Dance West Fest

Explore dance in Salt Lake City with three of the city’s most venerated dance institutions. Dance West is a two-week intensive presented by Repertory Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, and the University of Utah School of Dance. Each morning features inspiring technique classes led by guest artists. In the afternoons, students dive into three distinct choreographic composition opportunities. Develop as a dancer, artist, and human at Dance West. Register today at dancewestfest.com/register.

Teaching and setting work for the students at @dancewestfest hosted by @ririewoodbury @rdtutah and @uofudance 🎉 If you’re out west I’d love to see you! Dance West Fest 📆July 13-23 📍Salt Lake City Early registration ends May 14 Link in bio to register

Parts of the day not pictured (but very much part of it)- making friends with dancers across the country, collaborating with professional companies and artists, and having so much fun! This could be YOU as a student at Dance West ✨ Join us for the full two weeks, or drop in as you like- see full details at dancewestfest.com

Train in the morning. Create in the afternoon. Perform at TOPOGRAPHY! One of the most exciting parts of Dance West 2026 happens in the afternoon—when dancers step into the creative process alongside incredible choreographers. Each participant in the choreography track will be assigned to work with one of three inspiring artists: Joyboy, Ursula Perry, or Daniel Charon (we’ll do our best to match you with your preference). Throughout the two-week intensive, dancers will collaborate closely with their assigned artist to help create a brand new work. The work created during these sessions will be performed in the final TOPOGRAPHY showcase, where dancers share the original choreography developed during the intensive, alongside performances by Repertory Dance Theatre and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company! For dancers ready to move beyond technique class and into the creative process, the Dance West choreography track offers a chance to collaborate, create, and perform with artists shaping today’s dance landscape. Register now to reserve your place at Dance West 2026!

Our next choreographer you have the opportunity to work with during our choreography track is the one and only, Ursula Perry @ursyper . Ursula has danced with @rdtutah for the past 13 seasons and will be performing her final bow as a company member in April. But you still have a chance to work with her as a choreographer in the choreography track at Dance West this year. Spend the two weeks creating something new that will be performed on the final showing of TOPOGRAPHY. Ursula’s tenure at RDT has yielded an ever-enriching understanding of the need to create opportunities for the young and old to heal through movement. The physical being is not only a tool but a storage space for the human story. It is her belief that the power of movement and grit of raw physicality can heal both the body and the mind. *Choreography by Zvi Gotheiner, Eric Handman, and Shari Lane #dancewest #danceworkshop #choreography

For dancers ready to move beyond technique class and into the creative process, the Dance West choreography track offers a chance to collaborate, create, and perform with artists shaping today’s dance landscape. Train in the morning. Create in the afternoon. Perform at TOPOGRAPHY. Register now to reserve your place at Dance West 2026.

This year at Dance West, Guest Choreographer Daniel Charon will be creating a new work on participates in the choreography track, to be performed in the final TOPOGRAPHY showcase at the end of the intensive! This is a rare opportunity to experience the choreographic process firsthand — learning how movement is developed, shaped, and refunded for the stage while contributing your own ideas and artistry!

Housing is available for 2-Week Dance West participants! Participants can sign up for affordable housing in the University of Utah Marriott Honors Housing, which is within walking distance to Marriott Center for Dance (week 1 location) and close to the Fort Douglas TRAX station (for easy access to week 2 location). Housing is from Sunday, July 12 through Saturday, July 26, and is $495. Housing registration opens when workshop registration opens. Learn more at the link in our bio or at dancewestfest.com/location-housing-details

Hear all about about this year’s Choreography Track From Dance West Directors Lynne Larson and Thom Dancy!

Meet the artists: Dance West 2026 Francesca Romo @francesca.romo & Michaela Ellingson @miquayla join us from @contemporarydancewyoming for this year’s DANCE WEST! They will be teaching both together and individually a variety of technique-based classes during Block 1 and creative-based classes in Block 2 during both weeks of Dance West. Contemporary Dance Wyoming (CDW) is a project-based cohort of professional artists creating bold work rooted in process through rigor, embodiment, and community connection. Led by Artistic Director Francesca Romo, who guides the company in its 27th season with a vision centered on curiosity, care, and sustainability. Over more than two decades, CDW has collaborated with artists from major dance companies across the country, toured throughout the Western United States, and performed in New York City. Its work has been described as visually stimulating, highly athletic, and exhilarating. At its core, Contemporary Dance Wyoming functions as a regional pipeline for contemporary dance—supporting local artists, attracting experienced professionals, and ensuring that dance remains a vital, evolving force in the Intermountain West. We are excited to have these phenomenal artists joining us for DANCE WEST 2026! Register today to join their classes.#dancewest #danceworkshop #danceintensive

Dance West Fest offers two partial scholarships (50% off tuition) to dancers attending the full two-week workshop! The deadline for applications is April 1st at 9pm Mountain Time. Awardees will be notified by April 18th. The application asks for your information, one reference, and includes short narrative answers to the following questions: Give us a sense of who you are Why would this scholarship help you at this time? Why Dance West? Apply at dancewestfest.com!

Take floorwork & partnering classes with Dual Rivet in the first week of Dance West 2026! @dualrivet Dual Rivet is a women-led dance company focused on creating and sharing highly physical contemporary dance to a wide audience. Based in NYC, Dual Rivet creates work for stage and film that exchanges a cinematic and visceral language to influence both platforms. Directors Jess Smith and Chelsea Ainsworth have been making and presenting work since 2017. The company hosts an annual choreography festival, MADE BY WOMEN, highlighting women choreographers and filmmakers from around the globe. Resister for Dance West today!