Claude Thompson was a dancer, choreographer, and artist whose elegance, soul, and creative fire shaped Broadway, television, and international stages for over five decades. He worked alongside legends including Sammy Davis Jr., Lena Horne, Elvis Presley, Petula Clark, Tom Jones, and Eartha Kitt, and was one of the first guest artists with Alvin Ailey’s company. His choreography left its mark on groundbreaking projects including Roots, The Color Purple, and Elvis’s legendary 1968 Comeback Special. In 1996, Claude won the Fosse Award for Educator of the Year. Alongside Hama, he served as artistic director of Jazz Dance LA, building a platform for jazz dancers and choreographers to showcase their work. Above all, Claude was known as a dedicated mentor — a master whose training in strength, precision, and musicality was rooted in excellence, and whose legacy lives on through the dancers he shaped.

One of those dancers is Gordon Hart, who will be teaching this workshop. Gordon has been dancing and choreographing in Los Angeles for over 30 years. He received scholarships from Joe Tremaine, Debbie Reynolds, and the Bob Fosse Foundation — handpicked for the Fosse Foundation scholarship by Gwen Verdon herself. He has worked on numerous film and television projects, and is a member of the choreographers peer group for the Television Academy as well as the Choreographers Guild. Throughout his early training and continuing through his professional career, Gordon remained a devoted assistant to Claude Thompson for over 15 years, both in class and in stage productions. He is excited to bring Claude Thompson’s class back to Hama’s Dance Center.