Precision Jazz Summer Intensive

with former Radio City Rockette & Broadway dancer Rachel Tecora Tucker

JUNE 17-21, 2024 | Open Door Studios, 3706 Central Av, Charlotte, NC

Spend the week training in Precision Jazz with former Radio City Rockette & Broadway dancer Rachel Tecora Tucker! Classes will focus on clarity of details and precision of unison movements. Modern - Horton Technique and Odissi classes will also be offered as part of the intensive.

This intensive is intended for Int/Adv dancers ages 14+

Rachel Tecora Tucker

Rachel Tecora Tucker performed as a Radio City Rockette at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. She also danced with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, where she studied under master instructor of the Lester Horton technique, James Truitte. There, she performed works by Ulysses Dove, Talley Beatty, Donald McKayle, Eleo Pomare, Donald Byrd, and Dwight Rhoden. She later joined the national tour of The Wiz, directed and choreographed by George Faison, whom she later assisted on other projects.

While in New York, Tucker was involved in many freelance commercial projects with contemporary choreographers such as Mike Malone, Michael Peters, Karole Armitage, Bobby Longbottom, Jerry Mitchell, Freddie Moore, and Jean-Pierre Reggioro, which allowed her performance opportunities in New York, Las Vegas, France, Germany, and Japan. Tucker is an original member of the Broadway production of Disney’s The Lion King, directed by Julie Taymor and choreographed by Garth Fagan. Tucker continues her work with young artists through master classes, workshops, and dance festivals. She was on faculty at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and is now on faculty at the Manhattan School of Music. She is also certified to teach Pilates and yoga.

Headshot by Lorraine Shannon

Meet Your Instructors

  • Kaus Sarkar

    ODISSI INDIAN DANCE

  • Dominique Willis

    MODERN, HORTON TECHNIQUE

  • Sierra Scott

    Sierra Scott

    PRECISION JAZZ ASSISTANT

Intensive Schedule

Classes will take place Monday, June 17 through Friday, June 21 with a studio sharing of the Precision Jazz and Odissi classes on Friday at 4 PM.

10:00-11:00 AM

Odissi Classical Indian Dance with Kaus Sarkar

11:00-12:30 PM

Modern, Horton Technique with Dominique Willis

12:30-1:30 PM

Break / Shared space for dancers, artists, and choreographers

1:30-3:30 PM

Advanced Precision Jazz with Rachel Teccora Tucker

Class Descriptions

Odissi Classical Indian Dance

Odissi is an Eastern Indian art form known for its circular and curvilinear geometry. This class will focus on isolation (ribcage, neck, eyes, heel, toe), opposition (between footwork and torso movement), and whole-body coordination. Emphasis on hand-eye coordination in particular activating the sensate alongside the musculoskeletal. We will dance barefoot.

Modern, Horton Technique

The Horton Technique, developed by Lester Horton, is a Modern Dance technique that incorporates folk dance, gestures, and isolations designed to fortify, stretch, and strengthen the body. Created with a knowledge of human anatomy, the technique emphasizes a whole body, an anatomical approach designed to correct physical faults while enhancing the dancer's widest range of motion.

Precision Jazz

Each class will consist of a full warm-up in the center, progressions across the floor, and choreography/combinations that focus on clarity of details and precision of unison movements. Bring flat shoes and character shoes, no tap shoes are required. Please wear all-black dance attire. Open to dancers 14 and up.

Cost for the Full Program: $300
Cost for only Precision Jazz Classes (must commit to all 5 days): $200
Drop-in class price for Horton or Odissi: $20 per drop-in

This intensive is intended for Int/Adv dancers ages 14+

Movement Migration is supported, in part, with funding from ASC.

Special thanks to Open Door Studios for their support.

Banner image from artists' private collection. Headshot images by Jeff Cravotta.