A Lifelong Dancer Deepens Her Impact in the Arts

Collage of Emily Gaffga's face with ballet shoes

Meet Emily Gaffga, MA in Performing Arts Administration Student…

Emily Gaffga’s (MA in Performing Arts Administration) connection to dance as both a passion and a profession is an evolving relationship—one that reflects both her lifelong love of the art form and her growing interest in the systems that support it.

A dancer since the age of four, Gaffga earned her BFA from Ohio State with an arts entrepreneurship minor before moving to New York City to pursue dance professionally. Like many artists, she navigated a dynamic, demanding freelance lifestyle, balancing auditions, classes, and creative projects with side jobs.

“I taught at studios across New York and New Jersey, choreographing for dancers of all ages, and worked in administrative roles at major arts organizations like Broadway Dance Center and New York Live Arts,” says Gaffga. “These experiences allowed me to remain deeply connected to the arts while building practical skills and making a living.”

Reimagining Her Future

A circle of dancers in a dance studio, varying in age from children to adults — Emily Gaffga and partner Gwen Potter with students at Listdansskóli Íslands, the National Ballet School of Iceland.

After several years of this fast-paced life, Gaffga realized she was burned out, having lost the excitement she used to feel walking into a dance class. That comprehension, combined with the emotional impact of losing her father, led her to pause and reassess.

“When you’re faced with major changes to things that have always been constants in your life, you start asking bigger questions,” she says. “What does my life look like? What do I actually want it to feel like?”

Gaffga began to reimagine how she envisioned her future, which included exploring graduate programs that could leverage her layered skills—leading to her discovery of NYU Steinhardt’s MA in Performing Arts Administration.

“My number one draw to the program was how much it is grounded in what’s happening right now,” says Gaffga. “Working in the arts can mean lots of conversations on what has worked in the past, but at Steinhardt we also focus on how we move forward. The realities of today can be scary, but the program doesn’t shy away from that.”

Reinvigorating Her Love for NYC

After years of working in New York City, Emily also found that graduate school helped her reconnect with it in a new way. “I had kind of lost the magic of New York along the way,” she admits. “NYU has helped me find that again—and also figure out, pragmatically, how I want to move forward here.”

In the classroom, Emily values the diversity of her cohort, which includes students from across the performing arts at different stages in their careers. “There’s no one-size-fits-all path here,” she says. “You have people just out of undergrad and people who’ve had full careers already. That range makes the conversations so much richer.”

The program’s interdisciplinary structure has also been a highlight. “You’re really encouraged to build your own education—I’ve taken courses at NYU Wagner and NYU Stern,” she explains. “If you’re here, you want to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need out of your classes, and NYU gives you the space to do that.”

Expanding Her Artistic Identity

Gaffga’s customizable education has already had an impact on her career outside of the classroom. With her newfound skills, she spearheaded multiple business tasks for Chatterboxx Nails, a custom press-on nail business that she co-founded with her partner, Gwen Potter, from forming an LLC to managing taxes and branding. Additionally, her skills are now shaping the early development of their tap dance company, the juxTAPosition, where contrasting styles and perspectives are intentionally woven together to reflect its namesake.

For Emily, the choose-your-own-adventure quality of the program reflects a larger philosophy she carries with her.

“I see enrolling in this program not as a pivot away from dance, but as an addition to myself,” says Gaffga. “I want to be part of shaping a more sustainable and inclusive future for the performing arts, and I’m excited to keep figuring out what that looks like.”