Alice Teirstein

Alice Teirstein, choreographer, dance educator and founder of the acclaimed Young Dancemakers Company (YDC), a free, intensive summer choreography program for New York City public high school students, passed away on November 25th, 2022 at her home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Teirstein’s mentorship fostered generations of young choreographers and dance teachers.

YDC, now entering its 27th year, continues to provide NYC public high school students with the opportunity to create and perform original choreography in venues throughout NYC. Alice was devoted to teaching, reaching young dancers in various settings from early in her career. She is often quoted as saying “Young people have a lot to say and I know they can say it with dance”.

Alice Teirstein has received numerous awards, including a New York Dance and Performance (Bessie) Award for Service to the Dance Community (2012), Lifetime Achievement Awards from The National Dance Education Association (2015), the Israel Library of Dance (2017), and Dance Teacher Magazine (2021).

She was professor of dance and theater at Marymount Manhattan College, Lehman College and Ramapo College. In 1976 she founded the dance program at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School where she created the Fieldston Dance Company, in which students choreographed and performed original works and toured to off-campus venues including homeless shelters, public schools, community centers and prisons. She was the artistic director of Nimbus Dance Theatre Company, with Erin Martin and Jack Moore. Her many original works, including “Foxtrot” and “Living Room,” have been performed at Jacob’s Pillow, Symphony Space and Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts). A born performer, she has danced with artists including Hanya Holm, Pearl Lang, Janis Brenner, Jody Oberfelder, Claire Porter, Stephan Koplowitz, and Gus Solomons, Jr. Her humorous duet with Stuart Hodes, “I Thought You Were Dead,” was performed at many prominent venues including Joe’s Pub.

Born to Jack and Anne Sobel on Feb 6, 1929, Alice Teirstein married Dr Alvin Teirstein in 1951. They raised four children. Alice and Al were respected in their fields and envied on the dance floor. Teirstein received a Bachelor of Dramatic Arts from Adelphi University in 1950, and a Master of Arts in Dance Education from Columbia University in 1974.

She is survived by her four children Mark (Chatty), Paul(Jackalynn), Andy (Olga) and Eva(Arnold), and grandchildren Amanda (Scott), Jason (Katia), Zoya, Max, Nicky and Anna, and great grandchildren, Michael, Jake, Zosia and Desmond.

In lieu of flowers please make contributions to the Young Dance Makers Company at https://sites.google.com/ecfs.org/young-dancemakers-company/donate/make-a-donation or please go to the “Young Dancemakers Company” website.