Berkshire Pulse

Home
United States
Housatonic, MA
Berkshire Pulse

Pulse builds and strengthens community life through diverse and accessible performing arts programs.

Berkshire Pulse is a dynamic nonprofit dance, world music and movement arts education center located in downtown Housatonic. Pulse’s year-round programming provides children, teens and adults with the opportunity to engage in the joy of movement and music while learning the rewards of commitment, community involvement, and the vast benefits of artistic expression. High-caliber, professional teaching artists offer ongoing classes and workshops from beginner through advanced levels in ballet, modern, jazz, creative dance, choreography, musical theater dance, tap, African dance, flamenco, Latin dance, Scottish folk dance, World Music percussion, Hip hop, Tai Chi, Zumba, Barre and other fitness programs that promote health and well-being.

10/09/2026

REMINDER: We are closed Monday, October 12th for Indigenous Peoples Day!

10/07/2026

💼Come Work with Us!💼

Berkshire Pulse is seeking an enthusiastic part-time support staff members to assist with daily operations and student services for a growing, vibrant dance education center in Housatonic, MA. Front Desk staff serve as the first point of contact with our community and are kind, conscientious, and helpful to visitors, teaching artists, and families. They assume the front desk responsibility for phone, email, and registration/payment systems during Pulse’s office and studio hours. They are tasked with light facilities maintenance tasks, as well as daily interaction with clients and studio artists.

Click here to learn more!: https://berkshirepulse.org/jobs/

10/05/2026

🥁Join in on Toca y Goza!🥁

Toca y Goza Drumming
with Angel Lau
All Levels, Ages 13–adult
Wednesdays, 5–6 p.m.
September 16th – December 16th
(No class November 11th or November 25th)

Explore the rhythms of Afro-Peruvian music and their connections to the Congo. In this class, we’ll learn the basic techniques, rhythms, and grooves that make this music feel so joyful. We’ll play together, listen deeply, and learn about the culture behind the music.

Video provided by Angel Lau

Click here to learn more!: https://berkshirepulse.org/class/toca-y-goza-drumming-all-levels-ages-13-adult/

09/25/2026

🌟Seasoned Contemporary dancers, we have the class for you!🌟

Contemporary
with Madisyn Boussie
Intermediate, Ages 16-adult
Wednesdays, 6:15–7:45 p.m.

This class integrates the foundational elements of dance including collaboration, mind-body connection, strength, placement, alignment, directionality, musicality, movement quality, rhythm, breath, expression, and movement vocabulary into a dynamic contemporary practice. Drawing from ballet, modern, jazz, hip hop, and improvisation, dancers will explore the creative possibilities that emerge as these forms intersect. Classes will begin with a warm up that focuses on generating heat, stretching, and tapping into awareness of the body, the mind, and the collective. Classes will continue to build energy through dynamic exercises that incorporate floorwork, technical sequences, and across-the-floor progressions and phrase work designed to explore momentum, the relationship between weight and suspension, dynamic shifts in movement quality, and expansive use of the space. Classes will conclude with space for dance-making and a return to awareness, inviting reflection and a deeper connection to self and community. Within this framework, dancers are encouraged to find their own sense of creativity, movement instinct, take risks, and develop greater confidence, versatility, and artistry as they move through progressively layered movement material.

Dance knee pads are recommended for this class and can be purchased at the Front Desk for $20.

September 16th – December 16th
(No class November 11th or November 25th)

Click here to learn more and sign up today!: https://berkshirepulse.org/class/contemporary-intermediate-for-ages-14/

09/24/2026

👟Hip Hop? For Absolute Beginners? Count me in!👟

Hip Hop for Absolute Beginners
with Jody Green
Beginner, Ages 14+
Thursdays, 6:45–7:45 p.m.

“Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop” -Yasiin Bey

Welcome to the cypher! Inside this container, we will explore the movement of Hip-Hop culture(s). We will create our own styles rooted in the lineage of Hip-Hop and Black/African and Latinx culture(s). We will learn styles and steps we can use dancing socially. We will develop rhythm through games and warmups. We will explore body isolations. We will learn choreography. We might freestyle! And most importantly, we will find the groove by dancing with the vibrant sounds and stories of hip-hop music.

September 17th – December 10th
Drop-Ins Welcome!

(No class November 26th)

Click here to learn more and sign up today!: https://berkshirepulse.org/class/hip-hop-for-absolute-beginners-for-ages-14/

09/18/2026

🧟'Cause its almost thriller, thriller night!🧟

Led by Pulse teaching artist and retired MJ impersonator Dashawn Davis, we’ll bring Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” dance and music video to life with a Thriller Flash Mob during the Housatonic Halloween Parade!

🕸️ For Ages 13+
🕸️A little dance experience required! This one isn’t for absolute beginners.
🕸️ Commitment required: You must be available for all rehearsals and performance
🕸️ Costume required: Come dressed in your best Thriller/zombie-inspired look.
🕸️ Fun required: Get into character, unleash your inner zombie, and prepare to THRILL!

Rehearsals: Saturdays, 1:45–2:45 PM
October 17, 24 & 31 and two additional later rehearsals on October 24 & 31

No participation fee required! Donations are gratefully appreciated and help make this spooky takeover possible.

Register by October 1!

Click here to learn more!: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/housatonic-halloween-thriller-flash-mob-with-berkshire-pulse

09/15/2026

🍂As our Fall Session begins, we hope you’ll notice and enjoy the many changes we’ve made to the studio!🍂

We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who helped prepare our studios and spaces for the new school year:

Ben Shalles (Cobolt), Ben Downing (Mill River Finishing), John, Antonius, and Roman Louw, Celso Correia, Pulse students Kate Fenig, June Miner, Hartley Hobart, and Mollye Goldstein, and the entire Pulse staff.

Thank you all for your hard work and care in helping make our studios welcoming and ready for a new Fall Session!

09/09/2026

🍂Fall Highlight: AfroBeats with Mustapha Braimah🍂

AfroBeats
with Mustapha Braimah
All Levels, Ages 10+
Wednesdays 5 – 6 p.m.
September 16th – December 16th
(No class November 11th or November 25th)

Afrobeats/Afropop is a popular street dance style rooted in African pop culture. It evolved from traditional dance and musical forms across the continent and the diaspora. The style is ubiquitous, spreading beyond its urban African roots to achieve global popularity, thanks to social media and a blend of popular Afrobeat songs and intricate dance moves. Participants will develop and hone skills through warm-ups, drills, and choreographed routines taught by the instructor. The class also embeds the historical and cultural components that drive the dance. As with any other dance genre, Afrobeat/Afropop has a rich history, vocabulary, and technique. Compared with classical forms of dance, it is relatively new, but in its ‘short’ existence, it has quickly transcended its local roots in a specific urban setting to achieve global reach while continuing to reinvent itself. The movement portion of the class will follow the traditional dance class structure, starting with a choreographed warm-up, drilling, a new technique or skill, across-the-floor progressions, and a small combo to review the material presented that day.

No prior dance experience required. All are welcome!

Click here to register today!: https://berkshirepulse.org/class/afrobeats-ages-10-12/

09/04/2026

🚨REMINDER: We are closed Monday, September 7th in observance of Labor Day!🚨

In-Person Spanish translation will be available next week!

09/03/2026

Finishing our little celebration of our Fall 2026 Session!

See all the classes happening on Saturdays!

Click here to see the full schedule and register today: https://berkshirepulse.org/courselist/

Address

420 Park Street, P. O. Box 37
Housatonic, MA
01236

Website

http://berkshirepulse.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Berkshire Pulse posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to Berkshire Pulse:

Want your school to be the top-listed school/college in Housatonic?