Dance Appreciation Course at Dance Wire | Portland, OR | Oct 3 – Nov 7, 2023

Develop a deeper understanding of essential elements of dance, choreography, and performance by enrolling in this Dance Appreciation course. As a group, we’ll see two live dance performances and meet for four classes at Dance Wire (address below). These classes offer an opportunity to discuss the performances we’re seeing along with other aspects of dance, including historical performances, depictions of gender in dance, and examples of plagiarism and appropriation. To help frame our conversations, this course provides you access to insightful articles and acclaimed dance films. Below is a schedule of performances and classes. 

REGISTER HERE, sliding scale $50-$80 + dance performance tickets. 

• 30% discount to all 23/24 season White Bird performances available after registering.

• Registration now open through Friday, September 29th at 5PM.

• Registration required.

• Space is limited to 20 participants.

Performance and Class Schedule 

In person classes (4 classes total) 

When: Tuesdays Oct 3, 17, 24, and Nov 7 | 7:00-8:30PM 

Where: Old Moody Building at Zidell (3121 S Moody Ave. Portland, OR 97239)

Live dance performance #1 Camille A. Brown & Dancers

When: Friday, October 13 | 7:30PM

Where: Newmark Theatre

Live dance performance #2 Ephrat Asherie Dance

When: Friday, November 3 | 7:30PM

Where: Lincoln Hall at Portland State University

Meet Your Instructor—Eric Nordstrom is a dance performer, teacher, and filmmaker living in Portland, Oregon. He has instructed dance courses at Lewis and Clark College, Portland State University, and Portland Community College. Working with professional dancers, Eric has taught in Germany at Contact Festival Freiburg, Conduit Dance in Portland, and the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation.

As a dancer, Eric has performed with Keith V. Goodman, Karen Nelson, and was a core company member of Oslund+Company. To support his work in dance and film, Eric is a recipient of grants through the Regional Arts and Culture Council and Oregon Arts Commission. As a director and editor, his films feature prominent artists and scholars including Simone Forti and Ann Cooper Albright. Covering six decades of Portland dance history, Eric’s film Moving History: Portland Contemporary Dance Past and Present premiered at the Portland Art Museum, and has screened at film festivals, conferences, and universities. To centralize and preserve source material from the documentary, Eric partnered with Portland State University to create the Portland Dance Archives. He studied with choreographer Bebe Miller and filmmaker Mitchell Rose at The Ohio State University, where he earned his MFA in Dance.

Offered in partnership with Dance Wire and White Bird.