Who We Are. What We Stand For.
Dance Gap Year aims to help dancers DIG DEEP within one's movement practice
and DISCOVER MORE of society through means of dance, art and community engagement.
Dance Gap Year, founded by Pizarts, provides an enriched, diverse & global learning environment for emerging dancers, choreographers and educators. Established in 2014, the program located in New York City, Los Angeles & Abroad brings together creative minds from around the world to learn, create and share with the public. We have a staff of highly experienced and worldly teachers who generously pass on their knowledge and expertise with participants. In 2020, we launched our first Dance Gap Year 150 hour virtual program certified through the United Nations International Council of Dance. As of January 2021, dancers can apply for the Bronx Artist Residency live-in location as an alternative to doing the program virtually.
Are you ready to take your movement to the next level and share your creativity with our community? Contact us!
DESIGN Your own media portfolio
DIVERSIFY YOUR DANCE TRAINING
GAIN PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
CROSS-CULTURAL EXCHANGE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS
1-1 MENTORSHIP
ALUMNI SUPPORT
Meet Our Staff
CO-FOUNDER + PROGRAM DIRECTOR
DOMINIQUE ROBINSON
CO-FOUNDER + CHOREOGRAPHER
AKO ANDO
Dominique Robinson is an American dancer, choreographer, filmmaker and founder of Pizarts organization and Dance Gap Year. She holds a BFA from ECU and a MA in Dance Education from NYU. She is the founder of Pizarts Dance Hub For Entrepreneurial Innovation, providing international opportunities for dancers,
choreographers, educators & studios to train, perform, teach and explore new cities through dance. Her works have incorporated artists from Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Japan, Korea, Tanzania, Canada and the U.S.
Ako is from Japan and earned her MA in Dance Education from NYU and a BFA in Arts Management from LIU. With a background in Hip Hop, Waacking, Street Jazz, Hula, and Japanese Classical Dance, Ako currently runs all of our Dance Gap Year Japan Programs.
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
ZOE RAPPAPORT
Zoe is a Choreographer/Movement Director based in LA & NY. Dancing since before she was born, Zoe has performed the works of world-renowned choreographers by the time she was 18 years old. Her versatile background has led her to choreograph for acclaimed artists, brands & companies including Grammy award-winning musician ZHU, Katie Grand's "LOVE Magazine" & Vidal Sassoon. Her experience in dance & makeup led her to work behind-the-scenes on shows like So You Think You Can Dance & America's Got Talent. Zoe holds a B.A. from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study where she designed her concentration in Community-Based Arts Education in order to deepen her understanding of the transformative power of dance & the arts. She has been working in the field of Dance Education for over 13 years.
By the end of the program participants will be able to:
Goals
Perform and network with dancers of various countries.
Acquire the skills to live independently.
Present a competitive portfolio.
Gain practical skills to build sustainability in your career.
Establish new friendships and unforgettable memories.