Teddy Kern

Teddy Kern’s [Class Schedule] [Event Calendar]

Teddy Kern is a master teacher, dance stylist and choreographer, equally skilled in social and theatrical dance forms. She was on faculty of the Dance Division of Baruch College in New York City for 12 years, as well as Westside Dance Project, and is currently co-owner and Artistic Director of Dance Manhattan, a premier Social Ballroom, Swing, and Latin dance studio, where she teaches and choreographs.

Born in Oklahoma, Teddy started dancing at age 4 and began teaching tap and jazz at age 14. She moved with her family to Kansas City in the 1950’s where she learned to Swing in the Blues clubs “on the wrong side of town” with her first dance partner. She began teaching Swing in Kansas City at Arthur Murray’s as a teenager, and developed her smooth style as a result of the blend of East and West Coast Swing influences in the Midwest. She began to choreograph musical theatre productions in high school and through her college years, as well as teach in various cities, ending up in San Francisco where she owned her first studio following graduate school.

Teddy moved to New York in the 1970’s to pursue theatrical and opera choreography, and continued teaching Swing classes and workshops throughout the country. She co-founded the American Swing Dance Championships, the first national Swing event to bring east and west coast dancers together to teach, compete, and collaborate in one venue. She was a member of the New York Swing Dance Society Board of Directors prior to opening Dance Manhattan. Teddy is a Feather Award Winner for Most Popular Swing Dance Teacher on the East Coast.

Ms. Kern holds Master of Science Degrees from the Universities of Kansas and California in Occupational Therapy and Exercise Physiology, and is a frequent author of articles on social dance, exercise, and dance history for professional journals. Her choreography is represented in the Dance Archives of the Library and Museum of Performing Arts in Lincoln Center. She has been a faculty member of the Juilliard School's American Opera Center, Eastman School of Music Opera Training Division, Butler School of Dance and Institute for Social Dance Studies, Dance Masters of America, and Professional Dancer Teachers Association.

She has choreographed for the Santa Fe Opera, Kansas City Lyric Opera, Eastman Opera Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera, and Chautauqua Opera. In addition, Teddy has taught Master classes for the Young Artists Programs at Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Lyric Opera of Chicago, where she recently choreographed the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa’s “Lovers and Friends.” She has choreographed for Broadway, Off Broadway musicals and cabaret acts, and for 24 years, the annual Viennese Opera Ball at the Waldorf Astoria. She is a well-known teacher, adjudicator, and judge for Ballroom and Swing dance competitions throughout the country.

In November, 2004 Teddy was inducted into the Living Legends of Dance in Virginia Beach, VA; joining a prestigious corps of her peers and friends.

Videos

Checkout this TimeOut New York featurette about our FREE Monthly Guest Nights, narrated by Teddy. TimeOut NewYork Guest Night Video

Co-owner, Teddy Kern, speaks about what Dance Manhattan is all about and what makes us unique!