Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from SMTD EXCEL Program, School, 1100 Baits Drive, Ann Arbor, MI.
05/14/2026
Entrepreneurship & Leadership: Celebrating 10 Years By the Numbers
Since 2015, students have received over $1,200,000 through prizes, internships, project funding, and venture funding to support their entrepreneurial ideas and passions. Click the link in our bio to check out these stats and more!
05/05/2026
Entrepreneurship & Leadership: Celebrating 10 Years
The Department of Entrepreneurship & Leadership and its EXCEL Lab serve as SMTD’s home base for performing arts entrepreneurship, leadership, management and career services.
For ten years, we have envisioned a world where every SMTD student acquires the knowledge, mindset, and skills to realize a meaningful, rewarding, impactful, and sustainable life in the arts.
Scan the QR code below or click the link in the bio to check out the 10 year website!
05/04/2026
The EXCEL Lab will be primarily remote starting on Monday, May 4th for Summer break. However, you can still schedule a virtual or in person coaching session. Please email [email protected] if you need any assistance. Link in our bio if you’d like to book a coaching session!
04/27/2026
🎓SENIOR SENDOFF🎓
“My number one takeaway during my time at SMTD was the importance and impact of collaboration,” writes blog editor and graduating master’s student Casey Boyer. “I am so grateful to be a part of the SMTD community, where I’ve been able to find new ways to break the mold of being a traditional classical violist, as well as cultivate my love for arts administration.” Read more about Casey’s journey as an arts administrator and improvisor at the link in bio!
Hear from Alana Howard, the founder of Sexy Ladies Dance and the final member of this year’s Performing Arts EXCELerator cohort!
The Performing Arts EXCELerator is a semester-long entrepreneurial fellowship program open to all U-M students. EXCELerator Fellows have the opportunity to pitch for significant funding, up to $5,000 and mentorship for their early-stage performing arts ventures.
Sexy Ladies Dance is a dynamic dance-fitness collective designed for women who want to sweat, feel sexy, build strength, and connect in a community rooted in joy and empowerment.
Hear from Melinda Carlisle, the founder of In the Narrative and another member of this year’s Performing Arts EXCELerator cohort!
The Performing Arts EXCELerator is a semester-long entrepreneurial fellowship program open to all U-M students. EXCELerator Fellows have the opportunity to pitch for significant funding, up to $5,000 and mentorship for their early-stage performing arts ventures.
In the Narrative is a new Voice Competition for High School Singers featuring the vocal music of female and gender diverse composers. In The Narrative encourages and enables young singers and teachers to choose diverse repertoire through the motivation of competition in a fun and encouraging environment. Guiding young singers to become educated in gender diverse music and help write female and gender diverse composers in the narrative.
04/26/2026
🎓SENIOR SENDOFF🎓
"I may be getting a Masters in Music, but this degree has given me SO much more than that!" Blog editor Lish reflects on her time here at the University of Michigan, highlighting some of the unexpected gifts that she gained during her time here. Check out her full post at the link in our bio!
Meet Lauren Smith, the founder of United Activ, and the final member of this year’s Performing Arts EXCELerator cohort!
The Performing Arts EXCELerator is a semester-long entrepreneurial fellowship program open to all U-M students. EXCELerator Fellows have the opportunity to pitch for significant funding, up to $5,000 and mentorship for their early-stage performing arts ventures.
United Activ is a creative enterprise dedicated to unlocking the inherent talent and potential of youth in emerging economies, beginning in Southeast Asia. Our mission is to dismantle barriers to holistic wellness and professional opportunity through movement and self-expression.
Meet Sophie and Abby Bracken, co-founders of OUT Ensemble and members of this year’s Performing Arts EXCELerator cohort!
The Performing Arts EXCELerator is a semester-long entrepreneurial fellowship program open to all U-M students. EXCELerator Fellows have the opportunity to pitch for significant funding, up to $5,000 and mentorship for their early-stage performing arts ventures.
OUT Ensemble is a wind quintet of LGBTQ+ musicians performing and commissioning the works of q***r composers. Alongside uplifting q***r composers of the past, OUT performs and commissions contemporary composers. With six premieres to date and two commissions on their upcoming album "Seasons of Change," OUT is at the forefront of new music. The quintet presented their First Annual Pride Concert Series in Washington, D.C., including a concert with the Gay Men’s Chorus, and will be traveling to Texas for their Second Annual Pride Series next summer.
04/20/2026
🎓SENIOR SENDOFF🎓
Breaking the fourth wall here! Hi, it's Ainsley, the Program Assistant for EXCEL and the person behind most of the social posts and newsletters for the past two semesters! It's been amazing to have this opportunity to work on so many events, immersions, and even plan last Fall's Social Media Workshop with Lish and Casey. I've had the honor to go on two immersions to Chicago and Detroit (pictured slides 1-3). My first introduction to EXCEL was at the 2025 Detroit Immersion, so it's full circle to be able to work on the other side! As I graduate with my Master's in Arts Administration and enter the job market, I will be forever grateful for this experience and everything I learned here!
| Monday | 9am - 5pm |
| Tuesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Wednesday | 9am - 5pm |
| Thursday | 9am - 5pm |
| Friday | 9am - 5pm |