Lehman College will host the inaugural Boogie Down Dance Day, from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 27. Participants will be able to participate in free dance classes in multiple styles ranging from hip-hop to house, and ballet to theater jazz. The day culminates with a freestyle dance battle and mixer. 

The National Dance Day event, which for the last 10 years has been celebrated on the last Saturday in July, is being organized by the Black Iris Project, a New York City-based ballet collaborative that champions Black-centric choreographic works, and presented in conjunction with Lehman College and The City University of New York Dance Initiative. 

Participants in Boogie Down Dance Day require no formal dance training, just a desire to learn and spend time with some of New York City’s most accomplished dancers, including one of Radio City’s Rockettes, Danelle Morgan. Classes will be held in both the Music Building and APEX athletic facility on Lehman’s campus. Prizes and scholarships to dance instruction courses will be given out throughout each class.

Boogie Down Dance Day Schedule

Studio A in the Music Building

12–1:30 p.m. | House (taught by Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie)

2:30–3:30 p.m. | Black Iris Project open studio rehearsal with Jeremy McQueen

3:30–5 p.m. | Hip-Hop (to be announced)

5–6 p.m. | Freestyle Dance Battle & Mixer

 Studio B in the APEX

12–1:30 p.m. | Ballet (taught by Amanda Smith of Dance Theatre of Harlem)

1:30–3 p.m. | Theater Jazz (taught by Danelle Morgan of the Radio City Rockettes)

Participants must RSVP at www.boogiedowndanceday.splashthat.com and register for the programs they would like to attend, either as dancers or audience members.

• Course Withdrawal period. A grade of “W” is assigned to students who officially drop a class.