The Dance Complex

This is the place to be! Peter DiMuro has catapulted the Dance Complex into the dance stratosphere! Everyone can find a home here and be welcomed to dance, to enjoy to be a part of this vibrant dancing community. I taught children’s classes there for years and most recently shared my love of teaching children through the not for profit Dance In The Schools in a brand new event, Fall Into Dance, I was among a myriad of amazing Boston based dance programs such as Boston Ballet, Global Arts Live, Celebrity Series of Boston, Boston Dance Alliance, The Dance Complex, The Center for Arts at the Armory, Rasik, and more. I had the chance to meet and mingle with audiences, presenters, performers, and movers alike! It was all together a lively and engaging event. It was wonderful to hear about all the dance-based opportunities coming to the city this fall and beyond.

The dance complex is an amazing community-run safe place where I feel free to try, to fail, to learn, and to grow as a dancer and a person.

The Dance Complex embodies anything you'd dream of needing from a dance organization. A tall and proud gem that houses 6 studios, all differing in size and function, a friendly and efficient (part-time) staff plus an ever inclusive volunteer based community who run the building and classes so diverse, you will get tastes of the globe when you peek your head, or feet into a studio. I am so proud to be a part of The Dance Complex community. Beyond being just a building of studios, it's a community that nurtures movement, expression, well-being and artistry. I love The Dance Complex so much I have centered my life around it.

When I moved here, all I ever heard about when I asked about dance classes as The Dance Complex. Ready to join and sign up for classes, I couldn't believe it was all on a drop-in basis. And that just about sums it up. No extra fees, no special deals or hours. You just come and take any kind of class you'd like with the BEST teachers ever.
And if you volunteer, the classes are free.
You cannot beat this place.

I travel a lot, but dance is in my soul. Whenever I'm in the Boston area, I head for The Dance Complex. It always feels like coming home. Last year, they did major changes, for the better, to the lobby. It was beautiful and still regal and comforting at the same time. A treasure, for sure, no matter what style of dance you like, or how good you are. The Dance Complex is the best.

This place is a true pillar of the Dance Community in the area. Eighteen Years ago, we held the first Children's Dance Festival (an open, non-competitive, educational, delightful day of dance for youth from different schools, companies, styles) at the Dance Complex. Their offer of free space for the day made it possible to run the festival on a shoestring and not have to charge the participants. This allowed us a wider range of participants and contributed to the longevity of the festival.

I have taken classes at the Dance Complex - I love the variey. I have rented space there for my own rehearsals- wonderful studios, easy rental process. I've seen performances there- they have a great intimate performance space with high ceilings; attended workshops- they attract a lot of famously creative and professional teachers, and I've gone there to rehearse with the Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company- dance directors love to rent there because its central to the dance community and easily accessible by car, subway, etc. and there a lot of studios to choose from.

The Dance Complex community is one of the most welcoming I've ever been a part of in Boston. As a newcomer to this city, I knew no one and had no idea where to go for some dance. I found the DC by chance 4 years ago, and I'm now a regular with many familiar faces to greet me as I enter!

A local treasure. One of the greatest community dance centers in the country. Diverse in term so of classes offered, performances, population served. There is something for everyone here. Our lives, our community is enriched because of The Dance Complex!

I am an elder dancer in my 70's and so grateful to the Dance Complex for being there. It has changed my life! So many wonderful dancer/choreographer/teachers work there, e.g. Diane Arvanites, Tommy Neblett, Daniel McCusker,Danny Swain, just to name a few,and there are plentiful opportunities to take classes and excellent classes geared to older dancers, as those taught by Andy Taylor-Blenis and Tommy Neblett. Prometheus Dance Elders Ensemble, a post-professional company of which I am a member, is based there with rehearsals and annual performances. Rozann, Jayne, and Danny keep everything running. The newly renovated space is welcoming.

Living in the suburbs of Boston, my students and I continue to feel the positive effect that the Dance Complex brings to Eastern Massachusetts. As an organization, it supports start up entities, like the Children's Dance Festival and emerging teachers and choreographers making a reliable home-base environment from which many artists have been launched. The Dance Complex houses many entrenched programs (classes, companies and performances) for the community to reconnect and leave inspired. Furthermore, the Dance Complex has served as a role model for other cooperatives to grow, here and around the country.

Every time I walk into the Dance Complex, I feel happy. The place isn't fancy, but it's filled with people who know how to find joy in their lives. There's a great community spirit; the classes are first rate. Everyone is welcome. The spirit is democratic. It restores my faith in humanity and in my city.

As someone who was a teacher and student of the Joy of Movement Center for nearly 5 years, I was thrilled when arrangements were made for The Dance Complex to take over that location and keep the art of dance alive in Cambridge. Not an easy task for many reasons. The Dance Complex continues, all these years later, to offer a quality dance education, maintain an historic building (not cheap) and bring culture and opportunities to the area. Top quality, reasonably priced, The Dance Complex is a viable presence in the community and attracts students from all over. With continued funding and support, they could improve their theater, keep the building in prime condition worthy of its designation as an historic building and be a home for artists from all over the country. It is a special place!

There is no place in Cambridge or the surrounding vicinity that offers the combination of community center, cultural base, and site for incredibly varied dance instruction like the Dance Complex, all with the welcoming attitude and positive reinforcement that's what dance classes in a public setting should be all about. When I worked there as a accompanist a few years ago I was constantly amazed at how many new and different kinds of classes cropped up on a regular basis, and also at the kinds of people who showed up to take them: there was always a core of regulars, and likewise always a 'new crowd', folks who came out of curiosity and sometimes stayed for longer than they ever thought they would. Of course it seems like more of everything is always needed: more volunteers, more money, more infrastructural support. There's a regular performance series of sorts but it would be great to see it somewhat expanded and better publicized, something that could be a real showcase of area dancers/choreographers and musicians. Obviously this is neither easy to organize nor free, but it would build up the Dance Complex's local cultural capital to an even great level.

I have used and been associated with the Dance Complex for many years, now. Not only is it an excellent, in-city performance space, it is the most community oriented arts center I have ever seen. The cross-section of visitors and users is at least as varied as the city of Cambridge where the Complex sits. The diversity of programs -- let's think of dance as the world -- is just that: every type of dance. This center benefits so many people, not just dancers. There are collaborations between dancers, musicians, light and sound technicians, and even enthusiastic audience-goers. The Dance Complex is one of the strongest contributors to the arts in the Boston area.

It has an unreal offering of classes, all excellent and open to the public. Classes are ongoing and not expensive and there's are no hidden costs. No pre-reg or memebership. It's mosltly run by volunteers and everyone is warm and welcoming.