Info for DCE 231 - Spring 2008

Course:  DCE 231 Ballroom

Instructor: Julie Mulvihill

Office: 220 F

Office hours by appointment

Phone: 334-4064

Email: jamulvih@uncg.edu

 

Students must wear the appropriate dance footwear for this course.  Ladies are to wear character shoes or ballroom shoes with a heel height of two or more inches.  Gentlemen are to wear dress or jazz shoes with a small heel.  All shoes must have leather or suede soles.

 

Student Learning Goals:

 

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

 

1. Maintain basic alignment while standing;

2. Maintain basic alignment while in motion;

3. Increase and apply strength and stamina;

4. Increase and apply flexibility/range of joint motion;

5. Grasp and retain the sequence of exercises and combinations;

6. Grasp and retain the nuances of rhythm/phrasing of exercises and combinations;

7. Grasp and retain the qualitative dimensions of exercises/combinations;

8. Maintain whole-body and body part clarity of spatial orientation in movement;

9. Move quickly from learning to performing; apply technique w/ sense of "self"

10. Implement technical/artistic corrections consistently & in all applicable contexts;

11. Maintain a commitment to instruction and correction by observing carefully, listening actively, practicing on the side, and assessing your own and othersŐ progress and improvement as assigned.

12. Maintain a sense of personal responsibility for learning by completing written assignments on time and with thoroughness and clarity, and learning and using correct terminology.     

 

 

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 1-10;
  2. Observe your daily work in class and (a) orally assess your achievement of learning goals 1-12, and (b) make recommendations for improvement in achieving learning goals 1-12*;
  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. 

 

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. 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.

 

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 and your record for the group assignments and attendance to an outside party will be additional factors in calculating your final letter grade.  Your grade will be calculated as follows:

 

Technique Feedback Sheet: 50%

Outside party: 10%

Group presentation: 20%

Group choreography: 20%

 

The grading scale is 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

 

The relationship between attendance and your final letter grade is as follows:  1/3 of a letter grade will be deducted for each absence incurred over the maximum absences allowed for this class. 

 

Attendance:

 

The Dance Department requires an 80% participation rate (24 out of the 30 meetings in classes that meet twice a week) to get credit for the course.  You are allowed two absences without penalty.  Two tardies equals one absence.  A tardy constitutes being more than ten minutes late to class. Sitting and watching a class does not count as participation. Nonparticipants will be asked to take written observations of the class.  Any observation day beyond two will count as half an absence equal to one tardy. 

 

Because there is no class in which absences can be made up, there is a one time substitution of one absence for a written essay (3-4 pages) on the influences of ballroom in musical theater cinema.  The teacher must approve the movie.

 

 

Assignments: 

♦Students will be expected to attend one dance party outside of class.  The teacher will provide a list of events periodically.  Any dance party not listed by the teacher must be approved.  The outside party must be attended by April 12, 2007.

♦Students will participate in an assigned group that will study and present on one specific dance.  The group research will culminate in an end of semester choreography project.  The 30 minute maximum presentation should include:

1.  Origins of the dance- where does the dance come from?  What are some of the ethnic influences? (history surrounding the emergence of the dance)

2. Who danced/dances the dance- is it a peasant dance? A dance of the aristocracy?

3.  How does the dance fit into a ballroom context?

4.  What are some contemporary uses for the dance besides competitive ballroom or social dancing? (examples would be nice)

5.  A thought provoking question to stimulate discussion among your peers.

 

 

Topical Outline: 

 

 

Special Topic Days- dates are tentative and subject to change

 

Thursday, February 14~ Salsa/Mambo Combo

 

Thursday, February 21 ~ Waltz Group Presentation

 

Thursday, March 6 ~ Rumba Group Presentation

 

NO CLASS for Spring Break March 11 and 13

 

Tuesday, March 25 ~ Foxtrot Group Presentation

 

Tuesday, April 8~ Swing Group Presentation

 

Thursday, April 10 ~ Swing City

 

Tuesday, April 15~ Tango Group Presentation

 

Thursday, April 24~ Fieldtrip day

 

Tuesday, April 29~  Chacha Group Presentation

 

Thursday, May 1 ~ Last day of class

 

 

Exhibition Day is the day our final is planned (REQUIRED ATTENDANCE): Saturday May 10 at Noon