Introduces classical choreography within various ballets. Instructor suggests this course be taken alongside 416. Prerequisites: Dance 321 or 4281 with some pointe training, and permission of instructor.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM
High Intermediate Ballet I
DANCE 415
A course designed as preparation for the advanced level. Emphasis on vocabulary review and individual technique assessment, including placement, movement quality and musicality. Related readings and video assignments; attendance at and critical analysis of 1-2 ballet performances. Variable content; may be repeated in a subsequent semester. Prerequisite: B+ or better in 221, 222, 321, 3221 and/or permission of instructor.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM
Jazz III
DANCE 403
This course deepens students' knowledge of musical theatre technique, theory, and history. Students will learn a broad range of theatre dance styles, including original choreography from Jerome Robbins, Michael Bennett, Bob Fosse, Twyla Tharp, and others. Theory and narrative storytelling through dance will be emphasized, and readings and viewings will situate the style within cultural and socio-historical context. Students will expand their skills in rhythm, kinesthetic awareness, coordination, and performance quality.. Variable content: may be repeated once for credit.
Prereq: High-Intermediate training in jazz dance technique and permission of the instructor.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM
Theory and Technique of Modern Dance V
DANCE 401
The course emphasis is on versatility in movement vocabulary and on more complex and intensive technical work with discussion of theory inherent in the studio work, related readings, and projects. Variable content: may be repeated for credit in a subsequent semester. Prerequisite: Dance 302 with recommendation of the student's previous 302 instructor or permission of the 401 instructors.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM
Dance Production Projects
DANCE 400
Students may receive credit for work on special dance related production projects conceived by students and supervised by faculty. Contracts must be signed by the student, faculty supervisor, and the coordinator of Dance 400 before work on the project commences. Students should register for this course after work is completed. Prerequisite: permission of the dance faculty. Credit to be determined in each case.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM
Movement and Meaning: Dance in a Global Context
DANCE 331
This course introduces students to various approaches to studying dance in a humanities context. We will explore how people create meaning through dance and how dance, in turn, influences social norms, political institutions, aesthetic ideals and cultural practices. As we compare dance forms across the globe, we will also examine issues of race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, analyzing how dance literally embodies identity. At the same time, we will discover how contemporary unequal power hierarchies bear on our designation of some dance forms as "Western" and others as "world" or "ethnic." Tensions around assessment of authenticity/creativity, adaptation/appropriation, agency/resistance, and cultural hierarchies shift with social and political hegemony and with the individual's position as insider or outsider (a position that can shift depending on context). Throughout the semester, the usual process of the course will be discussion of assigned reading and viewing and analyzing together dance videos shown in class. A few dance workshops will be included (for which no previous dance training is necessary). Required work includes short papers and a final project.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; BU IS; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM; FA CPSC
Classical Ballet: Intermediate I
DANCE 321
A course designed for those with a solid foundation in the fundamentals of ballet technique. Related reading and video assignments; attendance at 1-2 ballet performances. Variable content; may be repeated in a subsequent semester. Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor and B+ or better in Dance 221 and 222.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM
Modern Dance and the African-American Legacy
DANCE 311
This course examines the works of several African-American choreographers and their contributions to the field of modern dance in America. These works are considered modern dance classics and some depict important historical events. Through the medium of dance aided by discussions, video and class reading assignments, the choreographers' works are analyzed for form, content and social relevance. Studio work includes technique to support learning the repertory. Prerequisite: one to two years training in modern, jazz or ballet
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM; AS SD I; FA HUM; AR HUM; AS SC; FA CPSC
Music, Sound, and the Body
DANCE 3033
How do musicians use their bodies when creating music? How do audiences, listeners, and dancers feel music in their bodies and contribute to making sound? This course explores embodied perspectives on making, sensing, and moving to music and sound. Examining theories of the body and the senses as they relate to sound practices, the course draws on scholarship from ethnomusicology, anthropology, sound, dance and performance studies, music cognition and other fields. Case studies include EDM, reggae, and salsa dance; Afro-Brazilian and Buddhist religious practices; and music healing and therapy. Because centering the body means considering lived experience along intersecting axes of difference, course readings and discussions will focus on issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and (dis)ability. Students will develop their own ethnographic project, and they will be asked to participate in music-movement workshops throughout the course. However, neither previous dance experience nor normative bodily ability are required.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM; AS SC
Theory and Technique of Modern Dance III
DANCE 301
Technique and related concepts for the intermediate-level student. Greater emphasis on the ability to accurately replicate or individually interpret choreographic material. Related reading and video assignments on contemporary dance developments and attendance at two to three performances required. Variable content; may be repeated for credit in a subsequent semester. Prerequisites: Dance 202 or recommendation of the student's previous WU instructor or permission of the course instructor.
Course Attributes: EN H; AS HUM
