The Verdon Fosse Legacy

What The Verdon Fosse Legacy does

The Verdon Fosse Legacy LLC is a private, founder-owned dance preservation and licensing organization founded in 2013 by Nicole Fosse, daughter of choreographer Bob Fosse and dancer Gwen Verdon. The organization controls the registered trademarks BOB FOSSE® (U.S. Reg. No. 5,344,400) and FOSSE® (U.S. Reg. No. 5,315,400) and holds copyrights to Bob Fosse's choreographic works, giving it exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, and create derivative works of the Fosse catalog. Its core "technology" is a reconstruction methodology grounded in direct lineage: faculty members are veteran performers who trained under Fosse and Verdon, supported by access to the Library of Congress Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon Collection (133 linear feet, ~54,840 items, 1960-1987). The Legacy operates a portfolio of interconnected programs including the Professional Training Program (PTP, a six-week NYC summer intensive), the Intensive Training Program (ITP, two-week sessions), open classes and workshops, performance reconstruction for professional companies, student performance licensing, and signature repertoire such as Sweet Gwen Suite.

The company monetizes through a hybrid of training fees, choreography licensing royalties, and performance engagements. Training prices are transparent: the PTP is priced at $8,500 and ITP sessions at $3,500 each, with deposit-based enrollment and scholarship support available. Licensing revenue comes from professional dance companies, educational institutions, dance festivals, and student productions that require authorized reconstructions, with the Legacy typically sending reconstructeurs, providing music licensing, and overseeing production integrity. Live performance engagements include concerts, festivals, charity events, and a new five-year exclusive cruise partnership with Holland America Line and RWS Global debuting in November 2025. Customer segments span professional/pre-professional dancers (primary individual buyers), educational institutions (colleges, universities, performing arts schools), professional dance companies (Hubbard Street, Alvin Ailey, NYC Center), and festivals/charity events.

Distribution is predominantly direct and consultative: in-person training in NYC, with new 2026 locations in Chicago and London; Google Forms applications; email-based inquiry routing (including a UK-specific address); and channel partnerships with Holland America Line and RWS Global. The Legacy has a single named leader (Nicole Fosse, Founder and Artistic Director), 1-10 employees per firmographics, no disclosed funding or institutional investors, and operates from a New York City base. The 2019 Emmy-winning FX limited series "Fosse/Verdon" — on which Nicole Fosse served as Creative Consultant and Co-Executive Producer — is treated as a brand extension rather than a revenue-generating product.

Name

The Verdon Fosse Legacy

Legal name

The Verdon Fosse Legacy LLC

Website

https://verdonfosse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Verdon Fosse Legacy is a private dance preservation organization founded in 2013 by Nicole Fosse that licenses and reconstructs Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon's choreography through elite training programs, professional licensing, and live performances for dancers, educational institutions, and professional dance companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Training Program Fees: Revenue from Professional Training Program (6-week, $8,500), Intensive Training Programs (2-week sessions at $3,500 each in NYC/Chicago/London), and open classes/workshops. 50% deposit upon admittance, final payment one month prior.
2. Choreography Licensing: Licensing fees for the reconstruction and performance of Fosse choreography by professional dance companies, educational institutions, dance festivals, and student performances. The Legacy grants licenses for others to use the Marks in connection with dance instruction and entertainment.
3. Live Performance Engagements: The Legacy performs original Bob Fosse choreography at concerts, festivals, and charity events, and reconstructs repertoire for professional dance companies for a fee.
4. Sweet Gwen Suite Licensing: Licensing and reconstruction of Sweet Gwen Suite available for dance companies, colleges, universities, and festivals, including reconstructeur visits, costume licensing, and music licensing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Verdon Fosse Legacy promotes, preserves, and protects the artistic and intellectual property of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon through dance training programs (Professional Training Program and Intensive Training Program), choreography licensing for professional dance companies and educational institutions, performance reconstructions at festivals and charity events, and masterclass/residency educational services. The organization owns the registered trademarks BOB FOSSE® and FOSSE® and the copyrights to Bob Fosse's choreographic works, making it the sole authorized licensor and reconstructeur for authentic Fosse choreography.

