Introduction to Dance COURSE SYLLABUS
Spring 2008

Course Number: DCE 101-03
Credits: 3:3
Prerequisites: None

For Whom Planned: General university students seeking a studio experience course in

               dance that fulfills General Education Core (GEC) requirements in the Fine Arts.

Instructor: Madeleine Reber

E-mail: m_reber@uncg.edu

Office: 220G

Office Hours: By Appointment

Course Description: Introduction to the basic concepts and principles of modern/

postmodern dance through readings, video, studio experiences, discussions, written work and concert attendance.

 

Course Objectives: The primary objective of this course is to introduce students to the

aesthetic sensibilities inherent in modern dance, based on the notion that modern dance embodies a way of moving, thinking, feeling, and being in the world that is unique to this art form. Specific artists and schools of thought will be introduced and compared to demonstrate that there is a wide range of aesthetic points of view within the modern dance community, but that there are also basic principles that are foundational.

 

1. Students will develop a basic understanding of modern dance technique through studio experiences, readings and discussion.

2. Students will develop a basic understanding of dance improvisational ideas through studio experiences, readings, and discussion.

3. Students will develop a basic understanding of the elements of dance composition through studio problems, readings, video presentations, live concerts, and discussion.

4. Students will develop a basic understanding of the dance rehearsal process and performance through the process of learning and performing a section of a dance.

5. Students will develop the ability to describe, in writing and discussions, certain aims and methods of artistic and intellectual expression in dance through their experiences in technique, improvisation, composition, and performance.

6. Students will develop the ability to demonstrate, in writing, an understanding of dance as an expression of culture in the twentieth/twenty-first century.

7. Students will develop the ability to demonstrate, in writing and discussion, an understanding of and sensitivity toward both Western European and African -American influences on the development of modern dance in America.

8. Students will develop the ability to demonstrate, in studio practice and discussion, the importance of dance as expression of self-understanding.

 

 

 

Teaching Strategies:

1. Students will be given direct studio experiences in dance technique, improvisation, composition and performance that will be directed by the instructor.

2. Students will be required to read about the history of key modern dance artists to provide a cultural and aesthetic perspective on this art form.

3. Students will be required to observe live modern dance events and videos of key figures in modern dance. They will write papers to describe, analyze and interpret the dance performances they observe.

 

Evaluation Methods and Guidelines for Assignments:

1. Students will be evaluated by the instructor on their attendance and participation. How fully did they contribute to their experiential learning process?

2. Students will be evaluated by the instructor on their level of achievement. How well did they meet the craft and aesthetic demands of a beginning Modern Dancer?

3. Students will be evaluated by the instructor on the depth and the level of insight of their written assignments. How well did they observe and record their observations of live performances and performance videos?

4. Instructor evaluations may be conducted through conferences and/or written evaluations, as well as recorded grades.

 

Course Outline:

The course will be taught through four basic components.

 

Technique Class: Technique will be taught to enhance the student's understanding of committed movement through space and to develop an understanding of use of the body in modern dance.  Our approach to modern technique will aim to increase coordination, range of movement qualities, strength and musicality.  Ideas about how to take a class, sensitivity to injury and the importance of the proprioceptive nervous system will run throughout the technique sections of class. Students will be asked to write about and discuss their experiences to develop their descriptive skills.

 

Improvisation: Various approaches to improvisation will be taught to place the students in close interaction so they learn to work together and have the opportunity to know one another fairly well.  Improvisation will also introduce principles of self-expression, body awareness, dynamic range of movement, discovery of a broader range of movement qualities and energies, exploration of elements such as weight, flow and time in movement.

 

Movement Invention and Abstraction: This segment will introduce students to improvisational ideas that lead to movement invention, and to compositional techniques that can be used to form set material from improvisation. Performance videos will be used to demonstrate Western European and African-American influences on the development of modern dance.

 

Repertory: During this segment students will rehearse and perform a short section of a modern dance piece by a contemporary choreographer.  Through this experience, students will learn not only about the dance but also about rehearsal process and performance.

 

Academic Integrity

ALL STUDENTS will abide by the UNCG Academic Integrity Policy for this class. (All out of class assignments are to be completed individually unless otherwise directed by the instructor) IF YOU HAVE NOT READ the Academic Integrity Policy it can be found online at http://studentconduct.uncg.edu/policy/academicintegrity/. This is your responsibility and you will be held accountable for any violation of this policy.

 

Class Requirements and Grading:

1. Attendance and Participation: Two absences are allowed; more will affect the student's grade. If a student is injured or sick, but well enough to attend, he/she may watch class and this will count as having attended. No more than two days of observation are allowed.  Since much of the learning is experiential, full participation is expected during each class meeting. Students are expected to participate fully in at least 80% of the class meetings in order to receive a passing grade. Attendance, effort, openness to new ideas and active participation in discussion and movement work and in-class assignments will count as 25% of the final grade.

