Studio Stories: Reminiscing on Twin Cities Dance with Donald LaCourse - Season 7, Episode 94

The driving force behind Ethnic Dance Theatre, Donald La Course
serves as artistic director, lead dancer, choreographer, cultural
researcher, and costume designer. Mr. La Course began folk
dancing at the age of four. At age seven, he decided to make it
his career when he first saw Duquesne University´s Tamburitzans
Dancers. Mr. La Course became a member of Edelweiss St. Paul, a
German folk dance troupe, at age 10. He danced in this troupe and
in musical theatre productions until 1973, when he moved to
Seattle to join The Koleda Folk Ensemble (where choreographer
Mark Morris was also a dancer). In 1974, Mr. La Course returned
to Minneapolis and co-founded EDT. Mr. La Course has completed
over a dozen international research trips in order to learn dance
techniques, research costumes, and better understand the cultural
context of his work. The Autonomous Republic of Northern Ossetia
(Russia), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine, Spain,
and Costa Rica are just a few of the countries where he has
visited and studied. Nationally recognized for his choreography,
Mr. La Course was commissioned to create work for the Chimera
Theatre, the Radost Folk Ensemble of Seattle, and Avaz
International Dance Theatre in Los Angeles. He has also appeared
as a guest artist with the Minnesota Opera, the Skylark Opera
Company, Katha Dance Theatre, Dolina Polish Folk Dancers and
Jawaahir Middle Eastern Dance Company. In 2011, Mr. La Course
received the “Preserving our Heritage” Award from the National
Folk Organization. In 2016 and 2018, he was the happy winner of
the senior division of the Bayrische Loewe Schuhplattler
Competition (the World Championship) in Bavaria. EDT’s
outstanding national reputation as one of the most diverse and
distinctive repertoires to be performed in the world of ethnic
dance is a direct result of Mr. La Course’s dedication, acumen,
and artistry.