Philadelphia's Koresh Dance Company, founded in 1991 by artistic director Ronen Koresh, remains a vital force in the dance world; touring across the nation to perform Koresh's explosive choreography while promoting dance throughout communities. The Koresh School of Dance is a dance training hub located in Philadelphia; offering exceptional dance training for adults and children, from beginner levels through professional.
Koresh Kids Dance – Outreach in Philadelphia

Koresh Kids Dance Outreach

The Koresh Kids Dance program promotes the arts and brings arts education directly to underserved children in our community. We provide an educational program for youth to learn new skills and improve their quality of life through dance. The program has three components, reaching Philadelphia public school students preK-12: (1) free dance classes with our professional dance educators, (2) free lecture/demonstrations by the Koresh Dance Company, and (3) a low-cost training program.


What the principals, teachers and students are saying:

“My students are still talking about the fun they had and the dance moves that they learned. The smiles on their faces as they interacted with the members of your dance company was proof enough of the wonderful time that was shared by all.”

– Sandra Ruffin-Pearson
Principal, Robert Vaux High School


“In today’s schools, children don’t understand the meaning of listening and discipline. Dance is definitely a positive way to teach them this. Children need to have dance more often in their lives.”

– Ilene Applebaum
Teacher, Anna B Day School


“The dancing was cooler than anything I have ever seen in school.”

– Quron
Student, Nebinger Elementary School


“The dance lesson was second to none. Our teacher has never seen her students have so much fun. The Koresh Dance Company has brought to life the creativity and energy of all the students involved. It was a privilege to work with such a professional organization.”

– Tamara Conaway
Principal, Anna Lane Lingelbach School


“It’s more than a scholarship; it’s a better chance for me to follow my dreams and end up with success.”

– Moreen King
Scholarship Student, Koresh School of Dance


“It was amazing to see how some of the students responded to you. Many of these students struggle in academic areas, but were naturally gifted dancers. It is great that you are so giving of your time and energy to students who are lacking experience in the arts.”

– Kiana Thompson
Art Teacher, Harding Middle School


“As an administrator, it was touching to observe these almost-adolescents put aside their swagger for an hour and take genuine delight in something they’d never experienced.”

– Gabrielle Mosquera
Program Director, Belmont Charter School


“We appreciate the experience you gave us. We rarely get a chance to dance in school. We hope you come back again.”

– The future dancers of Room 11
Anna B Day School


“The teacher was able to encourage the ladies to explore dance in ways that some of them would probably never experience.”

– T. Riddick
8th Grade Advisor, Wagner Middle School


“I love to dance but now that I saw you dance you made me feel good about myself.”

– Alicia
Student, John Moffet School


“The scholarship for Koresh has helped me develop into a better dancer and a better person.”

– Nima King
Scholarship Student, Koresh School of Dance

Dance Classes
At present, we offer schools one free dance class during each academic school year. We want to reach as many kids as possible across the city to give them an introduction to dance and get them excited about it.

Since our program began in 2003 we have taught approximately 20-30 free classes each academic year. We hope to teach even more in the coming years. We anticipate that, with external funding, we could increase the numbers of hours that our teachers spend in the schools.

Master Class List 2006-2007  |  Master Class List 2004-2005  |  Master Class List 2003-2004

Koresh Kids Dance Outreach
Lecture/Demonstrations
We are also committed to giving free lecture/demonstrations in Philadelphia schools. These “lec/dems” are another way for students to be introduced to dance and the performing arts. We typically reach 250-400 children in each of these 60-minute lec/dems. The children get to see the professional dancers up close while they perform excerpts from the company’s repertoire and demonstrate different techniques of dance. Students have the chance to ask them questions and sometimes even learn a short routine. Lec/dems are a great alternative to dance classes if the school population is quite large and the administration doesn’t want to exclude students. In the weeks before we visit a school, we send the teachers a study guide to prepare the students for our visit.

Koresh Kids Dance Outreach
Low Cost Training Program
Through Koresh Kids Dance, we have seen several children in our community with a drive and passion for dance; it is apparent to us in every school we visit. Unfortunately, they are unable to take any formal dance training due to their financial situation. It is our hope to support the dance education they desire so we have created the Brook J. Lenfest Young Dancer Scholarship Program. This program enables us to remain fully dedicated to promoting arts education. At present, we have approximately five students who receive low-cost or subsidized training through this program at the Koresh Children’s Studio. We hope to offer this opportunity to even more students who would otherwise be unable to attend dance classes as our ultimate goal is to make dance accessible to people everywhere.

If you are interested in any of the above programs, please contact:
Emily O'Rourke, Education & Outreach Director, at
emily@koreshdance.org