Develops technical proficiency and creative movement skills across various styles. Examines choreographic principles alongside the historical and cultural origins of diverse global dance forms.
In small groups, students take a known short phrase and alter its timing structure to alter its meaning. They present the variations and discuss how time manipulation changed the audience's interpretation.
Students investigate the power of the 'stop' or 'freeze' in a rhythmic sequence. They practice freezing on unexpected counts to build core control and dramatic tension.
The class splits into two groups performing different movement phrases that intersect at specific moments. Students focus on the spatial timing required to avoid collisions and create interesting visual patterns.
Students take a single movement and perform it over 1 count, 4 counts, and 8 counts. They analyze how the muscular tension and quality of movement change based on the duration allowed.
Students learn the difference between unison, strict canon, and cumulative canon through simple arm movements and formations. They experiment with how 'ripples' of movement travel through a line of dancers at different speeds.
The final assessment where students perform a set phrase three times with distinct variations, followed by peer critique and self-reflection on artistic intent.
A synthesis of all previous elements through guided improvisation, where students respond to rapid-fire cues to shift their spatial, temporal, and energetic qualities.
Students investigate the qualities of movement through Laban concepts of flow and weight, experimenting with how different energy inputs change the tone of a dance.
This lesson focuses on manipulating tempo and rhythm, challenging students to execute movement phrases at varying speeds while maintaining technical precision.
Students explore spatial levels, pathways, and the distinction between personal and general space through a series of technical workshops and a simulation hook.
Combine Body, Space, Time, and Energy to create and perform a short 8-count movement phrase.
Experiment with 'Energy' by contrasting sharp and smooth movements, exploring weight and flow in dance.
Investigate the 'Time' element by moving to different musical tempos and rhythmic patterns, focusing on musicality and pulse.
Focuses on the 'Space' element, requiring students to traverse various pathways and levels. Students create spatial maps and physically execute them.
Explore the concept of 'Body' by practicing isolations and distinguishing between locomotor and non-locomotor movements. Includes a guided warm-up and movement games.
Students study Pina Bausch and the German Tanztheater movement, exploring how repetitive gestures and speech are combined with dance to address human relationships. They create a short 'dance-theater' sketch.
Examining the Judson Dance Theater era, students analyze the 'No Manifesto' and the idea that any movement can be dance. They create short studies using only pedestrian actions (walking, sitting, running).
The sequence concludes with Pina Bausch's Tanztheater. Students analyze the blending of speech, elaborate sets, and repetitive movement to address human relationships and psychological reality.
Students study the radical shift of the 1960s where 'anything is dance.' They analyze Yvonne Rainer’s 'No Manifesto' and create sequences that reject spectacle and virtuosity in favor of pedestrian movement.
Students explore the theory of 'Fall and Recovery' developed by Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. They examine how this technique utilized gravity rather than defying it, contrasting it with traditional ballet.
Connecting the 1970s Bronx breaking scene back to ancestral ring traditions, exploring the 'cypher' as a space for community and competition.
Tracing the cross-cultural fusion of Irish and African dance traditions that birthed Tap, highlighting key innovators and stylistic shifts.
A look at the social and cultural explosion of the Harlem Renaissance, focusing on the Lindy Hop and the democratizing power of the Savoy Ballroom.
An examination of how enslaved people maintained cultural identity through the Ring Shout and Juba, using the body as a percussive instrument when drums were banned.
Introduction to West African dance fundamentals, focusing on groundedness, isolation, and the complex layers of polyrhythm.
Analyze the 20th-century shift toward abstraction led by George Balanchine, focusing on the relationship between pure movement and music.
Examine the Imperial Russian era under Marius Petipa, focusing on the structured Grand Pas de Deux and the rise of technical virtuosity.
Investigate the shift toward the supernatural and the technological innovation of the pointe shoe during the Romantic era.
Analyze Louis XIV's role in establishing the Royal Academy of Dance and how the codification of the five positions served as a tool for political control.
Explore the origins of ballet in Italian and French courts, focusing on how restrictive social etiquette and heavy clothing influenced early movement standards.
Exploration of the New Dance Group and the shift toward dance as a tool for social activism, labor unions, and anti-fascist resistance during the Great Depression.
Analysis of Martha Graham's development of contraction and release, her focus on the psychological interior, and the abstraction of emotion in 'Lamentation'.
A critical investigation into the Denishawn School and the use of Orientalism and cultural appropriation in the early American modern dance scene.
Examination of Isadora Duncan's revolutionary approach to dance, her rejection of balletic artifice, and her construction of the 'natural' body inspired by Greek antiquity.
An introduction to the theoretical roots of modern dance through the expressive gestural systems of François Delsarte and the rhythmic training of Émile Jaques-Dalcroze.
Evaluates the transition into the 20th century through the Ballets Russes, focusing on 'The Rite of Spring' as a rupture of classical traditions.
Analyzes the rigid hierarchy and mathematical choreographic formulas of the Imperial Russian Ballet under Marius Petipa.
Examines the shift from male-dominated court dance to the female-centered Romantic ballet, focusing on the construction of the 'ethereal' body and the male gaze.
A high-energy lesson focused on mastering an 8-count hip hop sequence featuring advanced waving, Toyman, and Loose Legs techniques.
