DCE 651 – Studio Problems in Choreography
3 credit hours
Spring, 2008
Professor: Eluza Maria Santos
Office: 220B Phone: 334-3262 Email: emsantos@uncg.edu
Office hours: posted outside instructor's office
Prerequisites/Co-requisites: Graduate standing in dance.
For whom planned: For graduate students in dance.
Catalog Description:
This course is an exploration of form and content in choreography, which by nature may address process, product, period, style, genre, etc. It will address individualized problems determined for progressive growth of the student-artist.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Develop movement ideas that enhance their own aesthetic preferences.
2. Exercise personal taste and judgment to create dances with sharpened clarity, strong
visual interest, dynamic and expressive engagement, and integrity of performance.
3. Conduct rehearsals, teach movements, and coach the dancers effectively in order to be
productive and achieve integrity of artistic intention in performance.
4. Engage in a creative process that has its own logic, based on exploration,
improvisation, experimentation, investigation, decision making, and revision.
5. Demonstrate the knowledge that the creative process is diverse and that it has artistic, cultural, and social relevance.
6. Present their ideas/thoughts in an articulate, well-informed way in feedback sessions,
discussions, and written assignments, with respect for divergent opinions.
Teaching Strategies:
In-class activities/workshops/forum/lab-work/movement explorations, creative assignments, lectures, discussions, class showings, feedback sessions, written assignments, and lectures/discussions with possible guest teachers.
Required Texts/Readings/References:
Speaking of Dance: Twelve Contemporary Choreographers on Their Craft, by Joyce Morgenroth, and The Creative Habit: Learn it and Use it for Life: A Practical Guide, by Twyla Tharp. These books are on reserve at the Jackson Library and available in the instructorŐs office.
Also recommended/suggested: The PerformerŐs Guide to the Collaborative Process, by Sheila Kerrigan, available in the instructor's office.
Selected handouts, as appropriate for students in the progress of their works, will also be provided by the instructor throughout the semester.
Course Requirements:
1. Participation in the activities of the course. These will include the following as well as a few leadership roles—the activities are also listed in the calendar; a list of leadership roles will be provided by the instructor:
á Choreographer/Composer Workshop—a collaboration with music faculty, Mark Engebretson and Alejandro Rutty, and their music composition students.
á The Collaborative/Creative Process—a workshop by Sheila Kerrigan.
á The Persona Project—an exploration in the embodiment of personal/cultural identity through a detailed working process provided by the instructor.
á Morgenroth and Tharp—a project drawing from the two required texts.
á Individually Created/ "FREE" Choreographic Project—the student creates this project in order to further her individual growth.
Note: Among all the activities, each student will select one to be developed further. This will become a complete dance to be performed at the end of the semester. If some students think they would like to select two activities to develop into two complete dances, this can be discussed with the instructor.
2. Showing of the complete dance at the end of the semester.
3. Course journal (with observations/reflections about course activities, rehearsals, choreographic process, etc—journals will be collected at midterm and at the end of the semester)
4. A final paper (7 – 10 pages) about the choreographic process. This is a reflective paper that each student will write, bringing together her own thoughts about the activities, work(s), and processes developed throughout the semester.
Students should keep the following questions in mind throughout the semester, as a guide for the activities/work(s) in the course, including the final, reflective paper—and other questions may emerge:
What were the processes/strategies used by the student in the work(s) made this semester? Why were these strategies chosen and how were they articulated physically (in rehearsals and choreography), verbally (showings/feedback sessions, discussions), and/or in writing (journal, final paper)? How deeply was the studentŐs choreographic impetus, or idea, explored in the work(s)? How effective was the work/were the works? What made it/them effective? How did the student challenge herself? What can the student say about her aesthetic preferences? What does the student value in choreography? How was the studentŐs choreographic/artistic intention explored, maintained or changed during the making of the work(s)? What could be done differently, if anything, and why?
Evaluation/Grading:
Evaluation will be based primarily on the instructor's observations of students throughout the semester as they work toward accomplishment of the learning outcomes for this course, while being guided by the questions presented above.
