Opus Dance Theatre & Community Services, Inc is a cultural organization committed to making arts a meaningful experience for all people.

Description:
The organization provides professional and rigorous training for young dancers in all dance forms, artistic development for professional dancers, and youth-focused outreach and education initiatives.

Opus Dance Theatre & Community Services, Inc prepares young dancers for the serious career in dance, musical theatre, film and television, all while developing the discipline, self-confidence and creativity that every person needs to succeed in life.

History:
ORGANIZATION HISTORY

OPUS Dance Theatre (ODT) is a not-for-profit organization, which promotes the full spectrum of the Pan-African experience through performance and educational programs. With a philosophy based on the belief that ARTS IN EDUCATION is valuable and must be maintained as an integral part of educational goals, ODT has, for more than 16 years, specialized in the development of general and multicultural visual and performing arts instructional curricular. This philosophy is now moreover, a fundamental element within the context of a national agenda on education, which specializes in quality and inclusion, to the extent that general, and especially multicultural arts curricular, has become integral components of traditional classroom learning.

The company's uniquely specialized programs and performances have already been utilized by a wide variety of youth organizations, social services, other government agencies, and neighborhood institutions, including the New York City Administration For Children's Services, NYC Department of Education, the Montessori Continuing Education for Teachers Program, The American Red Cross, The Harlem Valley Facility, the Salvation Army's Battered Women's Shelter, the Sports & Arts in School Foundation, and the New York Public Library. ODT is a member of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce and The Harlem Arts Alliance. ODT has recently enjoyed the Sports & Arts in School Cultural Festival, the Moja Arts Festival in Charleston South Carolina, and international acclaim, having been a featured guest at the First Annual International Black Arts Festival in Vienna, Austria, the First Annual Festival of the African Diaspora, in Costa Rica, and in 2006 received the Vivian Robinson Arts & Culture Award in Honor of Katherine Dunham. While the company's repertoire consists of works that present visual and emotional images of human experiences deeply rooted in tradition, conveyance of these traditions occurs through artistic expression via the universal medium of dance and the universal language of music.

ODT’s company of directors, teachers, choreographers, musicians, and technicians embody an active dynamic of energy and purpose, committed to spirit, tradition, and innovation in performance. It is through this combination of elements that ODT remains a pivotal force, not only in the preservation of a great ethnic tradition, but also in the translation of those traditions into tools of academic and artistic enrichment and enlightenment, the most formidable goals of education.

Every performance is an effort to remain genuine and relevant to our philosophy and goals. Every concert proclaims ODT's commitment to spirit, tradition, and innovation in performance. Every performance is an opportunity in the movement of time that gives ODT the means of perpetuating our culture and beliefs through the universal experience of sight, sound, and thought. With every performance OPUS hopes to convey an understanding of self-concept, our journey, and the purpose of getting there and beyond.

Contact people:

James Grant, Executive Director, (212) 996-8413, (email) William H. Green, Jr., Program Director, (646) 256-0383, (email) Kimberly Vasquez, Program Manager, (917) 595-8383, (email)

Address:

1486 5th Avenue Suite 2S NEW YORK CITY, NY 10035 (See a map)

Directions:

2 or 3 trains to 116th Street and Lenox Avenue 6 trains to 116the Street and Lexington Avenue 4,5 & 6 trains to 125th Street and Lenox Avenue Walk to 5th Avenue & we are between 119th & 120th on 5th Avenue   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: 116th or 125th Street,   Walk distance (in minutes): 5   Nearest Bus Stop: 1, 5 minute walk