he American College Dance Festival Association's primary focus is to support and promote the wealth of talent and creativity that is prominent throughout college and university dance departments. ACDFA's sponsorship of regional conferences and the national dance festival provides the venue for students and faculty to engage in three days of performances, workshops, panels, and master classes taught by instructors from around the region and country. The conferences also provide the unique opportunity for students and faculty to have their dance works adjudicated by a panel of nationally recognized dance professionals in an open and constructive forum. Culminating with the presentation of pieces selected for their exemplary artistic quality, the conferences are the primary means for college and university dance programs to perform outside their own academic setting and be exposed to the diversity of the national college dance world.

ACDFA has established ten regions throughout the country for organizational purposes and maintains a strong regional structure through its regional representatives and institutional membership to help facilitate the exchange of information. Colleges and universities may attend any regional conference and may present one or two works for adjudication.

ACDFA also sponsors the National College Dance Festival. A biennial event, the National Festival showcases works selected from each regional conference for presentation on three gala concerts.  The National Festival is usually held at the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater in Washington, DC. The thirteenth National College Dance Festival was held in New York City on June 2008. 

“The weekend we spent at the festival was pure heaven: taking four dance classes a day, watching at least four hours of performances, getting closer to each other as we relaxed at dinner and in the hotel, preparing for our own performance, and learning so much from the expertise of the dance teachers. I was inspired and impressed by the other dancers and the student choreography.”