Syllabus for DCE 241

 

Instructor: Frank Vulpi

Office hours: TBA

Phone: 334-3064

Email: fjvulpi@uncg.edu

Course prerequisites: none

Corequisites: none

 

 

Catalog description:  Study of the relationship of sound and movement, accompaniment/composer and teacher/choreographer, and a practical application of these understandings.

 

For whom planned: required course for Dance BFA and BS students.

 

Required text: none.

 

Credits: 2.

 

Student learning outcomes (SLO): On completion of this course students will be able to:

  1. Count dance combinations in a musically correct fashion in order to improve their presentation of technique-class combinations.
  2. Comprehend the basics of the rhythmic aspect of musical notation and learn how written notation relates to the heard rhythms.
  3. Analyze various musical structures so they will have more options in the way they relate to music in their choreography.
  4. Choreograph a dance study that relates to several different aspects of the music in different ways.

 

Teaching strategies: Students will present in-class assignments which will involve the rest of the class; the instructor will lecture at other times to prepare students for other assignments/presentations; classmates will be asked to respond to in-class presentations.

 

Topical outline: Weeks 1-5 (approx.) Working on SLO 1. The instructor will introduce the topic of rhythm as it applies to dance class movement combinations. Students will be asked to present, in class, a series of movement combinations that increase in rhythmic complexity. The class will critique each presentation..

Weeks 6-8 (approx.) Working on SLO 2. The instructor will introduce the basics of the rhythmic aspect of musical notation.  Students will clap out rhythmic phrases notated by the instructor. Students will then create a series of notated rhythmic phrases based on parameters given by the instructor.

Weeks 9-12 (approx.) Working on SLO 3. The instructor will analyze a series of simple musical compositions of varying types. Students will then pick a short musical composition and analyze it in class. The class will critique each studentŐs analysis.

 

 

 

Weeks 13-16 (approx.) Working on SLO 4. The instructor will talk about elements that music and dance share (tempo, meter, rhythmic patterns, dynamics, density, articulation, and formal design). Students will then present a choreographic study that works with these elements in ways prescribed by the instructor.

 

Evaluation methods and guidelines for assignments: Criteria for evaluation of student performance is attendance, degree of accuracy and creativity with which each assignment is completed.

Assignment 1 (35%) SLO 1 -- Students will be working with the type of movement combinations they would normally present in a technique class. They will be asked to fulfill certain rhythmic requirements in these combos. These requirements will increase in difficulty as the series progresses.    

Assignment 2 (15%)  SLO 2 -- Students will learn to read the rhythmic aspect of musical notation. They will then be asked to make up and notate rhythmic phrases.

 Examples of the assignment will be presented in class to demonstrate some typical problems that students had in this assignment. Students will then have a chance to redo this assignment for a better grade.

Assignment 3 (25%) SLO 3 -- The instructor will analyze a series of diverse musical compositions, then each student will bring in a short composition and analyze it for the class.

Assignment 4 (25%) SLO 4 – Each student will choreograph a dance study to the musical selection she has analyzed. The student will be asked to respond to the music in certain ways prescribed by the instructor. Other students may ask questions and comment on each presentation. These assignments will demonstrate how well the student has achieved the results called for in the "student learning outcomes."

 

Recommended texts/readings/references: none.

 

Attendance policy: you get 3 absences free. After that, each absence will lower your grade by a + or a -. Thus a fourth absence lowers a grade of B to a B-. A fifth absence lowers the B- to a C+. THERE ARE NO EXCUSED ABSENCES. I realize that there may be good reasons for missing more than 3 classes so I offer make-up assignments to those with more than 3 absences. If a student misses more than 6 classes I reserve the right to drop them from the course.

 

Additional requirements: none.

 

Academic honor code: students are expected to follow the academic honor code as found in the UNCG Undergraduate Bulletin.