Tracie Stanfield

Tracie Stanfield is an award-winning choreographer, educator, creative consultant and the founder/Artistic Director of SynthesisDANCE in New York City. Her work has been commissioned throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Russia, and Latin America. Her signature voice as a choreographer has helped create and define contemporary lyrical movement in concert and commercial dance.

Dance Magazine calls her classes “inspiring.”

Huffington Post UK says Tracie
“thrilled and mesmerized with her masterful fusion of contemporary and classical dance forms.”

Tracie’s choreography has been presented throughout the US at Symphony Space, Jazz at Lincoln Center, BAM Fisher, The Duke Theatre, Brooklyn Museum, Rose Nagelberg Theatre, Bryant Park, Brooklyn College, Dixon Place, Brooklyn Music School and Untermyer Park. Internationally, her concert work has been produced in Benicassim, Edinburgh, Tokyo, St. Petersburgh, Buenos Aires and throughout Mexico in MC, Monterrey and Ixtapa. Stage commissions include Tec de Monterrey Universidad (Mexico), Verismo Opera Company, Premiero Ato (Brazil), Dean College, Tapestry Dance Company, Kilgore Rangerettes, Brooklyn Dance Festival Company and with numerous dance companies and organizations.

One of the “Nine DanceMakers Making History” (Dance Spirit), Tracie travels the world teaching dancers, dance educators and aspiring professionals. She is on the roster of Fluid Dance, Rise Talent, Mainstage Dance and Meraki Conventions. Recent teaching highlights include Joffrey Ballet, Yale University, Amarbailar in Paraguay, TDR Tour in Ixtapa and Marymount Manhattan College. Tracie’s SynthesisDANCE Teacher Training Workshops have been produced throughout the US and Mexico.

Beyond her work with the Spirit of Elan Award-winning SynthesisDANCE, Tracie served as the Resident Choreographer for the Booking Dance Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. She has been regularly featured in Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher and Dance Informa Magazines. She is the Founding Artistic Director of the Brooklyn Dance Festival and serves on the Advisory Board of the Young Choreographers’ Festival and various dance organizations that promote the future of dance for all audiences. Tracie served as the Educational Advisor for SIETEOCHO, a pre-professional training program in Mexico City. She is a producer of dance for Showcase Hub and co-Director of Rebellious Creatives Productions. Film projects include Hussein/Studio School, Caseology online campaigns, Construction Company Virtual Seasons I. – III, The Fairy Queen with Director Erin Levendorf, Documentary and Dance4Camera projects with BT Films.

Class Description

Tracie Stanfield’s Contemporary Lyrical classes blend creative movement, line and artistry with athletic technique found in Jazz or Ballet. These classes are for dancers who enjoy creative challenges, connecting dance to other mediums, and physical challenges that require persistence and practice. Exercises focus on increasing flexibility and strength, total body connectivity, and creative problem solving. Movement in class combines the bold rebellion of contemporary dance with the passion and pulse of jazz dance and the breath and performance of lyrical dance: strong accents, sharp angles and classical lines create an experience of artistic intention and expression.

Dancers will work on flexibility, strength, range and ease of movement, and building/maintaining technique. Working from a strong center, dancers move through the class finding freedom in the use of torso and limbs, a sense of dynamics and initiation of movement, and a balance of breath and control.

Born from a foundation in ballet, the warm-up is created to be a combination of traditional stretching, center barre, and full-bodied movement. The class focuses on allowing each dancer to work to their fullest potential, using technique to allow for efficient and effective communication within the choreography. Whether working in lyrical, contemporary, or traditional jazz combinations, dancers are challenged to become magnetic and confident performers.