CPS Alum John Lam Transforms Boston Dance Through Education and Excellence

by Heidi Happonen

For 20 years, John Lam commanded stages as a principal dancer with Boston Ballet, his artistry captivating audiences night after night. But when he envisioned his next act, Lam didn’t just want to perform. He wanted to transform. Armed with his Master’s in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies (CPS) and a rolodex of relationships built over two decades, he founded Lam Dance, Boston’s newest nonprofit dance company dedicated to making world-class contemporary dance accessible to everyone.

“I’m the person who has an idea and puts it into action,” Lam says simply. And the results speak for themselves. In less than a year, he went from concept to sold-out house, with his inaugural production drawing audiences hungry for something new in Boston’s dance landscape. Now, he’s already deep into planning his second show for May 15, 2026 with tickets scheduled to go on sale February 23.

Education Meets Execution

The artistic side was never Lam’s concern. That’s where he’d spent his career excelling. What his CPS degree gave him was something equally crucial: the business acumen to build something sustainable. “Getting a degree and putting it to action, understanding the production side, making sure I hit my numbers to break even, there are so many layers to building a nonprofit,” he reflects. “At the end of the day, you want to make sure it’s sustainable and people believe in your mission.”

That mission is ambitious: cultivate connections between world-class choreographers and dancers while providing a platform for emerging talent, all in an intimate setting where audiences can truly experience the artistry up close. At the Paramount Theatre, where Lam has secured a multi-year partnership with Emerson College, the audience isn’t set back in distant seats. They’re part of the performance, bridging what Lam calls “that unbeknownst veil” between artist and observer.

Accessibility as Activism

But perhaps the most powerful expression of Lam’s mission happens long before the curtain call. Through partnerships with Mayor Michelle Wu’s office, Lam Dance provides free live performance lecture demonstrations to Boston Public Schools. At the inaugural education event, 650 students arrived at the Paramount Theatre, many seeing a theater of its style for the first time.

“I believe in accessibility because it ignites change,” Lam explains. “In order to have change followed through, you need to provide accessibility.” As he curated the experience, students met not just established professionals but also current students and emerging dancers, people just like them who grew up in the public school system without live performance dance education.  

“The more we can expose the next generation, the better our world will be,” Lam added.

The educational programming showcases the full spectrum of dance evolution: eight pieces featuring everyone from current students to post-graduates to emerging professionals to world-class artists. Students witness the journey, meet artists at every stage, and see themselves reflected in the possibilities.

Wearing All the Hats

Unlike typical nonprofit dance companies with full-time staff for marketing, development, and operations, Lam serves all of those roles. He’s the founder, artistic director, choreographer, educator, fundraiser, and operations manager. “Wearing all the hats helps me learn so much,” he says.

This hands-on approach isn’t just about bootstrapping; it’s about understanding every aspect of building something meaningful so that he can teach others to do the same.

He balances this work with teaching as an Associate Professor of Dance at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee , finding it centers him while allowing him to have impactful change on multiple fronts. “I was impactful as an artist for 20 years as a principal dancer, but now it’s how can I be impactful in a deeper, wider scale.”

Building for the Future

With the May production on the horizon, Lam is focused on growth — not just in audience size but in community engagement. He’s planning to offer promotional codes for Northeastern students and is exploring partnerships that deepen connections between the university and Boston’s arts ecosystem. More BPS schools have already committed to attending the spring education event, and the momentum continues to build.

“Bostonians are ready for something new and exciting,” Lam says, noting that Lam Dance fills a unique space as neither the grand-scale productions of Boston Ballet nor the experimental niche that can be hard to cultivate. It’s high art made accessible, emerging voices amplified alongside established ones, and a new generation inspired to see themselves in the spotlight.

The nonprofit is less than a year old, but Lam is already looking four years ahead, secured by that Paramount partnership and driven by a mission that extends far beyond any single performance. “Amazing things are happening,” he says. “This gives people an identity that I’m more than a one-band show. I’m here to stay.”

And for the students filling those buses or taking the MBTA to the Paramount Theatre, watching someone who looks like them, who grew up like them, who built something extraordinary through education and determination…that impact is just beginning.

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John Lam holds a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management from Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. Lam Dance’s next production is scheduled for May 15, 2026, at the Paramount Theatre. Learn more at lamdanceworks.org or follow @lamdance on social media.