The Location

The Festival is held on the beautifully landscaped campus of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, a 45-minute drive from Portland and west of the extraordinary Maine coast. While most festival events occur on campus, there is time to explore the surrounding community of Lewiston-Auburn, as well as visit the beach, the mountains, or nearby lakes.

 Transportation

The Portland International Jetport (PWM) is a 45-minute drive from the Bates campus.

We recommend the following travel itineraries:

• Fly to PWM, then take a cab or rideshare to Bates College.
• Fly into Boston Logan airport (BOS), and then take a Concord Coach Lines bus to Portland. From there, a commuter bus that leaves from the Portland Transportation Center every hour and drops off at the Bates College Campus.
• Concord Coach and Amtrak serve Portland from NYC, Boston, and other areas of the Northeast and arrive at the Transportation Center, when students can take a cab or the commuter bus to Bates.

 Room & Meals

Students are housed in College dormitories with other students of similar age. Single and double rooms are available, but all accommodations have shared bathrooms. Rooms and studios are not air-conditioned. Students living on campus must adopt the meal plan. Delicious meals are served in the College’s Dining Commons with several choices of entrees daily, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options.

 COVID-19 Information

BDF is dedicated to creating a safe and healthy environment for students, faculty, staff, artists, and audiences. We will follow all CDC guidelines regarding arrival, testing, quarantining, masking, and distancing. Students will receive detailed information at the time of their acceptance into the program as well as monthly updates if any policies change.

Students are required to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to participate in the 2025 Festival. If you have questions or concerns about this, please email dancefest@bates.edu.

  Course Selection & Registration

Applications will open November 20th. Students are strongly encouraged to submit their complete application package early to ensure it is complete. Courses are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis and please note that some classes have very limited capacity. Students will be placed on a waiting list once the program is filled.