ICONS Choreographic Institute at ATLAS is a joint enterprise, partnership, and collaboration between the International Consortium for Advancement in Choreography - Dance ICONS, Inc., and the Atlas Performing Arts Center. 

Located in the heart of Washington DC’s historic and thriving H Street NE neighborhood, the Atlas is a uniquely restored 1930s art deco movie theater that holds a special place in the hearts and minds of many people throughout the metro area. The Atlas Theater was fully restored as the Atlas Performing Arts Center in 2006.  

In addition to the attractive front facade and a fully renovated modern lobby, there are four theaters in one venue – The Lang Theater, The Sprenger Theater, and The Lab Theaters I and II – see photos below. Additional rehearsal spaces, lecture & conference rooms, administrative offices, dressing rooms, and lounges provide artists and arts administrators with efficient working conditions in a modern comforting environment.

"Atlas Performing Arts Center is one of the key performing arts organizations and venues in our nation's capital, and it's a tremendous pleasure and honor to work with Executive Director Douglas Yeuell,” shared Vladimir Angelov, Executive Director of Dance ICONS, Inc. and the ICONS Choreographic Institute.  “We have mutual interests, and these are to serve our community of artists and creators by accommodating their logistical needs and providing them with all possible resources to develop their work.”

ICONS Choreographic Institute at the ATLAS is a professional development program and experimental creative laboratory for emerging choreographers. The program offers the physical space for dance, as well as a competitive intellectual framework, various creative tools, and distinct artistic approaches to choreographic composition that draw on the latest research in psychology, sociology, cognitive and neuroscience, history, and innovative thinking. 

An annual cohort of aspiring choreographers-participants meets regularly two-three times a week for lectures and rehearsals for a period of nine months. In addition, choreographers in the program have access to regular rehearsal space and available dancers to create, develop, and complete new choreographic projects. “We mentor emerging choreographers on how they can improve their creative skills and develop their unique artistic identities,” explains the Artistic Director, Vladimir Angelov. 

The educational approach at the Institute offers a pioneering multidimensional creative algorithm entitled ICON SMART℠ , which is based on years of research, trial and error, and choreographic experimentations by Angelov and many of his colleague choreographers. Emerging choreographers educated through this functional philosophy and cross-disciplinary approach will be equipped to create new unique dances relevant to the 21st century. The ICON SMART℠ algorithm is suitable for aspiring and emerging choreographers' professional development and for the advancement of their choreographic skills.

The program introduces a new discipline – Theory of Choreography – which uses the latest textbook on choreography entitled YOU, THE CHOREOGRAPHER, Creating and Creating Dance, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, London and New York, 2023 – for more information, click HERE.

In addition, the curriculum includes weekly PowerPoint lectures containing illustrative video samples; creative, choreographic, and in-studio movement assignments; mentorship; and constructive feedback by professionals and peers, as well as the tools & skills to conduct artistic research in preparation for the creative process.

During the course of the program, new original dance works are created and developed in a shared and safe environment, with plenty of rehearsal time for the choreographers to experiment, invent, edit, and finalize ideas, and with the necessary technical support for the artists to craft a dance of a desired quality.

The Insitute's program culminates in a series of world premieres of original works from the intensive course of study and creation. On a selected weekend each May, the new dance works are programmed to premiere in two dedicated performance showcases at the Atlas Performing Arts Center's Lang Theater – see photo above.

After completing the 9-month program, each participant is granted a professional Diploma Certification in Choreography that confirms essential dance construction skills, fundamental choreographic competency, and basic creative work habits by stating that these choreographers are now equipped to move into the choreographic profession at various educational areas and the formal dance concert fields.

The ICONS Choreographic Institute at ATLAS accepts applicants from late May to mid-August, forming an annual academic cohort for the theater season that engages choreographers from September to May each year.  

For more information about the ICONS Choreographic Institute at ATLAS, please visit www.atlasarts.org/icons