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Steps Conservatory Puts Professional Training at the Heart of Its Program

Mindy Jackson, the Steps Conservatory director and a contemporary faculty member at Steps on Broadway in NYC, says, “a versatile dancer is a working dancer.” Rather than being split into commercial-dance and concert-dance tracks, all students in the Steps on Broadway Conservatory follow a curriculum that includes ballet and pointe, theater, classical jazz, contemporary, modern, hip hop, acting, vocal, guest choreography, and world dance styles. “Styles are fusing,” says Jackson of the current dance industry. “Broadway is never just one note; contemporary [and] concert dancers are asked to vocalize onstage, tell stories in their movement.”

Class assignments could place paired “buddy” dancers together, be divided by technical level, or be randomly selected, allowing for the greatest breadth of in-studio experience. The two-year program has 50 to 60 dancers, with 10 to 30 dancers per class. This environment offers a perfect balance between highly personalized training and real-world skill building. “Our studios at Steps are large enough for this number to provide enough space for full-out dancing, individualized attention, and the practice of crowded audition rooms and spatial awareness,” says Jackson.

If the concrete jungle outside the studio seems daunting, students can find a sense of belonging at Steps. “The dancers in the Conservatory are generally not from NYC. These young adults are coming from all around the country and world to study with us, so ensuring they feel this sense of home away from home is paramount,” says Jackson. The faculty fosters an environment that is both nurturing and challenging. “They are encouraging, supportive, and firm with the students to uphold the values and to work to their fullest potential,” says Jackson.

The Steps Conservatory cultivates dancers who can work alongside the best in NYC and beyond. “Creatives want to work with dancers who are confidently and authentically themselves, ready to contribute something to the process and space,” says Jackson.

Steps On Broadway Conservatory’s 2024 Winter Showcase. Photo by Taylor Craft, courtesy Steps Conservatory.

Steps Conservatory

Program size: 50–60
Age range: 17–24
Performance opportunities: New York Jazz Choreography Project, Steps Beyond Foundation Performance Labs, Student Choreography Showcase, End-Of-Semester Showcase, Steps Industry Showcase, Steps in Concert, Steps Academy showcases, and many other one-off performances in the Steps studios and elsewhere
Tuition: $14,750/year ($29,500 for 2 years); prices are subject to change.
Room/board: Steps has numerous housing affiliates. Direct contact information is shared with accepted students, and the locations are within a reasonable commuting distance to Steps.
Daily schedule: Monday through Friday, 9 am–5 pm. Students also have the opportunity to take Steps Open Program classes, which go until 10 pm some nights.
Alumni: The Outsiders on Broadway; cruise ships and theme parks, including Royal Caribbean, Disney World and Disney Treasure, Six Flags, and RWS Global; Broadway Bares; signed with a variety of agents; international and national tours; regional theater productions; contemporary and modern dance companies including Pilobolus; choreographers and producers of their own work; teachers across the country and abroad; and more
Additional opportunities: Steps in Concert, Dance Studio Alliance annual performances, Earl Mosley Diversity of Dance annual benefit concerts, video projects, special guest performances, media coverage, auditions for agencies and casting companies, assistant positions with professional choreographers, and more
Important dates: Jazz Choreography Project: October 26, 2 pm and 5 pm, Martha Graham Studios; Spring 2026 application due: November 1; Steps Beyond Foundation Choreography Lab: November 16, 8 pm, Steps Studio Theater; Student Choreography Showcase: December 13–14, 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm, Steps Studio Theater; Conservatory Winter Showcase: December 15, 7 pm, Ailey Citigroup Theater; Earl Mosley: January 17–18, 2026, location TBD; Fall 2026 application due: March 1, 2026

Learn more about the Steps Conservatory and how to apply here.

Steps On Broadway Conservatory’s 2024 Winter Showcase. Photo by Taylor Craft, courtesy Steps Conservatory.

The post Steps Conservatory Puts Professional Training at the Heart of Its Program appeared first on Dance Spirit.

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Tapas Das: Tapas Das, a young entrepreneur of our times started TWIST N TURNS in 2005. A person who is kind, generous, creative and down to earth wanted to start his own one of a kind dance academy. According to him, Dance is a language of movements that involves space, time and the human body. He was born and grew up in Kolkata, the cultural hub of India. Being appreciated in the field of dance all his life, he is extremely talented. He has been dancing since the age of four. Once he finished his high school, he learned jazz/modern and contemporary dance. His horizons were broadened even more when he started dancing Bollywood with Beat Busters for 4 years, which then was the most upcoming dance crew in Kolkata. After that exposure, he studied how to be a dance teacher, which later started helping him impart his knowledge about dance. Thus, in 2005, with the help of family and friends, he started TWIST N TURNS. Starting with a mere number of 40 students, today TWIST N TURNS currently has over 500 students. Over the time Tapas has taught and performed all over the country. He has performed in cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Jhansi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur etc. He has been an active participant in the Salsa India Congress in the cities of Bangalore and Bombay, and he has also visited various International Salsa Congresses in Europe, namely in Berlin ,Singapore, Hong Kong,Dubai. He is been also trained recently at Broadway Dance Center (New York), Alvin Alley (New York) and Steps on Broadway (New York). He is not only a dancer or teacher. He is a successful choreographer and has coordinated various shows without difficulty in our country. His leadership skills are exceptional, thus he is where he stands today. His aim in life would be to become a dance educator. He wants to share his tremendous knowledge in the right way to the right people. He is also, simultaneously running other brands like Zumba Kolkata, Bollywood Studio ArtistWala.com and India International Dance Institute.