DCE 112C – Advanced Beginning Contemporary Dance Technique

Catalog Description: Development of technical skills in contemporary dance,

including rhythmic perception and spatial awareness, with emphasis on aesthetic and expressive qualities that lead to performance.

Spring 2008
COURSE NUMBER: DCE 112C-01
COURSE TITLE: Advanced Beginning Contemporary Dance Technique
CREDITS: 1
PREREQUISITES/COREQUISITES: DCE 111
TIME:  Monday and Wednesday, 2-3:15 HHP 322

INSTRUCTOR: Katherine Kiefer Stark
OFFICE: 220G
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
PHONE: 334 - 4064
EMAIL: kkstark@uncg.edu

Student Learning Goals

To the degree appropriate for the beginning level of modern dance training, students in this course will learn to:

1. Move contra-laterally during locomotion (left/right halves in opposition).

2. Grasp and retain sequences of simple exercises and combinations.

3. Breathe appropriately and as needed while moving.

4. Anticipate the beat when required.

5. Maintain energy/endurance throughout each combination and a full class.

6. Demonstrate commitment/responsibility as appropriate in and out of class.

7. Demonstrate awareness and attention to studio/classroom procedures.

8. Demonstrate dynamic alignment—as appropriate to exercises/combinations in the class

(see attached alignment statement) and involving awareness of center.

9. Move on the beat when required.

10. Show appropriate use of the legs as called for in an exercise/combination.

11. Show appropriate use of the feet as called for in an exercise/combination.

12. Show command of skills involving initiation of movement.

13. Show command of skills involving weight shift.

14. Avoid extraneous tension in performing simple movements such as walks, skips, etc.

15. Fulfill the time/counts given for each part of the movement.

16. Demonstrate attributes of/qualities in movement as specified.

17. Demonstrate clarity of body line in simple movement combinations.

18. Demonstrate clarity of spatial direction in simple movement combinations.

19. Perform set movement with confidence/full engagement.

20. Respond spontaneously and imaginatively to improvisational prompts, with confidence/full

engagement, and some degree of invention—and/or demonstrate creative spontaneity

within a given technique.

Learning goals 1-20 mark distinct areas of skill in dance technique.  Excellence in dance artistry is a matter of developing a high degree of skill in each area and integrating these skills during the performance of movement.

Learning goal 6, 7, 19 and 20 describe efforts/attitudes necessary for progress toward excellence in dance and indicate specific behaviors that demonstrate them.

Teaching Strategies

To enable student achievement of the learning goals, I will:

1.         Demonstrate, explain, analyze, and lead explorations of movement exercises and combinations designed specifically to develop the skills required for achievement of learning goals 1-20;

2.         Observe your daily work in class and (a) orally assess your achievement of learning goals 1-20, and (b) make recommendations for improvement in achieving learning goals 1-20;

3.         Provide a written assessment on the Dance Technique Feedback sheet of your achievement at mid-term and again near the end of the semester;

4.         Provide opportunities for individual appointments in which we may discuss your learning efforts;

5.         Provide opportunities for you to assess your own and others progress toward the actual achievement of the learning goals;

 * not every student will receive individual feedback during each class, but all students will receive individual feedback regularly throughout the course of the semester. 

Topical Outline

Warm-up exercises and combinations will remain fairly consistent over the course of the semester. Other exercises and combinations will develop over the course of the semester in length, speed, and in rhythmic and qualitative complexity so as to practice the integration of skills inherent to the achievement of learning goals 1-20.

Evaluation Methods and Guidelines for Assignments

The fundamental and ongoing assignments in this class are to:

1.         Attend to movement material presented, as well as to explanations and analyses of its specific components;

2.         Listen carefully to and apply all corrections and recommendations for improvement that I provide in class;

3.         Learn the movement material as quickly as you can through observation and practice

4.         Perform the movement material as accurately as possible each time you are called upon to do so;

5.         Reflect in writing as assigned on your progress toward and actual achievement of the learning goals;

6.         Observe other dancers and assess their performance as assigned.

I will assess your progress toward and your actual achievement of the learning goals through:

1.         Daily oral feedback to you and/or others on work done in class;

2.         Written mid-term and final evaluations of your achievement using the Dance Technique Feedback sheet;

3.         Oral and/or written feedback of the accuracies and inaccuracies I perceive in your written self-assessments.

Grading

Your achievement in mastering the learning goals to the degree appropriate for this course, and as documented on the dance technique feedback sheet, will provide the primary basis for calculating your final letter grade. Your attendance record will be an additional factor in calculating your final letter grade. 

