Everett City, Pennsylvania, doesn't have the name recognition of Pittsburgh or Philadelphia in the dance world. But since 2019, contemporary dance enrollment here has jumped 34%, according to the Bedford County Arts Council—and local studios have scrambled to keep pace. What started as a handful of classes at the YMCA has become a small but serious training hub, with three full-time studios, two annual intensives, and a growing pipeline of dancers placing in college programs and regional companies.
For dancers, that growth creates both opportunity and confusion. Where should a total beginner start? Which studio actually prepares pre-professional students? And what makes Everett City's scene different from anywhere else in central Pennsylvania? This guide cuts through the brochure language with concrete details, direct comparisons, and practical information for every level.
How Everett City Became a Contemporary Dance Hub
The turning point, most locals agree, was the 2018 renovation of the Everett Downtown Arts District—a block-long cluster of performance spaces and affordable studio rentals that drew choreographers priced out of larger cities. Jordan Reeves, now artistic director of The Movement Lab, was among the first to relocate. "I could rent 2,000 square feet downtown for what a closet cost in State College," Reeves said. "That let me take risks on experimental programming I couldn't afford elsewhere."
By 2021, Everett High School had added a dedicated dance track to its fine arts curriculum, feeding a new generation of students into local studios. The pandemic accelerated interest further: as dancers returned to in-person training, many from rural Bedford County found they no longer needed to drive 90 minutes to find serious contemporary instruction.
The result is a scene shaped by practicality and cross-pollination. Studios here tend to borrow freely from one another—guest teachers rotate regularly, and the annual Everett Dance Festival functions as both showcase and shared recital. "There's not enough of us to be insular," said Mara Tolbert, a 2023 graduate of the Everett City Dance Collective now studying at Temple University. "You end up training with everyone, which forces you to adapt fast."
The Three Studios: What Each Actually Offers
None of these studios are interchangeable. Their philosophies, schedules, and student bodies diverge in ways that matter for anyone choosing where to invest time and money.
The Movement Lab
Founded: 2016 | Artistic Director: Jordan Reeves
Address: 214 West Main Street, Everett City
Ages: 13–adult | Drop-in rate: $22 | Class cap: 12 students
Reeves built The Movement Lab around choreography and collaborative creation. Classes here emphasize structured improvisation and ensemble work; students regularly contribute material to pieces that appear at the Everett Dance Festival. The studio's defining policy is sliding-scale tuition—families pay what they can within a published range, no application required. "It changes who walks in the door," Reeves noted. "We get retirees, farm kids, people who never thought they'd afford formal training."
The trade-off: technique classes are lighter on established codified methods (Graham, Horton, Cunningham). If you want rigorous floor work or sustained vertical alignment drills, you'll need to supplement elsewhere.
Everett Dance Academy
Founded: 2012 | Director: Paul Chen
Address: 89 North Spring Street, Everett City
Ages: 8–adult | Drop-in rate: $25 | Best for: Technicians, pre-professionals
Chen, a former Graham company member, runs the most traditionally structured program in town. Contemporary classes here are built on a modern technique foundation—Graham-based contractions, Horton fortifications, and contemporary ballet lines—progressing through leveled syllabi with twice-yearly evaluations. The academy hosts three student showcases annually and brings in guest teachers from Philadelphia and New York roughly every six weeks.
This is the studio most consistently feeding dancers into BFA programs. Tolbert, the Temple-bound alum, trained here exclusively for her final three years of high school. The environment is more competitive than collaborative; class sizes run 15–20, and advanced students audition for placement in the performance ensemble.
Fluid Dynamics Studio
Founded: 2019 | Co-directors: Diego Santos and Aisha Okonkwo
Address: 405 Downtown Arts Alley, Everett City
Ages: 16–adult | Drop-in rate: $20 | Best for: Cross-trainers, improvisors
Santos (Brazilian capoeira and contemporary) and Okonkwo (hip-hop and Afro-contemporary) run the only studio in town explicitly built on fusion. Their signature "Contemporary Hybrid" classes pair technical sequences with forms drawn from their respective backgrounds—one month might emphasize capoeira ginga and floor transitions, the next Afrobeat rhythms and