2. Reading and Reading Response.  All readings will either be on E-Reserve on Blackboard or will be handed out in class.  They are intended to teach you about the development and history of modern dance and to inspire deeper thinking about related aesthetic, cultural and social issues.  We will discuss these readings in class and you will be required to submit a written response to each one under ÒAssignmentsÓ on Blackboard.  THESE SUBMISSIONS MUST BE IN THE CORRECT FORMAT WHICH MEANS THAT YOU NEED TO SAVE THEM AS Ò.docÓ NOT IN ANY OTHER FORMAT.  The readings are listed below, along with the dates that each response is due.  These written responses will count as 20% of your final grade.

3. Concert Papers.  You will be required to see three dance concerts during the semester.  PLAN AHEAD.  You will write a 2-page response to two concerts and a 4-5 -page essay on one concert.  There will be specific guidelines under ÒDocumentsÓ on Blackboard for these essays.  They will be graded and together count as 30% of the final grade. I will not accept e-mailed papers.  See the concert calendar below and put these dates on your own calendar.  You must notify me within the first two weeks of classes if you have a conflict. 

4. Improvement and Performance: A student's overall improvement and performance in physical understanding of modern dance technique, improvisation and composition will be assessed by the instructor and count as 10% of the grade.

 

5. Group Choreography Project: You will work in small groups to create a short dance.  These will be presented in class at the end of the semester.  You will have some class time to work on the project but will also need to find time outside of your class to work with your group. There will be specific guidelines posted under ÒDocumentsÓ on Blackboard for this project.  15% of final grade.

 

Drop Policy: Students who withdraw from this course without academic penalty must do so by the University withdrawal deadline, with the exception of students who must withdraw late due to injury or illness.

 

Course Calendar

Work should be posted on Blackboard before class time on the dates listed below.  Papers are due in class on the date listed.

 

Week #1 (1/14 and 1/16): Course Introduction. Mini research due 1/16.

 

Week #2 (1/23 ONLY): Modern dance history and technique. Read: ÒFirst Steps

Towards a New FormÓ from Susan Au, ballet and modern dance.  Pages 87-101.  Post response before class on Wednesday, 1/23.

 

Week #3 (1/28 and 1/30):  Continue modern technique. 

 

Week # 4 (2/4 and 2/6): Technique and improvisation. Read:

ÒTruly ModernÓ from Susan Au, ballet and modern dance.  Pages 119-131.   Post response by Monday, 2/4.

 

Week #5 (2/11 and 2/13): Watching, describing and writing about dance. 

Read: ÒPrimitive ModernsÓ from Julia L. Foulkes, Modern bodies: Dance and American modernism from Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey.  Post response by Monday, 2/11.

 

Week #6 (2/18 and 2/20): Continue technique and improvisation.  Introduce

 Composition unit. Response to Prime Movers Concert due Wednesday, 2/20.

 

Week #7 (2/25 and 2/27): In-class composition activities. Reading TBA.

 

Week # 8 (3/3 and 3/5): Video viewing, improvisation and group composition. Please

print ÒImagining DanceÓ by Joan Acocella and bring it to class on Monday, 3/3.

 

Week #9 (3/10 and 3/12):  SPRING BREAK

 

 

 

Week # 10 (3/17 and 3/19): Repertory. Read: ÒThe Metamorphosis of FormÓ

from Susan Au, ballet and modern dance.  Pages 155-173.  Post response by Wednesday, 3/19.

 

Week # 11 (3/24 and 3/26):  Continue learning repertory. Reading TBA.

 

Week # 12 (3/31 and 4/2):  Perform repertory. Begin group composition projects.

 

Week # 13 (4/7 and 4/9):  View video and analyze elements of composition.

Individual Dance Map due Monday, 4/7.  Read: Hill, Constance V.

ÒKatherine DunhamÕs Southland: Protest in the Face of Repression.Ó Post response by Monday, 4/9.

                

Week # 14 (4/14 and 4/16): Composition continued. 

 

Week # 15 (4/21 and 4/23):  TBA.

 

Week # 16 (4/28 and 4/30): Show choreography projects.  Discuss Departmental Dance

Concert.

 

Week # 17 (5/5 ONLY): Departmental Dance Concert Paper due in class Monday, 5/5.

 

Concert Calendar :

All concerts will take place at the UNCG Dance Theater.  Tickets sold at the UNCG Box Office.  Bring your student ID.

 

Required:

 

Choose one of the following concerts: (Paper due Monday, April 14).