Yaa Samar Dance Theatre
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Yaa Samar Dance Theatre
- Legal name
- Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre
- Website
- https://ysdt.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Contemporary Dance-Theatre (Performing Arts)
- NAICS
- Dance Companies (711120)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Dance Theatre (Narrative/Experimental) (MPAGADAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Contemporary & Modern Dance (MPAGADAB), Dance Education (Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Cultural Dance) (EDAMAAAH)
Keywords
Where Yaa Samar Dance Theatre is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Performance Revenue: Ticket sales and presenter fees from live performance presentations at venues and festivals worldwide.
- Educational Programs: Fees from workshops, master classes, and educational programming delivered at universities and cultural institutions.
- University Residencies: Residency programs ranging from 5 days to 2 weeks for dance and theater students at university level, including original ensemble works, master classes, and lecture presentations.
- Virtual Classes: Online virtual studio classes including technique, improvisation, stretching, contemporary dance, and hip-hop offered to remote participants.
- Foundation and Government Grants: Funding from cultural foundations and government cultural agencies including National Endowment for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, and A.M. Qattan Foundation.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre creates and tours contemporary dance-theatre productions that blend contemporary dance, hip-hop, ballet, social dance, acrobatics, text, puppetry, and multimedia. The company also develops educational programs including workshops, master classes, lectures, and university residencies, and operates a virtual studio for online dance classes. Performances and programs are presented to arts venues, festivals, universities, and community audiences, with bases in New York and Palestine.
Product overview
Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre (YSDT) is a dance-theatre company creating performance and education programs that expand access to arts and promote understanding. The company operates a portfolio of stage works (Gathering, Losing It, Shabaab, Last Ward, Against a Hard Surface, Bound, The Store, Noah), site-specific works (The Playground, When the waves have come and gone, When fear is a raging bull, When the children gather), film works (3 x 13), and education programs including workshops/classes, lectures, residencies, and a Virtual Studio. The stage works range from solo performances to full-length productions featuring dance, theater, puppetry, text, and song. The company operates bases in New York and Palestine and has performed in 21 countries across five continents.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Gathering Full-length contemporary dance-theatre performance featuring original movement, text, song, dance, puppetry, and play. Tells a fictional story of a village under siege and one woman's struggle to reconcile fragmented memories. Performed for arts venues and festivals (The Shed, Cal Performances, French Scène Nationale network).
- Losing It Solo contemporary dance-theatre performance exploring how the trauma of growing up under occupation manifests in the body through movement and sound. Features field recordings from Palestine and a live score. Presented at international festivals and venues.
- Shabaab Full-length contemporary dance-theatre performance celebrating the intimacy, beauty, and tenderness of Arab male friendship. Uses puppetry and text interwoven with a playful and explosive movement score featuring guitar compositions.
- Last Ward Evening-length contemporary dance-theatre performance following one man's journey towards death in a hospital room, blending dance and theater with monologues in Arabic and English subtitles.
- Against a Hard Surface Evening-length dance theatre piece examining how a population survives political strain, violence, and containment behind a wall.
- Bound Evening-length multi-media production exploring what it means to be bound: to a place, person, ideology, noise, or silence.
- The Store Performance set in a New York City deli exploring class, gender, race, and human relationships through solos, duets, and group sections.
- Noah Solo performance featuring original text, exploring themes of love, courage, and regret through the retrospective of one man.
- The Playground Multi-channel video installation and live durational performance examining the role of games in popular culture to normalize war and violence.
- When the waves have come and gone Site-specific beach performance honoring the lives of refugees lost at sea, performed as part of Little Amal's 8,000km journey.
- When fear is a raging bull Site-specific traveling performance exploring the power and strength of young immigrants pursuing life in America, created for Little Amal Walks NYC.
- When the children gather Live site-specific performance inspired by the 1963 Children's Crusade in Birmingham, uplifting youth power in pursuit of social, climate, racial and economic justice.
- 3 x 13 Multi-channel dance film featuring 12 artists from 8 countries sharing personal journeys of transformation through a common choreography for body and camera. Recognized at the Breaking Waves Festival in Cairo.
- Workshops & Classes Experiential, process-driven classes and workshops rooted in contemporary dance and theater, emphasizing imagination, collective action, and storytelling for social justice. Delivered to universities, youth organizations, and community centers.
- Lectures Public lectures providing insight into YSDT's methods for creating art across physical and political barriers, including geopolitical context.
- University Residencies University-level residency programs ranging from 5 days to 2 weeks for dance and theater students, including original ensemble works, master classes, and lecture presentations.
- Virtual Studio Online virtual studio classes including technique, improvisation, stretching, contemporary dance, and hip-hop, adapted for various spaces and abilities for remote individual learners.
Quantifiable outcome
- Performed in 15 countries across four continents
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Yaa Samar Dance Theatre
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Au Contraire ProductionscoreNon-profit organization (formerly Good Chance Theatre) serving as international producer for Gathering. Co-producer of European tour 2025/26 with Scène Nationale venues in France including Carré-Colonnes Bordeaux, FAB Bordeaux, and others. Founded 2017, chaired by Claire Béjanin with operations in Arles and Paris.
