Juilliard Dance Department Performance Photo by Erin Baiano
The Juilliard School
New York, New York
Under the leadership of Alicia Graf Mack, dean and director, Juilliard Dance develops artists of the 21st century—trained in ballet, modern, and contemporary dance forms. With the establishment of the dance division in 1951—by then-president William Schuman with the guidance of founding division director Martha Hill—Juilliard became the first major teaching institution to combine equal instruction in both modern and ballet techniques.
In the four-year dance program, which leads to a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, students learn the great traditions of both past and present. Juilliard dancers enjoy unparalleled opportunities to work with today’s leading choreographers and perform both new and existing repertory. In addition to receiving high caliber training and giving performances, dancers learn about the craft of choreography and immerse themselves in other facets of the field. Juilliard, which is located at Lincoln Center in New York City, prepares dancers for all the possibilities that lie ahead.
Juilliard dance alumni include the choreographers and directors Robert Battle, Pina Bausch, Jessica Lang, Lar Lubovitch, Andrea Miller, Ohad Naharin, Bobbi Jene Smith, Paul Taylor, and Sylvia Waters. Juilliard dancers are dancing in companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Ballet BC, Ballet Hispánico, Ballett des Saarländisches Staatstheater, Ballets Jazz Montréal, Batsheva Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Gibney Company, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kidd Pivot, L.A. Dance Project, Limón Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Rambert as well as in several Broadway productions.
The Juilliard Dance Division, proud recipient of the 2015 Capezio Award, was the first educational institution to receive the honor.
Taylor Labruzzo
TAYLOR LABRUZZO
Taylor LaBruzzo is a freelance dancer, passionate teacher, and versatile dance rehearsal director/assistant originally from Las Vegas, NV, and now based in New York City. Her role of Rehearsal Assistant for Juilliard Dance started as an apprenticeship in 2021 and was transitioned to a faculty position in 2022. Now in her third season at the school, she has assisted productions and works by Aszure Barton, Larry Keigwin, Jamar Roberts, and Caili Quan. She dances regularly with both Aszure Barton and Brian Brooks and teaches contemporary dance at the School of American Ballet. In 2023, she was part of the world premiere of A a | a B : B E N D by Aszure Barton and Ambrose Akinmusire, taking place at the International Summer Festival Kampnagel in Hamburg, Germany, where she worked as both collaborator and rehearsal assistant.
Since 2018, Taylor has worked as rehearsal assistant to Peter Chu on several projects (including Juilliard New Dances: Edition 2018), was commissioned to choreograph for Juilliard’s 2019 Summer Dance Intensive, and has performed across the country with Brian Brooks, including at The Meany Center in Seattle and at Jacob’s Pillow in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. She has performed at Orsolina28 in Moncalvo, Italy, with choreographer Madi Hicks, a project where she also served as rehearsal director. Taylor is signed on as a Dance Consultant with Collegiate Arts Prep and has taught at summer intensives in Fort Collins, Colorado, and at Steps on Broadway in NYC. She guest teaches at the Dalton School and travels as an adjudicator for Beyond the Stars Dance Competition.
A graduate of The Juilliard School, Taylor grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, training in various dance styles at both Bunker Dance Center and the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts, where she graduated as Valedictorian in 2014. During her four years at Juilliard, she performed works by world-renowned choreographers including Crystal Pite, José Límon, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Pam Tanowitz, and Ohad Naharin. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Juilliard Career Advancement Fellowship. Grateful for all that Juilliard has offered, she is deeply honored to remain apart of this incredible institution!