Courses in Dance

This course introduces the basic concepts, practices and skills of movement for performers of any discipline. Rigorous movement training offers students an approach to creating scores, devised theater and instant compositions. Active listening, engagement and creative problem-solving are basic skills within this training that can be applied to many fields of study, as well as life in general. The training helps hone a keen sense of physical awareness, expanded improvisatory responses and compositional choices. Reading, viewing, writing, sounding and moving through the course provide multiple ways to delve into a rich movement practice. They also provide rigorous training for students who choose to apply these skills as theater, dance or film practitioners and as fully embodied human beings. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. No prerequisite.

This is a Hatha yoga course that helps students improve alignment, balance, strength and flexibility through the mindful practice of yoga postures. Integration through motion, breath and healthy attentiveness are emphasized. The required reading for the course, "Yoga, Mind, Body and Spirit" by Donna Farhi, provides a deeper understanding of what yoga has to offer. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Generally offered every other year.

This course is designed to introduce dance as a performing art form, historically as well as in practice. The course explores how dance as a cultural phenomenon helps shape and is shaped by cultural values and historical events. The course tracks the development of dance as a performing art in Europe and in the U.S. from the Renaissance to the 1950s, identifying important stylistic trends in the works of major contributors to the field. While the focus of the course is on Western concert dance as a performing art, students also study some dance phenomena cross-culturally in order to broaden understanding of the function of dance and its relationship to cultural beliefs, social practices and the history of ideas. The study of dance history provides a lens for exploring the world, its people and their cultures. Assignments include written work and short movement studies composed by students to embody significant trends in the evolution of dancemaking and to explore various aspects of choreographic process. Required for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every fall.

This course introduces the basic skills and movement vocabulary of contact improvisation, as well as the context and evolving practice of the form. Students learn building blocks and skills for contact improvisation, which increase in complexity and rigor throughout the course. Experimenting with gravity, momentum, weight and points of contact serves as the basis for individual dancing, duets and ensemble work. Partners learn techniques of falling, rolling and lifting to use as a base within this improvisatory form. Sensitized listening paired with technical skills helps students hone their capabilities within this unique movement practice. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. No prerequisite.

This course introduces movement concepts for the beginning-level student in one particular form of dance. The style offered varies each semester and may include forms such as jazz dance, West African dance, Bharatanatyam or tap dance. The specific classes are determined at the beginning of each academic year. The course involves intensive movement participation; however, no stress is placed on public performance. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Generally offered every year.

This course focuses on modern dance technique for the beginning-level student. Artistic self-expression of movement is explored through exercises emphasizing the basic concepts of breath, mobilizing weight and improvisation. The course involves intensive movement participation. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Generally offered every year.

Ballet style and movement vocabulary are presented in this technique course for the beginning-level student. Students are introduced to the fundamental components of ballet technique, including line, position, musicality and artistry, with an emphasis on healthy and sustainable body mechanics. The course involves intensive movement participation; however, no stress is placed on public performance. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Generally offered every other year.

The fall and spring dance concerts give dancers, choreographers and designers an opportunity to present their work in concert. Advised and directed by dance faculty members and guest artists, these concerts are the culmination of one or two semesters of preparation, rehearsals and regularly scheduled showings of works in progress. In order for students to choreograph for the fall dance concert, students must be enrolled in or have successfully completed DANC 227 or 228. Choreography proposals must be submitted to the dance faculty by the date announced early each semester. Final selection is determined by the dance faculty, with priority given to dance majors and minors. The same selection process is followed for both fall and spring dance concerts. Auditions to dance in either concert are held at the beginning of each semester. All dancers who perform in either concert are required to participate in a dance technique course (DANC 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 208, 209 or 308). Designers are recommended by the design faculty of the Department of Dance, Drama and Film. Please note: DANC 110 audit will only be awarded to those dancers, choreographers and production personnel whose work exhibited high standards. Offered every semester.

This course furthers the work of the beginning-level course with increased application of movement principles established by creative artists and teachers from the contemporary dance tradition. Movement fundamentals from other broad-based techniques and somatic principles also are included. This counts toward the technique requirements for the major. No prerequisite. Permission of instructor required. Offered every semester.

This course expands on the fundamentals of ballet technique with a more in-depth application of the ballet vocabulary and style. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. Permission of instructor required. Generally offered every semester.

This course is the same as MUSC 214D and must be taken as DANC 214D to be paired with other dance, drama or film courses for fine arts diversification. This course explores the historical intersections of music and dance in the collaborative creative process. Music and dance are inexorably linked. At times, music composition and choreography happen simultaneously, as is the case with Aaron Copland and Martha Graham's "Appalachian Spring." At other times, the dance comes after the music has been composed. Learning about the vital intersections between music and dance provides students with a more deeply understood and nuanced approach to how the work of composers and choreographers intersects as they dialogue with each other in works ranging historically from Lully and Petipa to Philip Glass and Mark Morris. This is an interdisciplinary class co-taught by a professor of dance and a professor of music. This counts toward the theory requirement for the dance major. No prerequisite. Offered every other spring.

