Troy University Will Present TROY-DAP International Dance Intensive with World-Class Artists

Troy University's partnership with Italy's Danza in Arte a Pietrasanta will now provide a new and exciting opportunity for dancers to learn from master performers and teachers from Europe and the United States through the TROY-DAP International Experience from July 30 through August 2. 

For more than 10 years, dancers from TROY have traveled to Italy to participate in the Danza in Arte a Pietrasanta, the DAP Festival, a unique international festival that combines dance and music with visual arts. Now, a three-day intensive will bring the DAP Festival to TROY, combining performance, training, international cultural exchange and a strong synergy between dance and other art forms. 

Adria Ferrali, TROY-DAP's Associate Artistic Director and the DAP Festival Director, said bringing the DAP Festival experience to TROY represents a bridge between two worlds in which American dancers will engage with international stars.

“This partnership isn't just about technique; it's about ‘Real Artistry and Real Connections,' providing a unique, high-level synergy between dance, culture, and global exchange that prepares the next generation for a truly international career,” Ferrali said.

Open to dancers age 14 and up, TROY-DAP will offer participants a wide range of educational and performance opportunities, master classes and interactive sessions with international performers and feedback sessions designed to support developing choreographers. Students will also have the opportunity to compete for scholarships to the DAP Festival in Italy, an immersive two-week dance experience.

Featured dance artists for TROY-DAP will include Danish choreographer, dancer and director Sebastian Kloborg; former San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Maria Kotchetkova; dancer, actor and movement director Maxwell Simoes; and Ukrainian-American Dancer, Choreographer and Movement Director Stephanie Noll.

“The TROY-DAP Dance Experience is the realization of a longtime goal of our Dance program to host an exclusive, top-notch intensive for pre-college and pre-professional dancers,” said Tori Lee Averett, TROY-DAP Program Director and Chair of TROY's Department of Theatre and Dance.  “When the chance came to expand into an international approach, we knew this was the opportunity we had been waiting for. We've especially enjoyed the added pleasure of collaborating with our colleagues and friends from the DAP Festival in Pietrasanta, Italy, where our students have danced for the past ten summers as part of study abroad. It is incredible to be able to expand our partnership in such an authentic way that serves students and promotes cultural exchange – two things that resonate within Troy University's mission.

James Boyd, TROY-DAP associate director, said the project centers on a straightforward goal: bringing people together across international borders through shared artistic practice. 

“This forward-thinking opportunity was made possible through the dedication and vision of a committed team, including representatives from Troy University, the DAP Festival, and leading voices from major dance organizations,” Boyd said. “Together, they have created a platform that fosters global connection while expanding educational exposure for participants.”

TROY-DAP's Education Coordinator, Deborah Hicks, hopes the experience will offer participants exposure to International Artists, allowing them to imagine the possibility of studying or dancing internationally.

“Until we are intimately exposed to difference, we typically avoid what we know very little about,” Hicks said. “Dance is such a universal language, but we tend to speak only part of that language, that with which we are familiar. While familiarity is comfortable, it is also limiting. We feel like this experience will open dancers' eyes to the limitless.”