Historical Dance

The Historical Dance program runs during the first week of the Amherst Early Music Festival. The dates of the first week of the Festival are June 29- July 6, 2025, but dancers arrive 1 day early to prepare for opera performance on Friday, July 4. 

The theme of this year's Amherst Early Music Festival is "Music of the German Lands." The Historical Dance Program reflects that theme, with a focus on dance materials from these regions. The program consists of technique classes and rehearsals (beginning on Saturday, June 28, 2025), and culminates in a fully staged production of Georg Reutter's Dafne (1734). 

Participants are entitled to attend many other events (including English country dancing, concert and lectures) in the evenings that are part of the Amherst Early Music Festival. All levels of dancers are welcome. 

First-week dancers who wish to audition for the Baroque Opera Project (Dafne, by Reutter) must arrive early to attend the following sessions: Note: Participation in the opera is reserved for full-time dancers; others are accepted only by audition.

Dance Class Schedule Saturday - Sunday, June 28-June 29
Saturday June 28, 2:00-5:00 pm (with breaks!): *Baroque Dance Technique Class/Rehearsal
Saturday June 28, 6:30-8:00 pm: *Baroque Dance Technique Class/Rehearsal
Sunday June 29, early morning: individual practice time
Sunday June 29, 10:00-11:30 am: *Baroque Dance Technique Class/Rehearsal. (Murray, Olsson)
Sunday June 29, 1:00-4:00 pm (with breaks!): *Dance Rehearsal for Opera.

Dance Class Schedule Monday - Friday, June 30-July 4
9:00-10:30 am. Baroque Dance Technique (Murray, Olsson). Technique class in eighteenth-century dance focusing on steps and phrases from notated German and French choreographies by Dubreil, Taubert, Pécour, Feuillet, and others, including various dance types (saraband, passepied, rigaudon, menuet, bourée, etc.)

10:45 am-12:00 pm. Baroque Dance Topic: Der Tantz-Kunst (Murray) Looking at dance notations from German sources including the works of Dubreil, Pasch, Taubert and others.

1:30-3:00 pm. Individual Practice or rest. [Dance studio space will be available.]

3:30-5:30 pm. Dance Rehearsal (Olsson, Murray). Rehearsals for Baroque Opera (Reutter’s Dafne, performance Friday evening, July 4, 8:00 pm). Possible evening rehearsals on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Opera dress rehearsal, late Thursday evening.

For over twenty-five years the historical dance program has been a highly successful part of the Amherst Early Music Festival, itself the largest festival of its kind in the world. Students particularly enjoy the opportunity for performance, along with stimulating classes by dance historians and performers.

See the NY Historical Dance Company website for more photos!

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