James B. Clouser

Submitted By jlk0041 on Thu, 08/22/2024 - 12:16pm

James ClouserJames B. Clouser, 89, of Tucson, Arizona, a professor of dance and renowned dancer and choreographer who taught at UNT in the 1990s, died July 31.

While studying composition, theory and French horn performance at the Eastman School of Music, he pivoted and joined the American Ballet Theatre. In 1959 he became the principal dancer with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and went on to serve as ballet master, resident choreographer and acting director of the Houston Ballet, founder of Space/Dance/Theater and artistic director of the Dayton Ballet in Ohio.

James choreographed for numerous dance companies in the United States, Canada and Europe. Some of his noted works included Carmina Burana, Ear to Stone (presented at the Avignon Festival in France) and the Shakespeare-inspired rock ballet Caliban.

His pedagogical studies led him to the Royal Ballet Schools in London and Copenhagen and the Bolshoi and Kirov Schools in Russia. He was appointed to the faculties of the Juilliard School, Connecticut College and the American Dance Festival and chaired the programs in fine arts at Loretto Heights College in Denver and the ballet and modern dance department at Texas Christian University.

He joined the UNT dance faculty in 1993 and taught a broad range of classes, including all levels of ballet technique. His studies in kinesiology and training in both ballet and modern dance gave him a unique approach to teaching that worked for all types of dancers, and his students learned about philosophy, history, science and all the arts along the way. Works he choreographed were performed by UNT students at the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as in Europe.

After teaching at UNT for seven years, he retired — and then spent 18 years on the dance faculty at the University of Arizona. He received the James R. Anthony Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award from UA’s College of Fine Arts, and in 2015, the CORPS de Ballet International organization presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. At age 84, before retiring a second time, he directed and choreographed a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass at the Tucson Desert Song Festival.

James ClouserJames B. Clouser, 89, of Tucson, Arizona, a professor of dance and renowned dancer and choreographer who taught at UNT in the 1990s, died July 31.

While studying composition, theory and French horn performance at the Eastman School of Music, he pivoted and joined the American Ballet Theatre. In 1959 he became the principal dancer with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and went on to serve as ballet master, resident choreographer and acting director of the Houston Ballet, founder of Space/Dance/Theater and artistic director of the Dayton Ballet in Ohio.

James choreographed for numerous dance companies in the United States, Canada and Europe. Some of his noted works included Carmina Burana, Ear to Stone (presented at the Avignon Festival in France) and the Shakespeare-inspired rock ballet Caliban.

His pedagogical studies led him to the Royal Ballet Schools in London and Copenhagen and the Bolshoi and Kirov Schools in Russia. He was appointed to the faculties of the Juilliard School, Connecticut College and the American Dance Festival and chaired the programs in fine arts at Loretto Heights College in Denver and the ballet and modern dance department at Texas Christian University.

He joined the UNT dance faculty in 1993 and taught a broad range of classes, including all levels of ballet technique. His studies in kinesiology and training in both ballet and modern dance gave him a unique approach to teaching that worked for all types of dancers, and his students learned about philosophy, history, science and all the arts along the way. Works he choreographed were performed by UNT students at the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as well as in Europe.

After teaching at UNT for seven years, he retired — and then spent 18 years on the dance faculty at the University of Arizona. He received the James R. Anthony Sustained Excellence in Teaching Award from UA’s College of Fine Arts, and in 2015, the CORPS de Ballet International organization presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. At age 84, before retiring a second time, he directed and choreographed a performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Mass at the Tucson Desert Song Festival.

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