Our mission is to:

• emphasize three elements: personal artistic excellence, appreciation for history, and sustaining diversity through an atmosphere of acceptance.

• employ faculty and staff dedicated to offering top-tier dance instruction to all.

• prepare our students for the world of dance while remaining devoted to our home and  our community.

​

History of DMPAC 

Deborah Mason is the founder and executive director of the Deborah Mason Performing Arts Center (DMPAC), formerly the Deborah Mason School of Dance (DMSD). A lifelong Cambridge, MA resident and community activist, Deborah founded DMSD in 1975.  She had been a dancer and a teacher since she was 14 and she worked three jobs throughout high school in order to open the studio.  The studio celebrates dance every day, and over 700 students attend the school every year.  DMPAC began in Inman Square, Cambridge in 1975 and then moved to North Cambridge in 1999. The School moved to our permanent home on Somerville Ave in 2014.  In 2017, DMSD became the Deborah Mason Performing Arts Center to encompass the growth in the scope of disciplines offered at the school. 

 

DMPAC is unlike any other dance school in the city in its content and scope.  Our renowned faculty and esteemed visiting artists offer a depth of experience and approach that transform our dancers into empowered artists with a unique individual voice.  Our program embraces what is current and innovative in the field of dance and the faculty are engaged with teaching and pushing the boundaries of dance for students who are excited to work.  The studio has boasted all-star faculty including Ebony Williams, Christopher Huggins, Nina Pillar, Celia Marino, Tyce Diorio,

Dianne Walker, Michelle Dorrance, Caleb Teicher, Sarah Reich, Khalid Hill, Ian McKenzie,

Chloe Arnold, and more.

The DMPAC holds the key to the City of Cambridge for dedication and commitment to the arts in the community. Deborah Mason has been recognized by the Commonwealth of Mass and the House of Representatives and by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her commitment and dedication to the arts. In 2005 Deborah was cited by the United States Senate in Washington DC for providing a high quality arts education for decades.

​

​

​

​