The final grade for the students will be calculated as follows:
Participation in course activities 40 points
Complete dance shown at the end of the semester 40 points
Course journal 10 points
Final paper 20 points
Total 100 points = A
At midterm, the instructor will inform the students about their progress in the course. The instructor will also be available to meet with students at other times during the semester to discuss course related issues.
For each assignment/project not shown, presented, or turned in for this class there will be a deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade on the final grade.
Attendance Policy:
Students are expected to be on time for class—two tardies will turn into one absence. One absence is allowed. After that, there will be a deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade on the final grade.
Academic Honor Code: Students are expected to comply with the Academic Honor Code. Please refer to the UNCG Undergraduate Bulletin.
Additional Requirements:
Please refer to the list of leadership roles.
Attention:
Announcements for this course will be made via email.
Please remember that cellular phones should be off during class.
Let's work together and have a great semester!
Calendar
We will work according to the needs of the class, so this calendar may change as we go through the semester. In-class activities/forum/lab-work/exercises may lead to showings, discussions, written assignments, etc. If the opportunity arises, we will have some additional guest teachers.
Jan. 18: Introduction to the course, audition for dancers
Announcement: students should start reading Morgenroth's and Tharp's
books right away
Jan. 25: Choreographer/Composer Workshop—guest teachers Mark Engebretson
and Alejandro Rutty
Feb. 1 Work day for choreographers and composers
(Eluza in Iowa, performing with Latina Dance Project)
(Choreographers and composers continue to work on their own time during the following week)
Feb. 8 The Collaborative/Creative Process—guest teacher Sheila Kerrigan
(Choreographers and composers continue to work on their own time during the following week)
(If collaborative works start to emerge from Sheila Kerrigan's workshop,
students continue to explore them during the following week; concepts
and practices from this workshop can also be applied to rehearsals, or the
actual choreographic work, already going on)
Feb. 15 Showings of works from the choreographer/composer workshop (half of the class)—these can be short, finished works (for students who will not continue to work on this project) or works in progress (for those continuing to work on this project)
Feb. 22 Introduction to The Persona Project (sample of a detailed, working process as a whole)
Feb. 29 Showings of works from the choreographer/composer workshop (other
half of the class)
TBA (?)
This is also the Friday of graduate auditions
Mar. 7 How are rehearsals going? (a report/class discussion)
Showings—collaborative/creative process (?); persona project (?)
TBA (?)
Journals will be collected
Mar. 14 Spring Break—Have a great one!
Mar. 21 Spring Holiday—Have a great one!
Mar. 28 Showings—collaborative/creative process (?); persona project (?)
TBA (?)
Apr. 4 Morgenroth and Tharp—each student will create a choreographic process
based on the two required texts for this course (oral presentation and
written project to turn in). Note: this can also be done as a short movement
study, if the student wishes to do so. Ideas from this project can always be
incorporated into the work(s) already being developed.
Showings (?)
TBA (?)
Apr. 11 Individually Created/ "FREE" Choreographic Project—each student will
create a choreographic process tailored to further her own (perceived)
needs as an emerging choreographer (oral presentation and written project
to turn in). Note: this can also be done as a short movement study, if the student wishes to do so. Ideas from this project can always be incorporated into the work(s) already being developed.
Showings (s)
TBA (?)
Apr. 18 Work day for any project being developed in this class
Eluza in Finland, presenting a workshop at the international conference
sponsored by IADE (Institute for the Arts, Development and Education)
Apr. 25 Showings (?)
TBA (?)
May 2 Showings (?)
TBA (?)
May 4 Sunday—END OF SEMESTER SHOWING (?)
May 6 Tuesday/last class ("Friday")—END OF SEMESTER SHOWING (?)
May 11 Sunday—END OF SEMESTER SHOWING (?)
May 12 Final exam day. The END OF SEMESTER SHOWING could be done here, but Eluza also has the final exam for DCE 353 on this day, at the same time as DCE 651 (12:00-3:00 pm).
Journals will be collected and final papers are due on this day—Eluza would like to have an informal presentation/forum of final papers (?)
Leadership Roles
Audition organizer(s):
Audition supervisor(s):
Audition teacher(s):
Class manager(s) for time control, order of presentations, space/equipment organization, etc:
Guest teacher(s) assistant(s)
Final showings/end-of-semester organizer(s):