Steps on Broadway

Steps on Broadway is more than just your average dance studio. Steps is an “internationally recognized artistic facility, committed to the cultivation of individuality and talent, to the joy, the work, the focus, and the embodiment of the dance community” (Steps on Broadway). As the “true epicenter of New York’s professional dance community,” it is home to countless of the finest and acclaimed teachers, and a training ground for professional and aspiring dancers from all walks of life (Steps on Broadway). Throughout any day of the week, dancers may take class alongside the performers and veterans of today who are part of dance companies such as “The New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Paris Opera, Kirov, and Royal Ballets, Boston Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Complexions, Martha Graham” as well as Broadway, opera, and commercial dance (Steps on Broadway).

Steps on Broadway was founded in 1979 by Carol Paumgarten and Patrice Soriero. For 40 years Paumgarten and Soriero led Steps to the success and notoriety they are known for today. Paumgarten opened Steps originally as a single studio facility. It housed a ballet division in 1981 at the Melissa Hayden School located at 56th and Broadway. Paumgarten handled everything at the studio from being in charge of handling its payroll to cleaning bathrooms. In 1984, it moved to its current location where its legacy has continued. Paumgarten has helped train and raise three generations of New York dancers. Today, Steps has grown into a beautiful facility with 11 studios, top-tier faculty, and more than 3,000 dancers who take classes weekly in a three-story building in Manhattan, Steps has become “an internationally renowned mecca in the dance world” (The New York Times).  Paumgarten's intent for Steps was to be an inclusive place where all calibers of dancers, professional or everyday New Yorkers have equal opportunity to dance. 

Here at Steps, dancers of all genres have the opportunity to take a wide selection of classes seven days a week. Dancers of all levels and experience are free to take ballet, jazz, modern, tap, contemporary, theater dance, hip hop, ballroom, ethnic, and body conditioning. The facility has eleven fully mirrored, climate-controlled, sprung floors, and male and female dressing rooms with showers. There is also a Steps Studio Theater, their largest studio for performing. This space holds 120 people, a green room, catering, lighting, and technical design (Steps on Broadway). Fun fact: Steps The studio is located right above a local NYC grocery chain called Fairway; a great place to fuel your body after class for a healthy snack or even shop for groceries!

Steps has been training and supporting dancers and the larger artistic community for over 30 years. Since its founding in 1979, Steps has accumulated and maintained an internationally acclaimed roster of dance professionals “that mirrors the history of dance in the late 20th century” (Steps on Broadway). Throughout decades, there have been a plethora of teachers of all styles who have shared their knowledge and experience within its walls. Just to name a few, some notable (past and present) faculty are Nicole Fosse, Mia Michaels, Finis Jhung, Carmen de Lavallade, Maurice Hines, and many, many more! 

As well as Steps' widely acclaimed teachers, many incredible dancers and alumni have taken classes at Steps. Step’s have also had remarkable dancers train in their studios. Dance “stars of the dance world like Misty Copeland, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Julie Kent have all trained in front of the mirrors and barres at Steps. So has Madonna” (The New York Times). Through Steps Conservatory and professional training programs aspiring intermediate and advanced dancers from ages of 17-24 are prepared for a professional career in commercial and concert dance. This 2-year program is created to “strengthen students' technique and artistry through study and performance” (Steps on Broadway). This program is for dancers at an intermediate or advanced level who have completed their high school education when the semester begins. When not in session, dancers have the opportunity to participate in Steps on Broadway's open program. After completing the program, students graduate with a network of professional contacts, well-rounded and trained, and receive a certificate of completion!

Steps Conservatory students have had many opportunities to perform for “Steps Beyond Foundation’s Performance Labs, End of Semester Showcases, Choreography Showcases, Steps in Concert; an evening to benefit the Carol P Scholarship Fund, New York Jazz Choreography Project, NBC Red Nose Day, Celebrate dance at the Ailey Citibank Theatre, Steps Youth Programs’ Showcases, Children’s Museum of Manhattan and more” (Steps on Broadway). 

A student of the Steps Conservatory, Macy K., shares her experience with the program:

“I enjoy this program every day. I don’t know where or what I would be doing if I had never come here. I’ve been feeling really lucky recently to be at Steps and in New York City doing what I love every day. Keep the challenges coming, keep pushing me, keep me busy. I’m ready for it, and I can do it. I think that is my new motto, or maybe that has always been my motto. Now I believe it.”

– Macy K.

In all, Steps is an incredible tool and community for dancers of all kinds. The spirit Paumgarten has established lives on in the studios and souls of dancers who train at Steps. This inclusive space leaves a mark in the New York City dance community and continues to establish its role in the successful careers of many, many dancers. It’s a celebrated space with “its state of the art facility with an old-world ambiance and a steady pulse of passion, energy, and inspiration. It is a cultural hub, an artistic resource, and a cosmopolitan treasure” which their legacy will continue to enrich the lives of many dancers to come (Steps on Broadway). 

StepsNYC.com. Accessed May 7th, 2024. https://www.stepsnyc.com/.

Vadukul, Alex. Carol Paumgarten, ‘Den Mother’ to a Dance Scene, Dies at 76, nytimes.com. October 9th, 2020. Accessed May 7th, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/arts/carol-paumgarten-dead.html.