Course Description
This course covers the development of beginning and intermediate-level skills in Horton dance technique, including alignment, vocabulary, performance, and history, with emphasis on strengthening the body for dance. Class format will include dance practice and performance (warm-up exercises, fortifications, studies, traveling combinations, and choreographic works) and the in-depth study (through readings, videos, and discussions) of Lester Horton's career and influence in the modern dance field. Particular emphasis is placed on Horton's relation to racial integration in concert dance, the effects of World War II and the associated Red Scare on his work, and the formation of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater by former Horton student Alvin Ailey.