- Sens InterditscoreProducer and coordinator of tours in France and abroad for Shabaab and Losing It. Present in Lyon metropolitan area with International Festival. Has staged 400+ performances in France and worldwide since 2009.
- The Walk ProductionscoreCo-production partner for The Walk with Little Amal, producing large-scale puppetry performances featuring 12-foot puppet of Syrian refugee girl. Partners include St. Ann's Warehouse, David Lan, Tracey Seaward, and Stephen Daldry.
- St. Ann's WarehousecoreCo-production partner for The Walk with Little Amal NYC, presenting major international theatrical productions. Susan Feldman serves as Artistic Director.
- Handspring Puppet CompanycoreInternationally renowned creators of War Horse puppet, designed Little Amal puppet featured in YSDT performances. Partnership enables puppetry integration in YSDT works.
- The ShedcoreCommissioned Gathering for 2023-24 Open Call Series, providing premiere venue in NYC. Alex Poots serves as Artistic Director.
- French Scène Nationale NetworkcorePartnership with French national theatre network including Carré-Colonnes, FAB Bordeaux, Scène nationale du Sud-Aquitain, Théâtre d'Angoulême, Scène Nationale Brive-Tulle, La Coursive, Scène Nationale Aubusson, and Le Moulin du Roc for Gathering European tour.
- Khashabi TheatrecorePalestinian theatre in Haifa, co-producer of Losing It alongside Theaterformen Festival. Provides production support and creative collaboration.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Khashabi Theatre: Palestinian theatre company based in Haifa and co-producer of YSDT's Losing It. Comparable as a Palestinian performing-arts organization producing experimental works at international festivals (e.g., Theaterformen).
- Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company: NYC-based dance-theatre company producing narrative contemporary works that fuse dance, text, and multimedia. Comparable in producing hybrid dance-theatre repertoire for major US venues and festivals with a small core company of performers.
- Pilobolus: US dance-theatre company producing hybrid works blending dance, acrobatics, and multimedia for international touring and commercial/licensing markets. Comparable in scale and hybrid performance methodology.
- Akram Khan Company: UK-based dance-theatre company creating cross-cultural works blending Kathak, contemporary dance, and theatrical narrative. Closely comparable as a small-to-mid dance-theatre ensemble producing hybrid works for international presenting institutions and festivals.
- Batsheva Dance Company: Israeli contemporary dance company with international touring at major venues and strong identity-driven programming. Comparable as a non-US-anchored contemporary dance company with international touring and educational programming.
- Sareyyet Ramallah Dance Company: Palestinian contemporary dance company based in Ramallah, founded the Ramallah Contemporary Dance Festival. Directly comparable as a Palestine-based contemporary dance organization; YSDT board member Yazan Iwidat is a founding team member.
Emerging players
- Handspring Puppet Company: South African puppetry company that designed the Little Amal puppet used in YSDT collaborations. Comparable as a collaborator in YSDT's puppetry-integrated productions and an internationally touring performing-arts company of similar scale.
Broad incumbents
- Mark Morris Dance Group: Larger established US dance company with extensive international touring and educational programming. Comparable as a contemporary dance organization combining performance, residencies, and community education, though at substantially greater scale.
- Martha Graham Dance Company: Historic US contemporary/modern dance company with an extensive repertoire, education programs, and international touring. Comparable as a contemporary dance institution, but with substantially greater resources and heritage.
- Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Iconic US dance institution with major touring operation, in-house school, and community education programs. Comparable in combining performance and educational programming, but operates at far greater scale with permanent facilities.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre social profiles
Digital presenceYaa Samar Dance Theatre financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Yaa Samar Dance Theatre
What does Yaa Samar Dance Theatre do?
Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre creates and tours contemporary dance-theatre productions that blend contemporary dance, hip-hop, ballet, social dance, acrobatics, text, puppetry, and multimedia. The company also develops educational programs including workshops, master classes, lectures, and university residencies, and operates a virtual studio for online dance classes. Performances and programs are presented to arts venues, festivals, universities, and community audiences, with bases in New York and Palestine.
Is Yaa Samar Dance Theatre a public or private company?
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Yaa Samar Dance Theatre founded?
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre was founded in 2005. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Yaa Samar Dance Theatre based?
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Yaa Samar Dance Theatre make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Performance Revenue is the primary driver. The others are educational Programs, university Residencies, virtual Classes and foundation and Government Grants.
Who are Yaa Samar Dance Theatre's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Khashabi Theatre, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Pilobolus, Akram Khan Company, Batsheva Dance Company and Sareyyet Ramallah Dance Company. Handspring Puppet Company is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Mark Morris Dance Group, Martha Graham Dance Company and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Does Yaa Samar Dance Theatre have an API?
No public API is recorded for Yaa Samar Dance Theatre.
What industry is Yaa Samar Dance Theatre in?
Yaa Samar Dance Theatre's product category is Contemporary Dance-Theatre (Performing Arts). Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGADAC, Dance Theatre (Narrative/Experimental), with a secondary code of MPAGADAB, Contemporary & Modern Dance. Its NAICS code is 711120 and its SIC code is 7990.