The American Dance Guild (A.D.G.) was founded in 1956 as the Dance Teachers' Guild by twelve dance teachers in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to promote the art of dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 in the United States

Dance in the United States

There is great variety in dance in the United States of America. It is the home of the hip hop dance and its derivative Rock and Roll, and modern square dance and one of the major centers for modern dance...

 by educating the American public and by maintaining standards of teaching.

History

After and annual conference on teaching children creatively, 12 dance teachers felt the event should occur more than once a year. The conference had provided teachers with a way to share ideas, problems and resources. The group began meeting, and discussed the need to develop standards for teaching modern dance and ballet, and the need to educate the public about dance. The guild grew, as chapters were established in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, and Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, and soon moving on to New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 and Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. As the Guild grew it welcomed dance professionals other than teachers, including performers, choreographers, accompanists

Accompaniment

In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...

, therapists, writers, historians, and critics.

Dance Scope

In 1965 the magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 Dance Scope was first published. It contained news of activities, reviews, and other articles sharing ideas and resources. Marcia Siegel was the first editor

Editor in chief

An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...

. The magazine was published for 16 years, before being re-invented as a bi-annual newsletter in January 1999.

Today

Eventually the Guild was divided into three parts. One for teachers

Teachers

Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers , one of the five Ascension Gift Ministries* Teachers , a British sitcom* Teachers Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers (ministry), one of the...

, another for choreographers, and one for performers. The A.D.G. helped to found the American Dance Therapy Association

American Dance Therapy Association

American Dance Therapy Association was founded in 1966 to establish and maintain high standards of professional education in the field of dance/movement therapy.-History:...

, American College Dance Festival Association, Dance Critics Association, Committee on Research in Dance

Congress on Research in Dance

Congress on Research in Dance is an international non-profit interdisciplinary society for dance researchers, artists, performers and choreographers. CORD publishes the Dance Research Journal, and sponsors annual conferences which distribute annual awards...

, Society of Dance History Scholars

Society of Dance History Scholars

The Society of Dance History Scholars is a professional organization for dance historians in the United States and worldwide. Founded in 1978, it became a non-profit organization in 1983...

, National Dance Association

National Dance Association

The , headquartered in Reston, VA, is an association within the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance...

, and participates jointly with them and the Dance Notation Bureau

Dance Notation Bureau

The Dance Notation Bureau is a New York, New York based repository of dance scores in Labanotation founded in 1940 with significant holdings of films, videotapes, photographs, programs and posters. At August 2007, it has commenced active work on the notation of dance works following a hiatus since...

, Florida Dance Association and Sacred Dance Guild.

Awards and Scholarships

• An annual award is given to honor a major contributor to dance.
• The Fannie Weiss Student Scholarship is given to promising students for summer study.