Founded in 1979 by artistic director Randy Swartz as American Ballet Competition, the organization later changed its name to Dance Affiliates, reflecting its mission since 1983 as one of the nation’s few remaining dance-only presenters. Its annual Dance Celebration program is Philadelphia’s acclaimed and longest-running series of world-class contemporary dance. Having presented 200 companies in 1,500 performances, Dance Affiliates provides a wealth of opportunities for the Philadelphia–area community to interact with visiting dance artists through master classes, residencies, artistic collaborations, symposiums, film screenings, workshops, special student programs, and pre- and post- performance curtain talks. Through more than 600 outreach programs, 30,000 students and aspiring dancers have been served. In addition to original productions including Thank You Gregory: A Tribute to the Legends of Tap (2005), revised for a national tour in 2009-2010, and The Music That Made Us Dance: From Lindy to Hip Hop (2006), its first-ever commission featuring Philadelphia’s most inventive choreographers and dancers, Dance Affiliates also commissions original works, many as world premieres by prominent choreographers such as Paul Taylor, David Parsons, Frank Chaves, Danny Ezralow, Bill T. Jones, Eliot Feld and Bella Lewitzky.