Steps PDX / Steps for Youth Dance Programs
221 Southeast 11th Avenue, Suite 220, Portland, OR 97214
About
Steps PDX / Steps for Youth Dance Programs offers dance and performing arts classes that include creative movement, ballet, tap, Contemporary, Modern, Hip Hop, Jazz Funk, movement improvisation, Locking, Rhythm Training, Street Jazz, Afro Funk, Footwork, Floor-work, House, choreography, and performances. The program also offers workshops, summer intensives, community dance events, and movement-based classes for youth. Steps PDX offers a Ballet/Modern School that blends classical foundations with contemporary movement practices, and a Hip Hop program called “OWN YOUR GROOVE” with 2 levels for 2 terms.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: DanceAbility class meets every Saturday from 9:30–10:45am; the BIPOC Youth Dance Program runs for 10 months; Emerging Choreographers Showcase works are created over 12 weeks in Composition Class; Summer Intensive 2026 is an immersive 1–3 week intensive; adult drop-in classes are offered weekly from September through July and are closed in August.
Steps for Youth is the nonprofit arm of Steps PDX and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Steps for Youth was founded in 2017 by Artistic Director Kathryn Harden and is led by Women of Color and supported by a diverse faculty team that reflects the community they serve. Steps PDX has a team of 20 highly experienced and passionate faculty who come from diverse backgrounds as professional dancers, choreographers, and educators, and the Hip Hop program is led by Steps PDX Hip Hop Director Decimus Yarbrough. The mission of Steps for Youth is to break down barriers in dance education and ensure that every child has access to high-quality training and community, regardless of financial circumstance, and to foster equity, representation, accessibility, and belonging in dance spaces that have historically excluded many people.
Steps for Youth includes the BIPOC Youth Dance Program, which provides affordable and enriching dance education for Youth of Color and offers creative movement, ballet, and tap classes to 62 students from ages 3–9 years old. DanceAbility is a mixed-abilities dance program rooted in improvisation for people of all physical and cognitive abilities and includes a class explicitly for all people, for mixed abilities and mixed experiences. Steps for Youth offers scholarship opportunities including sliding-scale tuition, merit- and need-based scholarships, and community-supported opportunities, and has awarded 80 scholarships to students who demonstrate natural abilities and have the passion to pursue a career in dance. For the 2024/2025 school year, Steps for Youth provided $36,092 in scholarships, and the goal for 2025/2026 is to double scholarship funds. Steps for Youth students on scholarship can attend up to 13+ classes a week at Steps PDX Ballet School and participate in performances, workshops, and summer intensives, and the organization also provides mentorship opportunities for those with a passion to pursue dance professionally.
Steps PDX and Steps for Youth engage with the broader community by partnering with local schools and organizations, hosting free community events, and offering resources to youth of all backgrounds and abilities. Steps for Youth offers donation-based community dance events for youth throughout the year, including Youth Day of Dance and Full Circle, with healthy snacks and water provided. The BIPOC Youth Dance Program partners with local organizations like WhiteBird and hosts dance workshops at the studio, and DanceAbility has a current partnership with On the Move Integration. Professional dance company members teach community classes at the studio and host a Q&A portion, and past community classes have included Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Camille A. Brown and Dancers.
The Emerging Choreographers Showcase features original works by Steps PDX student choreographers with a post-performance Q&A. Bloom is a performance featuring the School and the BIPOC Youth Dance Program, with 100% of proceeds benefiting scholarships and programs that make dance more accessible. Summer Intensive 2026 is rooted in Ballet and Modern Contemporary with advanced training in a wide range of styles, conditioning practices, creative studies, and enriching seminars.
Last updated April 14, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
• Schedule: DanceAbility class meets every Saturday from 9:30–10:45am; the BIPOC Youth Dance Program runs for 10 months; Emerging Choreographers Showcase works are created over 12 weeks in Composition Class; Summer Intensive 2026 is an immersive 1–3 week intensive; adult drop-in classes are offered weekly from September through July and are closed in August.
Steps for Youth is the nonprofit arm of Steps PDX and is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Steps for Youth was founded in 2017 by Artistic Director Kathryn Harden and is led by Women of Color and supported by a diverse faculty team that reflects the community they serve. Steps PDX has a team of 20 highly experienced and passionate faculty who come from diverse backgrounds as professional dancers, choreographers, and educators, and the Hip Hop program is led by Steps PDX Hip Hop Director Decimus Yarbrough. The mission of Steps for Youth is to break down barriers in dance education and ensure that every child has access to high-quality training and community, regardless of financial circumstance, and to foster equity, representation, accessibility, and belonging in dance spaces that have historically excluded many people.
Steps for Youth includes the BIPOC Youth Dance Program, which provides affordable and enriching dance education for Youth of Color and offers creative movement, ballet, and tap classes to 62 students from ages 3–9 years old. DanceAbility is a mixed-abilities dance program rooted in improvisation for people of all physical and cognitive abilities and includes a class explicitly for all people, for mixed abilities and mixed experiences. Steps for Youth offers scholarship opportunities including sliding-scale tuition, merit- and need-based scholarships, and community-supported opportunities, and has awarded 80 scholarships to students who demonstrate natural abilities and have the passion to pursue a career in dance. For the 2024/2025 school year, Steps for Youth provided $36,092 in scholarships, and the goal for 2025/2026 is to double scholarship funds. Steps for Youth students on scholarship can attend up to 13+ classes a week at Steps PDX Ballet School and participate in performances, workshops, and summer intensives, and the organization also provides mentorship opportunities for those with a passion to pursue dance professionally.
Steps PDX and Steps for Youth engage with the broader community by partnering with local schools and organizations, hosting free community events, and offering resources to youth of all backgrounds and abilities. Steps for Youth offers donation-based community dance events for youth throughout the year, including Youth Day of Dance and Full Circle, with healthy snacks and water provided. The BIPOC Youth Dance Program partners with local organizations like WhiteBird and hosts dance workshops at the studio, and DanceAbility has a current partnership with On the Move Integration. Professional dance company members teach community classes at the studio and host a Q&A portion, and past community classes have included Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Camille A. Brown and Dancers.
The Emerging Choreographers Showcase features original works by Steps PDX student choreographers with a post-performance Q&A. Bloom is a performance featuring the School and the BIPOC Youth Dance Program, with 100% of proceeds benefiting scholarships and programs that make dance more accessible. Summer Intensive 2026 is rooted in Ballet and Modern Contemporary with advanced training in a wide range of styles, conditioning practices, creative studies, and enriching seminars.
Last updated April 14, 2026.
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