Pierre Landrin Duport: Elegant Accomplishments of a French Dancing Master in the United States
(Alan Jones)

Born circa 1762, Pierre Landrin Duport studied dance in Paris under Maximilen Gardel, published his first contredanses in Paris (engraved by his father, Pierre-André Landrin), and established himself as a young dancing master in Dublin before emigrating from Revolutionary France to the United States. In Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and finally Washington, DC, he introduced hundreds of young Americans to the refinements of French dance, from the minuet and allemande to such rarities as the monférine and périgourdine. This lecture will focus on his "exhibition balls," featuring demonstrations by children, followed by dancing for their parents and adults.

Alan Jones, Paris, Frankreich:

Alan Jones is an American dance historian based in Paris. After performing as a Baroque dancer in the United States and Europe, he is presently working on a book concerning ballet and pantomime in the United States from 1785 to 1812. His first book, Dictionnaire du désir de la bonne chère (Honoré Champion, 2011), concerned culinary history in the eighteenth century.