Dance Division Programs, 1951-2019

In 1951, Juilliard President William Schuman established the Dance Division with the appointment of Martha Hill as director. Miss Hill created an innovative curriculum at Juilliard that required studies in ballet, modern dance, folk idioms, and musical training for all students. Juilliard became the first major teaching institution to combine equal dance instruction in both modern and ballet techniques. An extraordinary faculty was assembled during the department’s initial years, including some of the most prominent performers and teachers of the century: Alfredo Corvino, Margaret Craske, Agnes de Mille, Martha Graham, Louis Horst, Doris Humphrey, Ann Hutchinson, José Limón, Jerome Robbins, Anna Sokolow, Antony Tudor, and Miss Hill herself. Digitization was supported by the Leon Levy Foundation.