Green practices are, after many years of skepticism, making their way into mainstream consciousness. While it may not at first be obvious that art has a major role to play in both buying into and leading that transformation, it does.

CityDance is an organization committed to working at the forefront of the emerging evolution of both business and artistic practices which are environmentally responsible. The company is in partnership with several leaders in the field, and has been recognized for its work by Washington's business community (CityDance was awarded the first annual Green Business Award for education/outreach by the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Washington Business Journal in October 2008). Here are a few of the efforts underway at CityDance:

In art:

• WARMER: A concert series on climate change. In 2009 CityDance will stage its second annual concert program on climate change, Carbon. A concert which brings together artists from diverse disciplines to speak in their own voices to the challenges we face and the solutions we must find, WARMER is a cornerstone of CityDance's artistic mission.

In education:

• Dancing on One Planet and Jungle Books. CityDance's ongoing in-school concerts are a key way of sharing the conversation about climate change and human impact on our environment with elementary aged students. Jungle Books is an opportunity to recognize that, in just the 111 years since Kipling wrote his treasured tales, many of the animals at the heart of his stories are endangered because of human activity.

• Dancing on One Planet is a program under development which focuses on climate change itself. With stories like "the life of a plastic bag," the program will entertain as it educates, offering both solutions and challenges to young audiences. Working with the World Wildlife Fund, CityDance is also developing leave behind's about carbon footprint reduction for children to bring home

In business:

• CityDance is a committed as a business to the reduction of its carbon footprint, to reducing its consumption of basic materials and supplies, and to researching and implementing new ways to stage concerts which lower all the wasteful and inefficient traditions of theater under the lights. CityDance is a partner with the CarbonFund, and through CarbonFund contributes an amount of money each month designed to offset its carbon footprint at i's downtown business location.

CityDance's Green Practices in the News

"Dance Goes Green"
-Plenty Magazine (December 16, 2008)
   Read the full article | Download the PDF file

"CityDance wins green business award"
-Washington Business Journal (October 17, 2008)
   Read the full review | Download the PDF file

Spring Classes
Begin Feb 9

View schedule.

Professional Company Summer Intensive
June 22-27, 2009

Spend a week with CityDance this summer.

CityDance Choreography Commission

Join Our Mailing List
Sign up to receive CityDance news

More on the Web
Check us out on MySpace, Facebook, and Vimeo

Read and watch videos on the CityDance blog