MENTORSHIP 4 DANCERS
[M4D]
"To have a sustainable career in today's dance world, one must know themselves as an ARTIST --
and possess the creative entrepreneurial skills necessary to carve one's own path."
- Zoe Rappaport, Founder of M4D
MENTORSHIP 4 DANCERS [M4D]
An international, holistic hybrid mentorship program designed for emerging dancers of all ages, backgrounds, styles and abilities who are seeking to deepen their artistry while gaining practical tools and industry knowledge necessary to become empowered movement artists. Whether your path leads to commercial and/or concert work, choreography, direction, production or education -- this program gives you the building blocks towards designing a career that is creatively fulfilling, professionally sustainable, and aligned with purpose.
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
framework
ARTIST IDENTITY
Uncover your creative DNA
Identify your artistic lineage
Define your movement voice
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Build / strengthen your portfolio
(headshot, reel, cv/resume)
Explore career pathways
Create your own opportunities
Authentic branding & networking
CREATIVE LAB
Transform an idea into a realized project (i.e. live performance,
dance film, workshop) through
individualized mentorship
Featured Project:
AMDA COLLEGE OF PERFORMING ARTS LA
Senior Dance Reels
Through one-on-one creative direction and mentorship, graduating dance artists developed personalized dance reels that reflected both their artistry and professional aspirations. Zoe's students have gone on to tour internationally with Grammy-winning artists, get signed to agencies, perform with major dance companies, teach at studios /conventions, and produce their own work for the stage and screen.
INDIVIDUAL MENTORSHIP
For movement artists seeking personalized guidance
1-1 Mentorship Sessions
Ongoing Support
Project Mentorship
PROGRAMS + RESIDENCIES
For universities, studios, festivals, and arts organizations.
Masterclasses
Workshops & Intensives
Semester Programs
PAST GUEST MENTORS
ASHLEY MENESTRINA
Internationally touring choreographer, performer, and educator recognized for her award-winning solo works and improvisation-based creative practice.
Multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, director, and creator of the Epiic movement methodology, known for interdisciplinary performance and community-centered storytelling.
KRISTIN HOLLEYMAN
Internationally award-winning choreographer, dancer, teaching artist, and embodied arts filmmaker exploring creativity, transformation, and embodied practice.
FORMATS
Available in-person and/or online
masterclass
1 DAY
intensive
2-3 DAYS
residency
6-12 WEEKS
independent study
12-16 WEEKS
ABOUT ZOE Rappaport
FOUNDER / LEAD EDUCATOR
Recognized by the LA Times as a visionary Creative Movement Director,
Zoe Rappaport has been working as a choreographer, movement director, and educator for two decades in Los Angeles and New York.
Dancing all her life, Zoe started teaching at the age of sixteen as an assistant to renowned dancer/choreographer Jimmy Locust (credits include Michael and Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, principal dancer for Gus Giordano). Mentored by world-renowned choreographers from a young age had a profound and lasting impact, as she experienced how invaluable it is to have great teachers in this field.
Upon graduating high school, Zoe designed her B.A. in Community-Based Arts Education at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. Raised by a late civil rights / anti-war activist and leading voice within expressive arts, Zoe experienced the intrinsic healing nature of dance first-hand, and continues to deepen her understanding of its transformative power. She spent the next several years teaching all ages in after-school programs, dance studios, summer camps, community centers, prisons and more throughout New York City.
After moving to the west coast, Zoe continued to teach across a diversity of ages, backgrounds and abilities in San Francisco and Los Angeles. For the last 5 years, she has taught undergraduate students, most recently at AMDA College of Performing Arts. Zoe teaches courses in Dance Film, Experimental Contemporary, Improvisation, Choreography, Content Creation and more.
In 2020, Zoe founded Mentorship 4 Dancers (M4D) -- a culmination of what she has found to have long-term success over twenty years of developing young dancers into professional artists. A lifelong student herself, Zoe is currently pursuing her MFA in Dance: Creative Practice at St. Mary's College of California.
TESTIMONIALS
Zoe Rappaport is not only an incredibly inspiring & knowledgeable professor, but a genuine person in the industry whom I can trust. She goes above and beyond for her students’ successes and will be a forever mentor; always teaching, always there.
HANNAH / PROFESSIONAL DANCER / L.A. LAKER GIRLS
Zoe creates a space for movement exploration with no judgement, which is a little rare to find nowadays! She offers a perspective on dance through storytelling, rather than shape-making, and encourages you to push past your own artistic limiting beliefs.
MCKINSEY / PROFESSIONAL DANCER / B.F.A. COMMERCIAL DANCE PROGRAM GRADUATE
"The mentoring process with Zoe not only opened a door to a better understanding of the professional dance world from a real perspective, but it also helped me to develop confidence in my path as a dancer and artist. Each class nourished me with new tools to develop a broader view of what it means to be a movement artist. I deeply appreciate the energy, enthusiasm and unconditional support of Zoe in showing us a glance of our greatest potential."
EMI / PROFESSIONAL MOVEMENT ARTIST / ARGENTINA
