Bard to Ballet: A Class for Dance and Theatre Lovers

Published: September 26, 2018 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Learn something new about dance and acting with an innovative SUU Community Education class for theatre lovers.

On Oct. 2, instructor Donald Bradburn will begin teaching a four-week course entitled “Bard to Ballet: Shakespeare and Dance.” Now a resident of Cedar City, Bradburn spent his professional career dancing in movies, plays and television.

The course follows Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and looks at the involvement of dance within classical works. Each session will include discussion and review. In the final class, a dialogue will occur about what has been shown and its relationship to the play. Although the class has no homework, class enrollees are encouraged to read the play to familiarize themselves with plot and character before first class.

“The initial ballet to be covered is Romeo and Juliet as this is the most popular ballet based on Shakespeare, and has the most familiar plotline and recognizable characters,” Bradburn said. “Later sessions can include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, or Othello, if the participants desire.”

Bradburn is an emeritus lecturer of dance at University of California Irvine as well as a member of the Dance History Scholars and Dance Critics Association and a former West Coast editor of Dance Magazine. Bradburn danced in the movies Funny Girl (1968) and Sweet Charity (1969), and has danced in more than forty musicals, playing the lead in West Side Story, Carousel, The Music Man and Gypsy. He has also danced on television specials with Fred Astaire, Goldie Hawn, Diana Ross, Glen Campbell and the Smothers Brothers, and has directed and choreographed dance for many concerts, operas, films, television and theatre during his career.

SUU Community Education establishes community partnerships by generating fun, cultural and educational opportunities for those who love to learn. Subjects including cake decorating, cooking, arts, professional development, yoga, dancing and more, are taught by local professionals for the purpose of increasing participant knowledge and developing new skills. Give the gift of time spent with a loved one this holiday season.

There are more than 30 classes at SUU Community Education to build your resume, learn something new or spend time with a friend or loved one this fall. For more information, visit suu.edu/wise, email bewise@suu.edu, call (435) 865-8259, or stop by their office at 136 W. University Blvd, Suite 003, Cedar City.

---

Contact Information:

435-586-5400
Contact the Office of Marketing Communication