This is course is designed for two 75-minute class meetings per week, during a 15-week semester.
Syllabus created by Jill Vasbinder Morrison
COURSE DESCRIPTION : This course traces the history of dance from ancient and early cultures to the development of Western theatrical dance through the nineteenth century. We will investigate dance forms from all parts of the world and the encounters between indigenous and colonial forms. Information will be presented through lectures, video, slides, discussions, peer or group presentations and projects, and embodied small movement investigations and larger movement investigations at the dance studio.
Course Learning Objectives:
Investigate and analyze dance forms from many parts of the world.
Examine the encounters between indigenous and colonial forms of dance.
(Re)Construct dance forms by evaluating artifacts and interpreting existent texts.
Investigate movement through dance activities in the classroom and dance studio.
Connect Historical, Cultural, Religious, Social, Political, and Economic of an era and area to specific dance works and movements of cultural and classical dance forms.
Evaluate a variety of dance forms in relation to the social and cultural context in which they developed.
Identify the origins of Ballet, Kabuki, Bharatanatyam and other forms of classical dance.
Explore how the dance of a region reflects the cultural values of the people performing it.
Describe dance movements and interpret potential meanings.
READING & VIDEOS
Readings will come from:
World Dance Cultures: From Ritual to Spectacle by Patricia Leigh Beaman, 2018
History of Dance, 2nd ed. by Gayle Kassing, published by Human Kinetics, 2017
Available as an e-book at HumanKinetics.com
Imaging Dance: Visual Representations of Dancers and Dancing, ed. By Barbara Sparti & Judy VanZile, 2011
moving histories/dancing cultures: a dance history reader, edited by Dils & Albright, 2001
Additional online readings of articles will be assigned throughout the semester.
Video viewing will be assigned from Youtube and from the Dance in Video(Proquest) database.
** Review a detailed schedule of readings, viewings and assignments.
EXPECTATIONS
Participation – Students are expected to participate in all class activities and to be focused and prepared.
Readings – Students must keep up with assigned readings and come to class prepared to discuss them. Students not able to contribute will not earn full points for the activity.
Movement Activities & Sessions – Students are expected to participate to the best of their ability in all studio sessions and embodied activities in the classroom.
Assignments - There are occasionally class activities that need to be completed after class meetings. These should be submitted via Blackboard. Two larger assignments will be assigned and discussed. They should be completed by the due dates and submitted to the instructor.
Communication - Students should communicate with the instructor often with all questions, concerns, and suggestions by email as the preferred method or by coming to office hours or virtual office hours.
Group work and projects - students will be assigned small groups within the class to enhance critical thinking and comprehension of materials. Students should communicate with their group members and are invited to use them as “study groups”. If there are ever any concerns about the group work students are expected to communicate with the instructor.
*Suggestions for working in groups virtually: use Google Meet, shared Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, email and text.*
REQUIRED CONCERT VIEWING:
Students are required to watch/attend a performance by a professional dance company. Find and keep all program info from this performance. Students will need it for writing the concert response, and will need to submit it to the instructor.
Students will be assessed on:
Quality of participation & discussion
Exams – 4 assessments
Activities and assignments- in class and as homework
Concert Report/Response Paper
Reconstruction Project and Presentation
Instructor will provide grading standards and weights
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER
Week 1 Module 1 begins
Week 3 View live or recorded dance concert
Week 4 First draft of Response Paper due for peer feedback
Week 5 FIRST ASSESSMENT
Module 2 begins
Week 6 FINAL DRAFT of Response Paper due
Week 7 WRITTEN PROPOSAL of Reconstruction Project due
SECOND ASSESSMENT
Week 8 Module 3 begins
Week 11 THIRD ASSESSMENT
Module 4 begins
Week 15 RECONSTRUCTION PRESENTATIONS DUE
FOURTH ASSESSMENT
**A detailed schedule of readings, assessments, videos, class meetings called your Course Map is available as a separate document.
These materials have been created with intention and care in an attempt to include many kinds of teachers and learners. We are using strategies that include: using alt text, high contrast on slides, and multiple methods of submission for assessment.
The materials carry an open license - CC by sa (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike)
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