Purdue Contemporary Dance Company

Purdue Contemporary Dance Company

The Purdue Dance Program's resident dance company.
Purdue Contemporary Dance Company members on stage.

Purdue Contemporary Dance Company

Watch Video

Purdue Contemporary Dance Company

The Dance Program presents one main stage concert per semester with the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company (PCDC), the resident company in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Dance works are choreographed by dance program faculty, selected student choreographers, alumni, and guest choreographers.  These dance works are presented at the end of every semester in the Nancy T. Hansen Theatre in Yue-Kong Pao Hall in West Lafayette, IN. 

Auditions for PCDC are held at the beginning of every semester in the dance studios in Yue-Kong Pao Hall.  In the choreographic process, the dancers contribute creatively in rehearsal and learn how to perform with technical and expressive profiency on stage.  PCDC welcomes dancers of all dance backgrounds and genres, as PCDC has an emphasis on diverse movement qualities and unique styles of movement experiences. 

PCDC participants must enroll in the Practicum for Dance Performance course (DANC 24500), a requirement for the dance minor.

Auditions

Dancers on stage

Auditions

Auditions for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company Winter Works 2025 concert are closed. 

Audition information for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company Spring Works 2026 Concert will be available soon! Follow us on Instagram to get reminders and notifications about Spring auditions, guest artists, and events in the dance program. @purduedanceprogram and @pcdcpurdue.

Want more information about PCDC? Email rueffdance@groups.purdue.edu.

Alumni Choreographers

Photo from alumni guest artist Christy Carr, PCDC Spring Works Concert 2025.

PCDC Alumni Guest Artist in Residency

The PCDC Alumni Guest Artist in Residence Program involves developing choreographic research on PCDC dancers during a semester-long residency. Rehearsals are twice per week with several design meetings and showings throughout the semester. This artist will need to reside within convenient traveling distance from Purdue University to maintain weekly contact with their dancers and production team through the course of the semester at Purdue University, a sixteen week commitment. Applicants who do not live nearby and cannot relocate here for a semester, can propose alternative structures for consideration.

Artist in Residence Commitments
The intention of the PCDC Alumni Guest Artist in Residence Program is to provide a supportive environment for our PCDC alumni dance artists to further develop their artistic voices. As part of this program, artists will be mentored by the Dance Program Faculty and will participate in a showing/feedback process in order to deepen their artistic research. The Dance Program expects each artist who participates in this residency to become a model for current PCDC students on how to continue their artist research beyond Purdue University. Artists are expected to attend all rehearsals, design meetings, choreographer meetings, showings/feedback sessions, and technical rehearsals. For many early career artists, this opportunity provides infrastructure that allows them to create a work that advances their career and is a highlight in their portfolio. Being hosted by a prestigious university is resume enhancing, as are recommendation letters from faculty.

What PCDC Provides

  • $1,500.00 stipend at the successful completion of the residence
  • Costume funding allotment
  • Video documentation and photos of work
  • Studio space for rehearsal and preparation time
  • Committed PCDC dancers selected by the artist
  • An assigned student Sound Designer
  • An assigned student Lighting Designer
  • Performance on the Nancy T. Hansen stage
  • Advertisement in media and on social media platforms
  • Mentorship from the Dance Program Faculty
PCDC cannot provide accommodation, travel or per diem expenses.

How to Apply
We request that you submit the following documents to PCDC Director Holly Jaycox at hollyj@purdue.edu by the DECEMBER 01, 2025

  1. A completed application form (link below)
  2. A current curriculum vitae or resume
  3. A statement of your artistic research/choreographic concept for your work
  4. A maximum of four video links of your most recent works
  5. Download and fill out this form