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.