How I Survived My Dance Training: Rhythm, Tap, and Modern Dance

Abstract

I took my first ballet class in 1948 from 72-year-old Charles Purrington in the basement of his house (the Purrington Academy of Dance Art) in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City. I was in heaven; I had been begging my parents for years to enroll me in these classes, and the big day had finally arrived. I remember vividly being told to stand with my left hand on the barre, put my heels together, and aim my feet in 180-degree opposite directions. The messages I absorbed from those early classes were clear: Dance begins with externally perceived positions of the feet and arms. It is about regimentation and precision.