![[ male dancer in theatrical shepherd costume ]](images/masque_en_habit_de_berger4.jpg "Masque en habit de berger, gravure de Martin Engelbrecht (1684-1756), from Habillements de l'Opéra: cinquante-trois planches: [estampes]. Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Bibliothèque-musée de l'opéra, RES-926 (13).")
Summer Baroque Dance Workshop 2024
Instructor: Ken Pierce
An intensive workshop in Baroque dance (European ballroom and theatrical dance of the late 17th and early 18th centuries). Classes in technique, repertoire, and dance notation, with opportunities for independent projects.
This year’s workshop will focus on pastoral dances by Pécour.
The workshop will be offered in hybrid format: students may either attend in person or join online via Zoom.
![[ Habit de fantaisie pour un bal ]](images/bal_costume.jpg "Habit de fantaisie pour un bal/Fancy dress for a ball. Designer: Bérain, Jean (1640–1711). Engraver: Lepautre, Jean (1618–1682). Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Estampes et photographie, RESERVE FOL-QB-201 (58).")
Schedule Outline
Monday–Friday, August 5–9
- 10:00–11:30 a.m.
- Optional: Ballet Class. Elementary- or intermediate-level ballet class taught by Northeast Arts faculty.*
- 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
- Optional studio time. The studio will be available for individual warmup or preparation for class.
- 12:00–1:30 p.m.
- Warmup and Baroque dance technique. Warmup, basic steps, and practice step sequences.
- 2:00–3:00 p.m.
- Notation and sources. Topics in the study of Beauchamps-Feuillet notation.
- 3:30–5:00 p.m.
- Baroque dance repertory. Movement sessions devoted to learning material from dance notations.
- 5:00–5:30 p.m.
- Optional independent study. The studio and the Zoom connection will be available for individual practice or rehearsal.
* Workshop participants may register separately for either online or in-studio ballet classes. Please visit northeastartspace.org/ballet-classes for class schedules.
Note: All times shown are Eastern Daylight Time (local Boston time). The schedule may be adjusted from day to day to allow for an efficient use of space, time, and energy.
About the Instructor
![[ dancer Ken Pierce as harlequin ]](images/DSCN0172-90-c-KP2015-4.jpg "Ken Pierce as harlequin")
Ken Pierce trained in ballet and modern dance, studying on scholarship at both the American Ballet Theatre School and the Merce Cunningham studio. He has specialized in early dance—especially, late-Renaissance and Baroque dance—for the past three decades, as choreographer, reconstructor, performer, and teacher. Companies he has performed with include the Court Dance Company of New York, the New York Baroque Dance Company, Ris et Danceries (Paris), Danse Baroque Toronto, and the baroque dance trio Hémiole (Paris), of which he was a co-founder. He directs his own company, the Ken Pierce Baroque Dance Company, for which he has choreographed or reconstructed dances for performances with Tafelmusik, Portland Baroque Orchestra, Concerto Copenhagen, The King’s Noyse, Handel & Haydn Society, and the Boston Early Music Festival. Choreographic credits include dances for Les Élémens, Les Festes d’Hébé, Tirsi e Clori, and les Festes de l’Amour et de Bacchus; King Arthur at the Boston Early Music Festival, and such twentieth-century premières as Le Carnavale Mascarade; Les Plaisirs de Versailles, with Ex Machina Baroque Opera Ensemble; the masque Oberon, at Case Western Reserve University; and le Mariage de la Grosse Cathos at the Amherst Early Music Festival. He was assistant choreographer for Quelques pas graves de Baptiste, Francine Lancelot’s baroque-style piece for the Paris Opera Ballet, whose cast included Rudolph Nureyev. Mr. Pierce has taught at summer dance and music workshops in the U.S. and abroad. He directs the early dance program at the Longy School of Music of Bard College (Cambridge), and teaches classes and workshops at the Northeast Arts studio in Boston.
Tuition and Registration
Tuition for the workshop is $260 (online) / $325 (in person). You may register:
- By mail: send a check, made payable to Northeast Arts, to
Northeast Arts
85 Seaverns Ave.
Jamaica Plain MA 02130 - Through Northeast Arts. Registration details will be posted shortly.
Please note: the registration deadline is July 29.
In order to participate in the online version of the workshop, you must have an internet connection and a computer or camera-equipped device that will allow you to connect via Zoom.
If you have not previously attended a summer workshop taught by Ken Pierce, please send him an e-mail message summarizing your prior Baroque dance experience, your prior experience with other forms of dance, and your main reasons for wishing to attend this summer’s Baroque Dance Workshop.
As part of the registration process, each workshop participant will be asked to sign Northeast Arts’s standard waiver form.
For Further Information
For further information, please contact the instructor, Ken Pierce, at kp@kenpierce.us.
Please note that schedules and other program details outlined above are subject to modification.