Philadanco! The Philadelphia Dance Company

Since its inception, PHILADANCO has been recognized worldwide as a leader in innovative modern dance rooted in African-American traditions.

Across the nation and around the world, PHILADANCO is celebrated for its innovation, creativity and preservation of predominantly African-American traditions in dance. Founded in 1970, PHILADANCO has a legacy of breaking barriers and building bridges across cultural divides, consistently performing for audiences representing an amalgamation of people from diverse communities. PHILADANCO is recognized for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers, and electrifying performances.

PHILADANCO has enjoyed a legacy of “firsts” throughout its history, from its beginnings as a small, community-based group that broke cultural barriers in its formation and ensuing success, to its innovative contributions to the world of dance.

It is unique in providing dance instruction that is accessible in cost, schedule, and location to low- and moderate-income families. It was the first company in Philadelphia to offer low-cost housing to dancers, and one of the first in the country to place dancers on a 52-week salary. PHILADANCO was also one of the first companies to provide studio space to smaller companies and independent artists at low or no cost through collaboration with the Philadelphia Dance Project’s Studio Access Project.

PHILADANCO is a founder of the International Association for Blacks in Dance (IABD), a group that has provided support for and presented issues of importance to dance professionals of color throughout the world since 1991.