Swarthmore College Dance Program

08/28/2026

What’s happening this Fall? 🍂 What courses are you planning to take?

Whether you’re completely new to dance or have prior experience, Swarthmore Dance Department welcomes you to immerse yourself in a wide offering of courses this semester, bringing together forms, traditions, and histories from across the globe, along with opportunities to create, perform, and think about dance in different ways.

In our Studio Practice courses, you can experience and develop skills in movement forms from a range of traditions and approaches, while our Repertory/Ensemble courses offer opportunities to deepen that work through rehearsal and performance.

This fall, offerings across these areas include African Diasporic Dance, Contemporary Modern Dance, Hip-Hop, Ballet, Chinese Dance, Tap, West African Drumming, and Japanese Taiko.

Want to dig deeper into the contexts surrounding dance? Our 1-credit Dance Studies courses investigate dance through historical, theoretical, and critical perspectives.

This Fall, offerings include First-Year Seminar: Ballet and Modern Dance in Europe and the USA (DANC 002) and Dance and Diaspora (DANC 025)

Interested in making dances of your own? Our Dance Lab I and II courses focus on choreography and the creative process, with opportunities to present work to the community.

We invite you to move, create, and explore with us this Fall 2026! ✨



Photography Credit: Sasha Fornari

07/27/2026

This interview, just published in the Swarthmore magazine, explores Pallabi Chakravorty's work with dance in the college classroom and her community involvement with the Courtyard Dancers.

Anthropologist, dancer, and choreographer Pallabi Chakravorty has spent her career tracing how movement carries culture — across borders, histories, and identities.

06/16/2026

Join the 4th of July Park Ave Strut
Participation is FREE!!
Sponsored by the Park Avenue Community Center.
Dance, celebrate, and strut your stuff with the PAC Center in the Swarthmore 4th of July Parade! All dancers and non-dancers are invited to learn a fun, joyful group dance led by Bethany Formica and perform it together down Park Avenue during the parade.
Rehearsals: You must be able to attend at least 3 in addition to the Mandatory July 4 final rehearsal at 9:00 am.
Thursday June 25: 6 - 7:30 PM
Saturday June 27: 12 - 1:30 PM
Tuesday July 30: 6 - 7:30 PM
Thursday July 2: 6 - 7:30 PM
Mandatory Last Rehearsal Sat. July 4: 9:00 AM
Performance: Saturday, July 4: 10AM
RSVP to join! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd29rKXnkDbBmHhVeG5AmrVQmyU-Mze6aAGK0ZS14NpTDrDog/viewform

04/23/2026

The Swarthmore College Dance Department presents 2026 Spring Dance Concert.

Friday, May 1st at 4:30pm & Saturday, May 2nd at 7:00pm
Lang Performing Arts Center (LPAC)
Pearson-Hall Theatre

Featuring Faculty-Directed Ensembles: African Diaspora, Ballet, Contemporary, Tap and Taiko.
Student Work: Aishi DeBroy ‘26

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Live-stream Link: https://video.ibm.com/channel/NC4DHY6VReS
Accessibility Advance Notice
Swarthmore College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the event sponsor, or Susan Smythe, ADA Program Manager at 610-690-2063 in advance of your participation or visit.

04/21/2026

The Swarthmore College Department of Dance presents Spring 2026 Upcoming Events.

Spring Dance Concert
May 1st at 4:30pm
& May 2nd at 7:00pm
Lang Performing Arts Center
Pearson-Hall Theatre
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
No Ticket or RSVP Required

Dance Lab Showing
May 5th at 5:00pm
Lang Performing Arts Center
Troy Dance Lab
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
No Ticket or RSVP Required

Dance Colloquium
May 6th at 12:00pm
Lang Performing Arts Center
Sci 204
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
No Ticket or RSVP Required

04/16/2026

Join the Dance Department for a showing of the work of the Ballet Ensemble. Featuring new and classic repertory staged by Jennifer Chipman-Bloom, Chandra Moss-Thorne, and Olivia Sabee, and live music by Paul LoPresti and Stephanie Renée, plus new choreography by student-led Ember Dance Company. Special thanks to the BCC for helping to make this production happen.

04/16/2026

Join the Dance Department at Swarthmore College for Throwback Thursday. This past March, Swarthmore Dance welcomed Dr Kemal Nance ‘92 for Coming Home: A Master Umfundalai Dance Workshop and Dance Career Conversation. This Dance Lecture & Workshop Series event was generously funded by the Cooper Foundation Serendipity Grant.

04/09/2026

Join the Dance Department at Swarthmore College for Throwback Thursday. This past Monday and Tuesday, Swarthmore Dance welcomed Tulsa-based dance artist Maree Remalia for two guest workshops. Students had the opportunity to experience the interdisciplinary creative process behind Remalia’s latest solo work “With Ourselves, With Each Other” and explore her physical practice, inspired by techniques from somatics, improvisation, and theater.