Product overview

The Verdon Fosse Legacy is a dance preservation and education organization (not a technology company) that promotes, preserves, and protects the artistic and intellectual property of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected programs: the Professional Training Program (PTP) and Intensive Training Program (ITP) serve as the core training offerings, delivering comprehensive dance education in Fosse methodology through in-person summer intensives in New York City, Chicago, and London. These are complemented by open classes and workshops, performance reconstruction services, and student performance licensing. The Sweet Gwen Suite represents a signature repertoire work. The Fosse/Verdon FX limited series serves as a media extension of the brand. Educational services including masterclasses and residencies, along with scholarship programs, round out the ecosystem. The organization owns the registered trademarks BOB FOSSE and FOSSE and controls exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, and prepare derivatives of Fosse's choreographic works.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Professional Training Program (PTP) An elite six-week summer intensive in New York City for pre-professional and professional dancers ages 16+, offering comprehensive training in Fosse methodology, ballet, Fosse jazz, and auxiliary techniques, culminating in an in-studio presentation. Priced at $8,500 with a 50% deposit upon admittance and final payment one month prior.
• Intensive Training Program (ITP) Two-week intensive sessions held in New York City, Chicago, and London for advanced beginner, pre-professional, and professional dancers ages 16+, covering technique classes and Fosse repertoire study. Priced at $3,500 per 2-week session ($3,500 USD / £2,600 in London); bundle pricing saves $750 for both NYC sessions.
• Open Classes and Workshops In-person dance classes and workshops taught by Verdon Fosse Legacy teachers, including Fosse repertoire classes taught by veteran performers across the United States and internationally. Includes single-session formats such as the Debbie Allen Dance Academy Fosse Master Class Series and NYC Open Classes.
• Sweet Gwen Suite (Licensing & Reconstruction) A trio of dances originally performed by Gwen Verdon for television in the 1960s, reconstructed and co-choreographed with Nicole Fosse. Available for licensing and reconstruction by dance companies, colleges, universities, and festivals, including reconstructeur visits, costume licensing, and music licensing.
• Performance Reconstructions and Live Engagements Original Bob Fosse choreography performed at concerts, festivals, and charity events, plus repertoire reconstruction for professional dance companies spanning balletic solos, stylized duets/trios, and large group ensemble production numbers. Includes cruise-based engagements via Holland America Line (5-year exclusive cruise rights; debut November 2025 on Koningsdam).
• Student Performance Licensing Sanctioned licensing of select Fosse choreography pieces for performing arts companies, dance studios, and college/university programs. Licensed pieces include 'Beat Me Daddy,' 'The Rich Man's Frug,' 'I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man,' 'Crunchy Granola Suite,' and 'Sing, Sing, Sing.'
• Educational Services (Masterclasses and Residencies) Masterclass series, multi-week residencies, and staged reconstructions for educational institutions, with licensing options for choreography and productions. Custom inquiry forms handle education requests, with the Legacy sending reconstructeurs to oversee authentic instruction.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sweet Gwen Suite premiered at New York City Center Fall for Dance 2021 and entered Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's 2024-2025 repertoire
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Holland America LineflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025Holland America Line partnered with RWS Global and The Verdon Fosse Legacy to debut 'Fosse and Verdon, The Duet That Changed Broadway' aboard the Koningsdam cruise ship in November 2025. Holland America Line holds exclusive cruise rights for five years, marking the first international staging of Fosse/Verdon work at sea. The production features reconstructed choreography and never-before-seen archival footage on a 270-degree surround screen.
• RWS GlobalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 September 2025RWS Global partnered with Holland America Line and The Verdon Fosse Legacy to develop 'Fosse and Verdon, The Duet That Changed Broadway.' RWS Global was granted exclusive rights to produce original Fosse and Verdon-inspired performances. The production was developed with The Verdon Fosse Legacy, combining reconstructed choreography with multimedia archival footage.
• Hubbard Street Dance ChicagocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Sweet Gwen Suite, a trio of dances originally performed by Gwen Verdon for television in the 1960s, was accepted into Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's repertoire for the 2024-2025 season. This represents an ongoing licensing and reconstruction partnership.
• New York City Center (Fall for Dance Festival)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021New York City Center commissioned the world premiere of Sweet Gwen Suite for the Fall for Dance Festival 2021. Nicole Fosse's research led to Gwen Verdon being credited as co-choreographer for the first time. Directed and reconstructed by Linda Haberman.
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater / The Ailey SchoolflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2003Nicole Fosse assigned the Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon Fellowship (formerly the Bob Theatre Scholarship founded by Gwen Verdon) to The Ailey School as a permanent scholarship for a deserving student in the professional division. Established through a major gift from Nicole Fosse in October 2003. Judith Jamison, then Artistic Director, called it an honor to pay tribute to Fosse and Verdon and their commitment to opening doors for performing artists.
• Debbie Allen Dance AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDebbie Allen Dance Academy partnered with The Verdon Fosse Legacy for a Fosse Master Class Series in Los Angeles on October 25 & 26, 2025. Classes taught by Verdon Fosse Legacy teachers.