This course investigates the development of dance as a performing art in the 20th and 21st centuries. It examines major trends that influence dancemaking including technology, globalization and collaboration, by observing the work of principal artists. This course investigates aesthetic points of view, beliefs and assumptions inherent in dance practice, dance criticism and history writing. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DANC 105. Generally offered every other spring.

This course covers the basic concepts and skills necessary for reading and writing labanotation, a system for recording movement in symbolic form. Studio work emphasizes re-creating and performing dances from written scores in addition to the theoretical analysis of movement. Class requirements may fulfill Dance Notation Bureau standards for certification in beginning labanotation. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Generally offered every other year.

The theory and practice of making dances is the focus of the choreographer. The fundamentals of composing both solo and group works are presented through the exploration of dance dynamics, improvisation and movement problem-solving. Work includes movement studies, presentations, readings and discussions. Group preparation time outside of class for movement studies is required. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. Prerequisite or corequisite: DANC 105. Offered every other fall.

Special topics in dance composition are the focus of this course. Students are presented with advanced choreographic theories and challenges. The choreographic assignments vary each semester and may include studies that emphasize partnering, the use of technology, collaboration or site-specific work. Course requirements include readings, discussions and the development and presentation of movement studies. Significant preparation time outside of class is expected. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DANC 227. Offered every other fall.

This course is an introduction to screendance, also known as dance film and dance for the camera. Screendance is a synthesis between dancemaking and filmmaking. It is an evolving field and through readings, viewings and discussion, students learn about the history and development of this hybrid form. Through analysis of the dance films we view, as well as feedback we offer to one another about creative work, students hone their analytic skills via written work, discussions and presentations. Each student creates film studies based on a variety of prompts during the semester and creates one short dance film. These creative projects give an experiential component to the course, informed by the many screendance works we view, as well as the readings of significant scholarship in the field.

This course presents students with theories and philosophies about teaching the art of dance in various contexts. Readings and discussions consider methods for integrating somatic techniques and scientific principles into the dance technique class, as well as contemporary aesthetic and creative practices. Different learning and teaching environments are compared and contrasted, including the private sector, public schools and higher education. Adaptations necessitated by dance style, age, motivation and skill level are addressed both theoretically and experientially, as students are required to plan, teach, and evaluate their own and each other's pedagogical choices in practice teaching sessions. This course has a significant Community Engaged Learning component, with an emphasis on teaching creative movement to children and/or seniors. Students should expect off-campus teaching experiences; some of this teaching will be scheduled outside of class time. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. Permission of instructor required. Generally offered every other year.

This course builds upon principles of movement established at the beginning and intermediate levels. In-depth exploration of floor work, improvisation, somatic practices and a variety of postmodern styles promote artistry, efficiency of movement and integrated strength. This counts toward the technique requirement for the major. Permission of instructor required. Offered every semester.

This course continues to develop skills and concepts introduced in elementary labanotation. At the intermediate level, students work to increase their vocabulary, fluency and precision in reading and writing this language of dance. This allows students to notate and learn dances in a broader range of styles, including modern dance and dances of different cultures. Specific concepts covered include movements of parts of the limbs; touching, brushing, sliding of the feet; movements of the torso; tilting, twisting, rotating, shifting, facing, flexing, extending and combined actions; systems of reference; kneeling; sitting; lying down; falls and center of gravity; and augmented and inverted body sections.

Movement concepts are explored physically, contributing to clarity of performance and enhancing kinesthetic and theoretical understanding. Emphasis is placed on the process of analyzing movement in order to document it and on translating written material into fully embodied dances. Students have the opportunity to earn the Intermediate Certificate in Labanotation from the Dance Notation Bureau through completing the course requirements. This counts toward an elective for the major. Prerequisite: DANC 220. Offered every third year.

This course studies the science of movement as it relates to dance. Basic anatomy and physiology, the physics of dance and the mind-body connection responsible for producing and controlling movement are explored to provide students with a deeper understanding of the structure and function of the human body. Lectures, discussions and movement labs focus on practical analysis and application of material in order to increase movement efficiency with the ultimate goal of enhancing performance and preventing injury. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. No prerequisite. Sophomore standing. Generally offered every year.

Individual study in dance is reserved for students exploring a topic not regularly offered in the department's curriculum. Typically, the course carries 0.5 units of credit. To enroll in an individual study, a student must identify a member of the department willing to direct the project and, in consultation with him or her, write a proposal. The department chair must approve the proposal. The one- to two-page proposal should include a preliminary bibliography and/or set of specific problems, goals and tasks for the course; outline a schedule of reading and/or writing assignments or creative undertakings; and describe the methods of assessment (e.g., a journal to be submitted for evaluation weekly; a one-act play due at semester's end, with drafts due at given intervals; and so on). The student also should briefly describe prior coursework that qualifies him or her for this independent project. At a minimum, the department expects the student to meet regularly with the instructor one hour per week and to submit an amount of work equivalent to that required in 300-level dance and drama courses. Students are urged to begin discussion of their proposed individual study the semester before they hope to enroll, so that they can devise a proposal and seek departmental approval before the deadline.