The Course D331, Dance: Art-form and Experience

HPER-D331-13637

Indiana University Bloomington

Syllabus and Course Schedule

                                                             If you can walk, you can dance.

Zimbabwean proverb

Instructor:                             Selene Carter, Visiting Lecturer, Contemporary Dance Program, Kinesiology,

School of HPER, Office: HPER 176, Mailbox, HPER 182,

 e-mail: sbcarter@indiana.edu Office phone: 812 856- 2819

Office hours: Wednesday 9:30-11:00 AM and by appointment.

Course Description:             This course explores the elements of dance and how they manifest in culture from social settings to the concert stage. Using a global perspective we will study and practice dance forms that reveal how dance moves through time and changes shape from ritual to abstraction. Students will be versed in the elements of dance as a personal, cultural and artistic expression.

Meeting Times and Location:

                                              M W F 2:30-3:20 PM, Fine Arts, M-W, HPER 163 F

The class meets in the classroom on M & W to engage in lectures, films and discussions, and on F in a studio space for a movement experiences involving the practice, choreography and performance dance forms and styles. 

Course Objectives:               To understand, identify and manipulate the elements of dance,

                                               To articulate both the cultural and artistic practices of dance,

                                               To experience and express stylistic and creative aspects of multiple dance forms,

                                               To appreciate and discern dance as an art-form in the context of culture, and history.

Course Requirements:

Readings will be assigned from the following texts:

Dils & Albright, Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader, Wesleyan University Press, 2001

Ambrosio, Nora, Learning About Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment, Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2003

Nadel & Strauss, The Dance Experience: Insights into History, Culture and Creativity, Princeton Book Company, 2004

Attendance to the following performances:

·         Contemporary Masters: Featuring the work of modern dance icons David Parsons, Bella Lewitzky, and Donald McKayle , with works by IU Faculty, January 14 & 15, 2011, Ruth N. Halls Theater

·         Artsweek Dance Events TBA, Feb. 11-27, 2011

·         Joffrey Ballet, April 6, 2011, IU Auditorium

·         African American Dance Company Spring Concert, , 8pm, April 10, 2011, Buskirk Chumley Theater

·         Hammer and Nail, IU Dance Theatre, Thursday and Friday, April 13 & 14, 2011, Buskirk Chumley Theater,

Evaluation

Attendance:                                                     30%

Readings, discussion & participation:              30%

Homework                                                       20%

Mid-term & final                                             20%

Point Structure toward final grade:

                        A                     90 – 100

                        B                      80 – 89

                        C                      70 – 79

                        D                     60 – 69

Rubrics will be provided with all assignments

TOPICS AND STYLES TO BE EXPLORED (not in this order, course schedule will be provided)

·         Stepping

·         Ballroom dance

·         Middle Eastern dance

·         Latin dance

·         African Gumboot or Capoeira

·         Rythmic American dance, clogging, tap or Irish