Claire Porter

Claire Porter (born December 23, 1942) is an American choreographer/comedian known for blending comedic monologues with dance movement. She is also a performer, author, and dance educator whose dance works, which she refers to as Portables, have been produced by various dance organizations, college theater programs and venues around the world.

Biography Claire Porter was born in New Britain, Connecticut, where, as a child, she was a star athlete and danced in a local studio. After she earned her BA in Mathematics from the College of New Rochelle in New York, she became a computer programmer for G.E. Analytical Engineering in Schenectady, New York. Porter returned to her dancing roots after witnessing a performance by Maria Tallchief. She then attended Sonoma State University in California from 1969 to 1973.

Major works

Portables Porter's Portables are a number of comedic movement monologues and group theater dance pieces. Although these works have taken the comedic route, they were not initially created to be funny. The comedic interpretation was a result of how her audience viewed her works. She came up with the name Portables when she was leaving Ohio State University. It is a pun on Porter's last name as well as a sentimental way of signifying that she planned to take her dance works with her when she graduated. Each Portable is about 12 minutes in length, so about 5 or 6 Portables are performed at each concert. Green Dress Circle Fund Raiser – A solicitor for funds has to deal with a hostile audience Homestretch Dining Out – A calm diner grows increasingly tipsy.

Teaching experiences Grand Valley College where she worked on gestural pieces including a piece in American Sign Language Columbia Teachers College where she taught Choreography and Laban Movement Analysis

Books by Claire Porter Dynamics in a Bag (self-published) – teaches about the range of dynamics in movement Namely, Muscles (self-published) – book of 37 poems on over 68 muscles Don’t Answer That (under construction) – bag of question cards to help choreographers create dance pieces Laban Bag – The Effort Qualities (under construction) – bag of theatre game cards for understanding Laban's Effort Qualities