow Pages, and more. Amanda has led residencies and workshops at Peridance, Bucknell University, Hofstra University, New York University, New Women, New York, the New York Gender Conference, Temple University, SUNY New Paltz, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Baruch University, the Women and Theater Conference, the Arts-in-Education Roundation’s Face to Face, Dance Teacher Summit, APAP, and more. In 27 years, Notes in Motion dance programs have served 98,950 students directly and 335,310 indirectly at 205 schools across NYC.