Aaron Kent Osborne (October 16, 1947 – December 13, 1995)[1] was an American modern dancer known for his performances in works by José Limón, Maggie Black and Lar Lubovitch. Also a dance teacher, he was the cofounder of a San Francisco presenting organization, Dancer's Group, and its associated dance school, Footwork Studio.

Biography

Osborne started dancing only during his college years, when he was a premed student at the University of Oregon.[2] He transferred to the Juilliard School, where he studied techniques associated with Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and José Limón, whose work he especially admired for its attention to human psychology.[2] Between 1969 and 1974, he performed with the José Limón Dance Company.[2] Limón created the central role of his late dance work Orfeo (1972) especially for Osborne,[2] and he was praised for the strength of his performance in this physically demanding, high-energy role.[3] Other Limón works he danced in included La Piñata (1969), The Unsung (1970), And David Wept (1971), and Carlota (1972).[4]

Osborne subsequently danced with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in works such as Time Before the Time After (After the Time Before).[2][5]

Later in his career, Osborne moved to San Francisco, where he taught modern dance, especially Limón technique.[2] In 1982 he cofounded and served as the artistic director of a pair of nonprofits, Dancer's Group (which presented performances) and Footwork Studio (which offered dance classes); both were housed in a building in the Mission District.[6] After a few years, he left to teach dance at the New Performance Gallery, then the home of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company.[6] Known as a generous and inspiring teacher, he occasionally taught master classes as well.[7]

Osborne died of AIDS.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Aaron Kent Osborne gravestone
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Aaron Osborne". Museum of Performance and Dance, Legacy Oral History Online Collection.
  3. ↑ McDonagh, Don. "Dance in Limon's Steps". New York Times, July 15, 1973.
  4. ↑ Limón, José, and Lynn Garafalo. José Limón: An Unfinished Memoir, 2001, pp. 148-149.
  5. ↑ Highwater, Jamake. Dance: Rituals of Experience, 1992, p. 102.
  6. 1 2 Hazzard, Wayne. "Past Perfect: Dancer's Group". Dancersgroup website.
  7. ↑ Varone, Doug. "The Fourth Generation Speaks". Choreography and Dance, vol. 4, part 4, 1999, pp. 117-22.
  8. ↑ Winn, Steven. "AIDS at 25". SFGate, June 8, 2006.
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