At ADF, there are more classes, performances, discussions, and opportunities to create and perform than anyone can take advantage of! To make your summer rich, meaningful, and manageable, we encourage you to identify your priorities for your time at ADF and allow the festival to serve them. Learn more about the key features of the ADF experience below!
Each year, ADF chooses a critical lens that allows us to form a vibrant research community focused on a shared concern. In 2020, the ADF School will explore the physical imagination: How does dance allow us to explore and realize our wildest imaginings? We will explore this question through dancing, discussion, and marvelous flights into our individual and collective imagination.
Auditions will be held during the first two days of the festival for audition-based classes. For anyone not auditioning, there will be a range of open classes with ADF faculty to experience. Final registration for classes will occur on Sunday, June 21, allowing dancers who auditioned to register for their third class based on audition results.
Orientation, informal gatherings, auditions for additional performance opportunities, and performances will also occur on the opening days of the festival.
Everyone takes three courses of their choosing that meet four days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday) for the entirety of the summer. You can register for all courses that don’t require an audition before you arrive at the festival so you know your daily schedule in advance.
STUDENT-LED INITIATIVES AND MENTORSHIP
ADF aims to develop the next generation of leaders in the field by providing opportunities for you to propose, develop, and lead classes and discussions. In addition, ADF provides focused mentorship for student choreographers.
CREATIVE AND PERFORMING OPPORTUNITIES
There are many ways to perform at ADF: the Footprints program, repertory classes, the faculty concert, the ICR concert, and student concerts. Once you apply, you’ll receive a full description on each of these options.
ADF has access to numerous studios, and all full-time ADF students can reserve rehearsal space to advance their personal research, technical practice, or creative work.
The ADF performance season features the established greats and the cutting edge in modern dance. You’ll receive a complimentary ticket to one performance by each visiting company
in the Reynolds Industries Theater, Page Auditorium, and von der Heyden Studio Theater
. (Tickets to shows in other performance venues depends on availability.) 2020 artists will be announced in the coming months!
HEALTH AND WELLNESS SUPPORT
Physical Therapy: Participants will have access to a Duke University Physical Therapy walk-in clinic for the duration of the festival. The physical therapy clinic is conveniently located in the same building as the ADF offices, and is available to all ADF participants free of charge. Physical Therapy is usually open for a limited number of hours, three days a week.
Massage and Acupuncture: A resident massage therapist and acupuncturist is available to the ADF community, offering affordable care with a specialization in treatment for dancers.
Gym Access: ADF dancers have access to Duke University’s Brodie Gym, which features a pool, sauna, and full array of cardiovascular equipment and weights.
Duke University Student Health Center
: For basic health needs that can be taken care of in a clinic, Duke University allows ADF students the option to pay a Student Health Center Fee and take advantage of the outpatient services on campus. Examples of services provided include medical care for illnesses and minor injuries, medication dispensed by the Center’s pharmacy for short-term treatment of acute problems, and basic laboratory services. This fee does NOT COVER emergency room or hospital visits. Please refer to this page
by Duke to see all services covered and not covered. It’s important to reference these pages before pursuing services at the center. Please note that purchasing the Student Health Center Fee DOES NOT take the place of health insurance.
Academic credit application deadline: May 15, 2020
Academic credit is available to students currently enrolled in college, as well as qualified high school graduates or rising high school seniors. Duke University records undergraduate academic progress in terms of course credit. For purposes of transfer, a full course load (3 classes plus WFSS) is equivalent to a total of eight semester hours or two-course credits. Credit for work completed is subject to the approval of the student’s institution’s registrar or admissions officer. Individuals who have completed all requirements for the BA or BS degree may request advanced-level credit. Students enrolled for academic credit may request one or more copies of their official transcript from Duke University, not ADF, upon successful completion of their coursework. A $120 transcript fee will be charged to any student who wishes to receive academic credit. This one-time fee allows students to receive academic credit for any future year that they attend ADF, along with unlimited free copies of their Duke University transcript. All students (whether applying for academic credit or not) are able to receive a certificate of attendance issued from ADF.
ADF ARCHIVES AND SCHOLARLY RESEARCH
ADF dancers have access to Duke University’s Lily Library, which features an enviable array of dance books, videos, and resources. They also have access to ADF archival materials