

# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Friends of Dance Lecture with Kristopher Pourzal
- **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 10 Feb, 2026 at 07:30 pm
- **Event Description**: Friends of Dance Lecture: Midtown Dance: Black Concert Dance Histories and New York City's Clark Center, 1959-1989 

With Kristopher Pourzal, PhD, Assistant Professor, Kennesaw State University  
February 10, 7:30pm 
Dance Studio, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts 
Free; no registration necessary 

You probably know something about Alvin Ailey, but have you heard of Thelma Hill, Charles Moore, and Pepsi Bethel? Like Ailey, all of these choreographers were beloved fixtures in the New York City dance scene of the 1960s-80s. All of them helped to shape multiple generations of dance artists. And all taught at Clark Center. Originally founded as a home for Ailey's company in 1959, Clark Center was a vibrant hub of dance teaching and training, especially for African Americans. In this lecture, I share this under-told history of Black concert dance, drawing on archival research and oral history interviews with over twenty Clark Center alumni. Also key to understanding Clark Center’s significance was its location: midtown Manhattan, near Times Square and Broadway. Midtown drew a mix of dancers from uptown, downtown, and elsewhere, where they came to train, work, and hang out. While commercialization squeezed out many of midtown's gathering spaces by the end of the 1980s, including Clark Center, I show how the Center's legacies live on today, expanding our understanding of concert dance as a way to make new worlds together. 

Dr. Kristopher Pourzal is a dance scholar, performer, and dramaturg. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, he is based in Atlanta and works as Assistant Professor of Dance at Kennesaw State University. Pourzal's research is broadly invested in the histories, impacts, and possibilities of Black/queer/feminist performance practices. His publications in progress include essays on choreographers Hope Clarke and Kyle Abraham. Pourzal holds a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, where he also earned a Graduate Certificate from the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Additionally, Pourzal holds an MFA in Dance from Arizona State University.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/druid-hills/friends-of-dance-lecture-with-kristopher-pourzal/200029559143140
- **Event Categories**: entertainment, art, concerts, music, performances, workshops, fine-arts, theatre
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 1

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: http://facebook.com/200029559143140?utm_source=AllEvents.in&utm_medium=event-discovery-platform&utm_campaign=druid+hills-events

## Event venue details

- **city**: Druid Hills
- **state**: GE
- **country**: United States
- **location**: Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
- **lat**: 33.78886
- **long**: -84.32131
- **full address**: Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, 1700 North Decatur Rd,Druid Hills, Georgia, United States

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 2
- **organizer**: Emory Dance Program (https://allevents.in/org/emory-dance-program/26545067)

## Event gallery

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## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Tue, 10 Feb, 2026 at 07:30 pm
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, 1700 North Decatur Rd,Druid Hills, Georgia, United States
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** Emory Dance Program
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
  - **A:** entertainment, art, concerts, music, performances, workshops, fine-arts, theatre
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Friends of Dance Lecture with Kristopher Pourzal ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

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