Internships

Interns are responsible for their own transportation, food, and housing.

• All interns must have a valid driver’s license. A car is needed for some internships (please read internship descriptions to know which positions require this).
• Interns will be required to purchase a parking permit to park on Duke University’s East Campus. Price TBD by Duke University.
• Apartments and rooms are available for rent or sublet in the local area, and it is the intern’s responsibility to arrange accommodation. More information about housing resources will be provided upon acceptance to the program.

Sarah Tondu, Managing Director, directs the intern program. Interns are supervised by the ADF staff member of their chosen department. ADF maintains a permanent year-round staff of twelve that expands as the summer season approaches.

ADF’s Production Manager, David Ferri, directs the production internship program. David Ferri is the Lighting Designer and Technical Director at Vassar College. He has worked with prominent choreographers such as Pina Bausch, Shen Wei, Doug Varone, Jane Comfort, Eiko and Koma, David Rousseve and Ballet Preljocaj. He has been the Production Manager for the prestigious American Dance Festival since 1996. Recipient of 1987-1988 Bessie Award for his design of Doug Varone’s “Straits”, and 2000-2001 “Bessie” Award for Sustained Achievement in Lighting Design, Mr. Ferri was also resident lighting designer and technical director at PS 122 in NYC from 1985-1991.

by Yuta Kataoka

My name is Yuta Kataoka and I am a senior at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. I am majoring in Liberal Arts Multidisciplinary Studies, concentrating in Dance Production Management and Hospitality Management. This summer at the American Dance Festival being a production intern was the best learning experience I could have ever wished for. Every week we worked about two shows while working with professional companies and their production crews. Throughout the summer I was able to connect with these people in the industry. I got to work with a group of talented interns and crewmembers who are also aspiring to enter the dance world. Working as a production intern helped me understand what it is like to work in this industry and it made me want to keep working in this profession.

I was fortunate enough to experience most of the elements that are included when working in the theatre; deck crew, wardrobe, rail, light board operator, sound board operator, lighting design, and stage management. As we work on the shows throughout the summer, the production crew comes together and anything is possible; from making it rain in the theatre to laying down and taking up the marley floor within ten minutes during the show.

7:00am – Get ready for the day!
8:00am – Dance class of the day.
10:00am – Head to assigned theatre.
10:15am – Arrive at theatre.
10:30am – Coffee Break!
10:45am – Back to work.
12:30pm – Lunch break!
1:30pm – Continue cueing, spiking the floor, assisting
3:45pm – Break time
4:00pm – Run through pieces
6:00pm – Dinner break!
7:00pm – Dress rehearsal
9:00pm – Clean up and set up for top of the show tomorrow
10:00pm – The company leaves the theatre and we do one last sweep.

The American Dance Festival – held in Durham, North Carolina – is an international dance festival that attracts students, faculty, performers, and choreographers from around the world. The studios and administrative offices are spread across Duke University’s East Campus. Performances by visiting dance companies occur in Reynolds Industries Theater, the Rubenstein Arts Center, and Page Auditorium at Duke University as well as various other local venues. Learn more about Downtown Durham here!