From Club to Stage: The Integration of House Dance within Performance Practice

House Dance has been part of the House scene in New York and Chicago since the late 1970s and early 1980s. The vernacular dance technique has made its way from the underground clubs of the United States of America to the dance studios of London, United Kingdom. The style has also gained prominence in television, and has been, and still is, showcased in popular talent shows. It has an international following and is used for choreographic works for the stage. Using an ethnographic approach, the dance technique of house, music, and culture are presented in this study. Principles of Africanist aesthetics are utilised to exlpore how this social dance and the culture have been shaped. Uchenna Dance Company forms the case study, and the article explores how choreographic methods are applied to the technique, in order for transference to the stage. Conclusions are drawn about methods employed to avoid the misappropriation of the style with the company's choreopgraphic practice.