In calculating the achievement component of the final grade, your mastery of the learning goals will be assessed to produce a final score that is aligned with grades as follows:

93-100                A

90-92                  A-

87-89                  B+

83-86                  B

80-82                  B-

77-79                  C+

73-76                  C

70-72                  C-

67-69                  D+

63-66                  D

60-62                  D-

below 60             F

Attendance Policy

1. You are allowed TWO absences (excused or unexcused), after which your grade will be lowered by 1/3 of a letter grade (for example an A becomes an A- etc.)  Each additional absence will lower your grade by another 1/3.
2. The dance department requires an 80% participation rate in technique classes meeting twice per week in order to receive credit. When injured or ill, but not contagious, you may sit, watch a class, and record observations to hand in at the end of the class period and still be counted present. ONLY TWO OBSERVATION DAYS ARE ALLOWED.  Each observation over the allotted one will equal an absence.  Speak with the instructor first for guidance in your observation and note taking. You are required to dance in 24 out of 30 class meetings in order to receive credit for the course.
3. Students are expected to be on time, dressed and ready for class, and to stay for the duration of the class. Two late arrivals or early departures will equal one absence.  Entering the studio five minutes after class has begun constitutes a late arrival.  Students who arrive 10 minutes after class has begun should sit out and watch.  You are responsible for telling the instructor after class to change attendance from absent to tardy.
4. Serious illnesses and injuries will be handled on an individual basis.  In such cases, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the instructor in order to make appropriate arrangements. 

**You may make up ONE absence by either attending another 112 section (be sure to receive permission from the instructor before attending) or by attending one UNCG dance concert and writing a thoughtful 2-3 page paper relating what you saw to what we are working on in class.  For a complete schedule of concerts, please see www.uncg.edu/dce.  If you chose to make up a class (using one of the above options), this needs to be completed BEFORE the last week of classes.

Additional Requirements

You will need to be prepared for class, each and every day. This means:

Appropriate attire: No jeans, skirts, hats, chunky jewelry or extra-baggy clothing. You are expected to dance barefoot.  Please pull back long hair.

Appropriate etiquette: Be on time, ready to dance. Turn off your cell phone. Do not bring gum or food into the studio. It is a good idea to bring a water bottle.

Appropriate behavior: Be aware of your peers during class; respect the needs and safety of all by maintaining your spacing when dancing within groups, and by staying out of the way when you are not dancing. When it is not your turn to dance, respect the others by remaining QUIETLY attentive. Ask questions when you have them. You learn as much from listening, watching and asking as you do from doing.

It is suggested that you have kneepads for this class. They can be ordered (with a one to three week shipping time) from Contact Quarterly at www.contactquarterly.com/kp.html or some will be available through the Prime Mover's organization. See instructor for details.

Important Dates 

Dates and times for midterm conferences will be announced in class.

Final Exam: Monday, May 12^th 12-3pm

Alignment

Alignment is not a static concept. In fact, alignment is in constant flux. It is not a “correct” way of lining up body parts but a way of embodying how we live in our bodies. Additionally, effective alignment does not look alike on all bodies. Different techniques, styles, and dance forms often require different bodily alignments.

Often, alignment is fluid and changes overtime. There are many influences on one’s alignment including culture, society, previous dance training, prior physical and emotional experiences, as well as structure.

Nevertheless, there are some guidelines that can be used to identify effective alignment in western modern dance; these guidelines may not apply to other movement forms. For example, a plumb line may be dropped directly through the center of the three body weights (head, thorax, and pelvis) to establish effective working alignment. The plumb line should be center in each of the body weights. Additionally, a straight plumb line may be dropped through the following bodily landmarks: outer malleolus (outer ankle), outside of knee, greater trochanter (at outside of femur), glenoid fossa (shoulder joint) and inner ear. These guidelines for alignment allow the bones to carry much of the weight of the body, resulting in safe and effective movement and body mechanics. When the weight is not carried through the bones, the muscles are forced to hold the body in place, thereby creating excessive stress and work. The main job of the muscles is to help the bones move, not to carry the weight of the body. When an imbalance exists, some muscles are required to work overtime to hold the body up while others become underutilized, thereby opening the dancer to bodily injury and insult. The purpose of alignment work in dance is not to create a straight and “held” posture of the spine; the curves of the spine are necessary for shock absorption during movement. However, the alignment landmarks may be used to keep the weight moving through the bones in a safe and effective manner. It helps to think of alignment as kinetic, whereby small adjustments continually provide a more moving and changing balance.

Common areas of excessive or frozen tension and problems on the body include:

Spine, pelvis, and chest/rib, including inability to release the lower back causing excessive habitual retraction of the pelvis, sticking out or held movement in the chest, and collapse in the chest.

Habitual distortions in the line of the body landmarks (listed above).

Problems of the hip joints, extremities and knees, including pronation of the feet or inward movement of the knees or upper thighs.

Protrusions of the chin.