Scale indicators3 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Twyla Tharp Dance: Choreographer-led organization preserving and licensing Twyla Tharp's choreography across dance companies, Broadway productions, and educational settings. Most analogous to a single-choreographer-led preserve-and-license entity alongside the Legacy.
• Merce Cunningham Trust: IP-centric dance entity stewarding Merce Cunningham's choreographic catalog post-mortem, licensing Cunningham works for performance and education, and maintaining a certified instructor network. Closest structural peer in the way rights, reconstruction, and instruction are bundled around a single choreographer's legacy.
• Paul Taylor American Modern Dance: Preserves and performs the choreography of Paul Taylor, operates the Taylor School, and licenses Taylor's works to educational institutions — directly mirroring the Legacy's preserve/train/license model built around a single 20th-century choreographer.
• Hubbard Street Dance Chicago: Chicago-based contemporary dance company that licenses and stages reconstructed choreography — including the Verdon Fosse Legacy's Sweet Gwen Suite in its 2024-2025 repertoire. Peer as a presenter of licensed reconstructed Fosse/Verdon works and as a training-provider in the same geographies where the Legacy is launching its 2026 Chicago ITP.
• Martha Graham Dance Company: The leading analog to the Verdon Fosse Legacy: a legacy dance organization that preserves, licenses, and reconstructs Martha Graham's choreographic works while operating educational programs. Operates the Martha Graham School and licenses repertoire to companies and universities worldwide, structurally identical to the Legacy's preserve-and-license model.
• Peridance Capezio Center: NYC-based dance training center offering multi-week summer intensives, year-round open classes, and international programs across multiple styles. A directly comparable NYC training-institution peer on program structure, audience, and pricing tiers for pre-professional dancers.
• Joffrey Ballet School: Premier NYC dance training institution offering multi-week summer intensives, year-round programs, and Adult/Pre-Professional divisions. Direct peer on the training-program side, including pricing architecture, audition-based admissions, and New York as primary hub.
• Mark Morris Dance Group: Major American dance company that combines a repertory ensemble, a school (Mark Morris Dance Center), and licensing activities. Comparable to the Legacy in operating both a touring performance entity and an education arm, though across Mark Morris's own catalog rather than Fosse's.

Broad incumbents

• American Ballet Theatre: One of the largest US classical dance institutions, operating a professional company, the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and extensive summer programming. A larger-scale incumbent performing arts company with an integrated training arm and repertoire licensing, comparable in scope (though not in style) to the Legacy.
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Pre-eminent African-American modern dance institution that runs The Ailey School (the recipient of the Legacy's Bob Fosse/Gwen Verdon Fellowship), a major professional company, and extensive educational programs. Overlaps with the Legacy through dance education and repertoire licensing, but at significantly larger scale across multiple choreographic voices.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/verdonfosselegacy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-verdon-fosse-legacy-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Verdon Fosse Legacy