Our 

Approach

The Educational Vision

  1. Evolve the culture of study and practice in the fusion scene. 

  2. Inspire curiosity, respect, and appreciation for each year’s focus dance styles.

  3. Ground partner dance education in a foundation of solo movement training.

  4. Offer curriculum centered on the distinct technical, musical, and cultural roots of multiple dances. 

  5. Cultivate an intimate and collaborative environment for integrating, embodying, and creatively fusing the material.

The Immersive Container

Nestled amongst the evergreens, we train and play while the amazing camp staff keep us well fed.

For one week, we live in the material: morning solo training that drills aesthetics into our bones, partnered work that builds on that foundation, training pods with a consistent crew, and evenings rooted in cultural context.

Repeat. Refine. Embody.

These immersive elements allow us to drop in deeply with each other and the material over the course of our time together.

Learn more about how we bring our educational vision to life below.

Setting the Foundation

  • MFI uses an application process to craft an intimate cohort of committed learners. We accept intermediate and advanced dancers who both demonstrate genuine dedication to their growth and meet a baseline technical readiness. Applications include written responses and a video submission, which our team reviews collaboratively. This process serves our ability to create the conditions where intimate, rigorous, peer-supported collective learning become possible.

  • Dancers entering MFI have a variety of familiarity with any of the year’s featured styles. Alongside similarly experienced peers, those brand new to a style build a foundational focus in L1 while those with prior experience in a style build off of fundamental material in L2. Joining L2 requires an assessment with instructors on day 1 of the event, and assessment details (like prerequisite skills & movement fluencies) are shared with attendees once accepted. See our 2025 benchmark vocab here. Our leveling system offers

    • Enhanced learning experience through more level-appropriate challenges and support

    • Peer groups matched to similar dance study backgrounds

    • Curriculum pacing that reflects experience levels

  • Before diving into a new dance style, instructors offer rich presentations that root the following day's curriculum in cultural and historical context. We gather in our comfiest clothes with snacks and tea to absorb, inquire, and deepen our understanding of each dance's origins and evolution. These intimate sessions create space for direct dialogue with instructors about the cultural foundations that inform our technical training. These evenings offer

    • Stories of each dance's origins, evolution, and significance within its communities

    • Foundation for approaching each style with respect, understanding, and informed appreciation

Educational Structures

  • At MFI, solo movement is a centerpiece of our educational training. Our mornings are spent as a full group deeply investigating the techniques of each dance individually. Working solo gives us space to drill the aesthetics, mechanics, and techniques of each style into our own bodies, building the foundation upon which we ground our partnered dynamics.

    These class blocks offer

    • Repetition of the foundational movement skills of each style via iterative drilling

    • An embodied sense of the relationship between the movement, the music, and the cultural/historical context of the dance

    • Familiarity with the musical structures of each style, and an ability to hear and feel the way the music and movement relate

  • Partnered dance classes build upon our solo work and dive into the partnered vocabulary and expression of each dance. These class blocks will integrate the distinct mechanics & feeling of the morning’s solo training into partnered connection, in both leveled and full group class time.

    These class blocks offer

    • Familiarity with each dances’ unique embrace shape & quality

    • An understanding of the lead/follow dynamic and grammar of each dance

    • Style specific vocabulary and transitions

  • Small self-directed study groups are one of the unique structures at the core of the MFI experience. These training pods meet daily to deepen learning through peer collaboration, skill integration, and focused practice. These intimate groups create space for processing challenges, celebrating successes, and building supportive relationships that extend beyond the intensive. Based on participant feedback, we've refined our approach this year with enhanced guidance at the start of the week and ongoing support throughout, to help pods maximize their time together.

    These pods offer

    • Structured frameworks for self-directed practice and integration of class material

    • Peer-supported opportunities to explore personal learning edges

    • A consistent crew to share the journey with throughout the week

  • Each student receives 1 to 2 focused mini private lessons with instructors throughout the week. These brief but intensive one-on-one moments have consistently been highlighted as one of the most valuable elements of the intensive, providing essential hands-on guidance to answer specific burning questions.

    These sessions offer

    • Personalized feedback at your individual learning edge

    • Focused troubleshooting of technique challenges that may be harder to address in group settings

    • Hands-on experience dancing with instructors

  • Another unique highlight of MFI are the optional classes that bring together instructors from multiple styles to explore technical distinctions and fusion possibilities—like comparing cross systems in Tango versus Urban Kiz. Last year's highest-rated sessions, these electives offer intentional, guided exploration of how styles can inform and blend with each other. A playful and precise approach to understanding what makes fusion work.

    These elective days offer

    • Direct comparison & technique distinction between styles with expert guidance

    • Practical tools for the craft of “fusing” different styles

    • Opportunities to exercise & build creative expression

  • Body Tuning sessions are sprinkled through the week to help students arrive in their bodies with presence and sensitivity. These blocks offer guided stretching, embodiment & awareness practices, and nervous system regulation to support sustainable engagement in an intensive environment. We value self-resourcing just as much as we value quality education. These are interdependent—authentic growth requires a body that feels safe, available, and cared for.

    Additionally, Pod Support sessions offer practical tools for maximizing pod training time. In these blocks we will explore how to structure productive practice, give and receive feedback skillfully, and support each other's learning edges through hands-on guided activities. This facilitated container is also designed to establish the pod dynamic and energy to carry the group throughout the week.

Connective Downtime

  • Extended meal breaks & spacious elective days offer unstructured time to give everyone space to resource as needed. Play in the creek, hike a beautiful trail, find a quiet spot in the forest to journal or read—this time is for decompression and tending to personal rhythms. One of the incredible boons of our venue, Camp Myrtlewood, is the peaceful and rejuvenating experience of living amongst the trees, water, and wildlife onsite. Being a part of this ecosystem grounds us in a different way than our day-to-day city lives offer.

  • Scheduled social dancing throughout the week provides essential time to connect with each other and integrate new material by moving, playing, and finding flow. MFI staff organize opening and closing night socials, while attendee-led dances often emerge organically on other evenings—sometimes even with creative themes like last year's secret milonga and blues nights!

    These nights offer

    • Connection-building through shared movement and celebration

    • Integration time & space for fusion experimentation

    • A REASONABLE BED TIME BECAUSE Y’ALL GOTTA GET UP TO TRAIN THE NEXT DAY