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Contemporary Dance & Improvisation -VOL II DVD

$9.95

Train with legendary dancer, Desmond Richardson, as he shares with you the sister video to Contemporary Dance and Improvisation Volume I.  Co-Artistic Director of Complexions Dance Company, Desmond teaches you another explosive contemporary dance combination.  Continue to learn how to incorporate improvisation into your movement with detailed explanations and breath-taking demonstrations. Improvisational skills are very important as they are used in dance classes, auditions and often required in professional jobs. Enjoy the unique opportunity to watch Desmond dance the movement the way he envisions it. This is a “must have” for any serious dancer’s library.

“Remember to have fun!  I love the art of dance and it is my greatest pleasure to share it with you…”
– Desmond Richardson

Hailed by the New York Times as one of the great modern dancers of his time, Desmond Richardson is a multi-talented artist who has mastered a wide range of dance forms including classical, modern, and contemporary. Richardson’s immense talent was first recognized as a student at New York High School for the Performing Arts during which time he received a merit scholarship from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (1983-1986) and the International Academie des Tanz in Koln, Germany (1984-1985). He is also a recipient of a Presidential Scholar Award for the Arts (1986).

In 1987, Richardson joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater where he was a principal dancer for seven years. After leaving the Ailey Company, he traveled to Germany where he performed with Ballet Frankfurt. Richardson has performed as a guest artist with several world-renowned companies including the Swedish Opera Ballet, the Washington Ballet, Teatro at La Scala, and the San Francisco Ballet. In 1997, he joined the American Ballet Theater where he performed the lead role in the company’s world premiere production of Othello. In its description of Richardson’s performance in that role, the New York Times described him as one of the most majestic dancers ever to tread the MET Stage.

In 1998, Richardson joined the premiere cast of the Broadway Musical Fosse for which he received a 1999 Tony Award Nomination. He has also appeared on Broadway in the musical, The Look of Love and in the critically acclaimed Movin’ Out. He had a principal role in Debbie Allen’s dance/theatrical presentation, Soul Possessed, which premiered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1999.

Richardson has worked in television, film, and video in the United States and abroad. These experiences have allowed him to perform with such musical artists as Michael Jackson, Prince, Aretha Franklin, and Madonna. He is featured in Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi’s film, One Last Dance and the Oscar winning Chicago. He made his singing debut in Charles Randolph Wright’s 2005 film, Preaching to the Choir, performed the lead role of Beowulf in Julie Taymor’s Grendel at the LA Opera, Richardson recently appeared in Taymor’s Film, Across the Universe.

His honors include the Alvin Ailey School’s 2006 Apex award and the prestigous 2007 Dance Magazine Award. Recently Richardson partnered & performed with Diana Vishneva, in her one women show Beauty in Motion, at New York City Center and St.Petersburg, Russia, and is one of two Dancers invited by the President of the United States to perform in the in the 60th Presidential Conference in Israel.

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