Conservatory of
Dance
Photo: Christopher Duggan
Learn what it means to be a professional dancer.
We offer an education at the forefront of contemporary professional dance, while remaining committed to classical foundations.
All students major in the Dance Performance BFA program.
Concentrations include dance performance, ballet, dance composition, and dance production (by application).
Professional Training
The Conservatory of Dance in the School of the Arts at Purchase College is one of only a handful of conservatories in the world where you can learn what it means to be a dance professional. The opportunity provided to individuals committed to the full realization of themselves as artists is second to none.
Professional Connections
The Conservatory of Dance’s BFA program gives students a comprehensive entrée into the world of professional dance. Purchase alumni currently perform with many of the foremost international contemporary modern and ballet choreographers and companies.
They also teach, direct, and choreograph major productions, dance on Broadway, have founded companies across the globe, and are nurturing the next generation as professors in higher education.
Related Links
Reviews
“SUNY Purchase, home to one of the country’s most highly regarded dance conservatories…”
—The New York Times
“The State University of New York at Purchase is home to one of the most prestigious dance programs in the country, offering a rigorous college dance education at a significantly lower cost than most private universities. The SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance (COD) students are on par with what one might expect to see in the professional dance world.”
Conservatory of Dance
Learn what makes Dance at Purchase so unique.
Latest Stories
MUGLER CREATORS Program Shines a Light on Purchase
Purchase College is incredibly honored to be part of the newly launched MUGLER CREATORS: LIGHTS ON CREATIVE PEOPLE.
A. Dean Irby and Lisa Dawn Cave ’79 Receive Honors
Given by the International Black Theatre Festival, Irby received the Lloyd Richards Director Award and Cave the Outstanding Achievement in Stage Management Award.
The Power of Purchase on Stage in NYC
Cain Coleman ’09–’13 presents new work at The Shed in Hudson Yards, sharing the stage with recent graduates.
Upcoming Events
Nov
22
Purchase Dance Company’s Fall ’25 Dance Concert
Join us for a preshow Artist Talk that begins at 7:15p in the PepsiCo lobby.
The Purchase Dance Company’s Fall Concert features an exciting and diverse range of world premieres and renowned repertory works in order to showcase the dynamic range of the company’s professional caliber students and reflect the Conservatory’s stature as a leading center for world-class dance training.
We are thrilled to present an expansive and exuberant new staging of Social Discourse(2009), a postmodern tour de force by Seán Curran, Bessie award winner and Artistic Director of the Seán Curran Company.
Harkness Promise Fellow Yue Yin, founder of YY Dance Company, will keep the audience riveted with Through the Fracture of Light (2016), a dramatic contemporary work.
Two exciting commissions have enabled our students to be an integral part of the creative process as our guest choreographers bring their visions to the stage. Da’ Von Doane, former principal dance artist of Dance Theatre of Harlem, will premiere Cryptic Tongues: Scorched Earth, a poetic contemporary ballet work.
Rounding out the program, Conservatory of Dance alum Symara Sarai (’19), named “Outstanding Breakout Choreographer,” will present Necessary, a dynamic contemporary piece, created expressly for this season.
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Nov
23
Purchase Dance Company’s Fall ’25 Dance Concert
Join us for a preshow Cast Member talk at 1:15p in the PepsiCo lobby.
The Purchase Dance Company’s Fall Concert features an exciting and diverse range of world premieres and renowned repertory works in order to showcase the dynamic range of the company’s professional caliber students and reflect the Conservatory’s stature as a leading center for world-class dance training.
We are thrilled to present an expansive and exuberant new staging of Social Discourse(2009), a postmodern tour de force by Seán Curran, Bessie award winner and Artistic Director of the Seán Curran Company.
Harkness Promise Fellow Yue Yin, founder of YY Dance Company, will keep the audience riveted with Through the Fracture of Light (2016), a dramatic contemporary work.
Two exciting commissions have enabled our students to be an integral part of the creative process as our guest choreographers bring their visions to the stage. Da’ Von Doane, former principal dance artist of Dance Theatre of Harlem, will premiere Cryptic Tongues: Scorched Earth, a poetic contemporary ballet work.
Rounding out the program, Conservatory of Dance alum Symara Sarai (’19), named “Outstanding Breakout Choreographer,” will present Necessary, a dynamic contemporary piece, created expressly for this season.
.
Nov
23
Purchase Dance Company’s Fall ’25 Dance Concert
The Purchase Dance Company’s Fall Concert features an exciting and diverse range of world premieres and renowned repertory works in order to showcase the dynamic range of the company’s professional caliber students and reflect the Conservatory’s stature as a leading center for world-class dance training.
We are thrilled to present an expansive and exuberant new staging of Social Discourse(2009), a postmodern tour de force by Seán Curran, Bessie award winner and Artistic Director of the Seán Curran Company.
Harkness Promise Fellow Yue Yin, founder of YY Dance Company, will keep the audience riveted with Through the Fracture of Light (2016), a dramatic contemporary work.
Two exciting commissions have enabled our students to be an integral part of the creative process as our guest choreographers bring their visions to the stage. Da’ Von Doane, former principal dance artist of Dance Theatre of Harlem, will premiere Cryptic Tongues: Scorched Earth, a poetic contemporary ballet work.
Rounding out the program, Conservatory of Dance alum Symara Sarai (’19), named “Outstanding Breakout Choreographer,” will present Necessary, a dynamic contemporary piece, created expressly for this season.
.