Dance Education Finds a Dream Home

USC’s first new school in 40 years opened its doors to an incoming class of freshmen — and a reimagined future for dance education.

The recently opened Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center is USC’s centerpiece for the USC Kaufman School of Dance, which admitted its first class in 2015. Designers meticulously laid out and equipped the 54,000-square-foot structure with the latest electronics, sound isolation and finishes—all to support the students’ creative efforts.

Here are some of its special touches:

Lots of Legroom

• A 15,455-square-foot studio converts from a rehearsal room to a performance theater.
• Four classrooms seat up to 190 students.

Creative Construction

• Floating floors in practice rooms isolate sound and vibrations in each room.
• There are no right angles in the building, and ground-floor hallways mimic the shape of a leg.

High-Tech

• Advanced stereo sound systems are dotted throughout the building.
• Planners picked training equipment specific to dancers’ needs for fitness, flexibility and strength.

Curious? Learn more about dance education (for dance majors and non-dance majors alike) at the USC Kaufman School of Dance website.