The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), an expansive program providing New York City choreographers and dance companies with creative residencies on CUNY college campuses, announces a developmental showing of The NEW Jack Cole Dancers’ CLUB ACT on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 7PM in the Little Theater at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thomson Ave, Long Island City, NY). General admission is $15, with student tickets available for $10. Get tickets at https://www.lpac.nyc/upcoming-events/club-act.

The NEW Jack Cole Dancers’ CLUB ACT offers an alluring evening of jazz dance and music. Originally presented at The Midnight Theater in 2024, CLUB ACT immerses audiences in a mid-century Jazz club that is a 21st century homage to dance pioneer Jack Cole. This new, expanded version of the show features jazz and theater dance pieces choreographed by Cam Loeser in the essence of Cole’s Broadway, Hollywood, and Nightclub work, performed by dynamite dancers trained in Cole’s exhilarating style.

​From the mid-1930s to the ‘60s, Jack Cole dazzled New York, Chicago, and LA nightclubs with his unique fusion of world dance and Jazz music. CLUB ACT captures the aesthetic of this hugely influential choreographer who paved the way for much of popular jazz and theater dance today, including American dance legends Bob Fosse and Jerome Robbins.

The NEW Jack Cole’s residency at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center is part of the CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI), which receives major support from The Mertz Gilmore Foundation and Howard Gilman Foundation. Additional support is provided by the SHS Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Charles E. Culpeper Arts & Culture program, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Harkness Foundation for Dance. CDI is spearheaded by The Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College. www.cuny.edu/danceinitiative

COLE JAZZ is a rising company dedicated to honoring and continuing the legacy of jazz dance pioneer, Jack Cole. Their mission is to re-instill the level of authenticity and accessibility that Cole’s work held back into the global theater industry, as well as build awareness and appreciation for where this expansive art form comes from. They achieve this through global education endeavors that span New York, London, Tokyo, and Mexico, as well as performance projects through their in-house dance company, The NEW Jack Cole Dancers.

ABOUT THE CUNY DANCE INITIATIVE

The CUNY Dance Initiative (CDI) marked a decade of supporting the NYC dance field in 2024. The program was developed in response to the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s 2010 report, “We Make Do,” which cited how destabilizing the shortage of affordable rehearsal space in New York City is to the dance sector. A successful pilot supporting residencies on four CUNY campuses in 2013 led to CDI’s formal launch in 2014. Since then, CDI has become a key player in New York City’s performing arts ecosystem, leading a consortium of 14 CUNY colleges and four arts organizations to host 20+ residencies for NYC choreographers and dance companies each year. In the past 11 years, CDI has granted 275 residencies to emerging and established choreographers, providing invaluable resources to artists, while enhancing CUNY students’ education and cultural experiences.

Located at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC) is a Queens-based performing arts destination where artists, students, and neighbors meet on shared ground. LPAC champions performance that sparks dialogue and imagination, serving as the stage for LaGuardia’s award-winning Theater and Music Performance programs and as a welcoming home for artists and cultural partners from across New York City and beyond. www.lpac.nyc.

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