DAN 101gm Topics in Dance Studio-The Gyrotonic Method Applied to Dance Technique (1 Credit)

{A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 101sf Topics in Dance Studio-Strength and Flexibility through Movement (1 Credit)

This course provides students with a practical and theoretical understanding of the relationship between the strength, flexibility, and mobility of the body. Through experiential methods students will learn how the connective tissues of the body function both as an interconnected web which facilitates movement, alignment, and coordination, as well as proprioception. Students develop an individualized practice throughout the semester drawing from various movement systems and dance training methods. Students examine the relationship between strength, flexibility, and agility as applied to dancing. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 113bu Topics in Beginning Contemporary Dance: Butoh and Contemporary Hybrid (2 Credits)

This class is an introduction to the core technique and philosophy of butoh and an exploration of how this form can be practiced in dialogue with contemporary dance. By practicing these techniques together, students develop a deeper perception of their impulse to move, sharpen their kinesthetic control and refine their performance presence. These skills can translate to a number of different dance and theater genres. Enrollment limited to 30. (E) {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 113fn Topics in Beginning Contemporary Dance-Fundamentals (2 Credits)

May be repeated up to three times for a maximum of six credits. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 113mo Topics in Beginning Contemporary Dance-Introduction to Modern (2 Credits)

{A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 114 Beginning Contemporary Dance 2 (2 Credits)

For students who have taken Beginning Contemporary Dance or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Spring

DAN 119 Beginning Contact Improvisation (2 Credits)

A duet form of movement improvisation. The technique focuses on work with gravity, weight support, balance, inner sensation, outer awareness and touch, to develop spontaneous fluidity of movement in relation to a partner. May be repeated once for credit. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Fall, Spring

DAN 120 Beginning Ballet 1 (2 Credits)

Beginning study of the basic principle and vocabularies of classical ballet. Class covers both Barre and Center. Emphasis is placed on body alignment, the development of whole-body movement and musicality. The basics of more advanced steps, from turns to jumps, are introduced. Primary concepts such as outward rotation, weight shifts and physical safety are emphasized. Two to three semesters are recommended at the beginning level before advancement to Intermediate levels. May be repeated up to three times. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Fall, Spring

DAN 121 Beginning Ballet 2 (2 Credits)

A continuation of DAN 120. Beginning study of the basic principle and vocabularies of classical ballet. The class is composed of two parts: Barre and Center. Emphasis is placed on body alignment, the development of whole-body movement and musicality. The basics of more advanced steps, from turns to jumps, are introduced. Primary concepts such as outward rotation, weight shifts and physical safety are emphasized. Two to three semesters are recommended at the beginning level before advancement to Intermediate levels. Prerequisite: DAN 120 or equivalent. May be repeated up to three times. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Fall, Spring

DAN 130 Beginning Jazz Dance (2 Credits)

Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring, Annually

DAN 133 Dance for Every Body (2 Credits)

This course serves as an accessible dance course for all students interested in dance, regardless of ability and dance experience. Throughout the semester, students are introduced to a variety of dance forms and approaches (contemporary dance, salsa, jazz/funk, improvisation). The course promotes the development of dancing skills, aesthetic appreciation, community connection and cultural literacy. In these studio classes, students learn dance techniques while cultivating physical competencies, artistic creativity and bodily expressivity as a part of a community experience. Assignments, class discussions and movement material are designed to foster critical analysis of contemporary issues related to the interaction of dance and society. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 137 Beginning Tap (2 Credits)

Introduction to the basic tap dance steps with general concepts of dance technique. Performance of traditional tap step patterns and short combinations. Enrollment limited to 15. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 138 Dance in Musical Theatre (2 Credits)

This course explores the creation and performance of dance as it relates to musicals and storytelling in theater. Students practice applicable dance techniques and choreographic principles, gaining a hands on understanding of dance in musicals. The course embraces a diversity of styles and definitions of musicals. Instructors build upon their own training to teach material in the lineage of one or more dance forms—e.g., jazz, tap, ballet, modern dance, hip hop—that feature in musicals for the stage and the screen. The course situates its topic in relevant historical and cultural contexts. Open to students at all levels of experience. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 141fl Topics in Dance Forms-Flamenco (2 Credits)

This course is a comprehensive introduction to flamenco, a product of Spain's blended Andalusian culture. Principles of flamenco musicality and structure are combined with the foundations of flamenco dance technique. Students will study colocación (placement), estilización (stylization), posturas (postures), brazeo (armwork), floreo (handwork), vueltas (turns), taconeo (footwork), compás (phrasing), palmas (rhythmic clapping), jaleo (words of encouragement), and letras (verses). These skills will be applied to choreographic studies and improvisation in a juerga (social) setting. Throughout the semester, students will use their knowledge to build a patada (a short dance) in one of two styles - bulerías or tangos. Sturdy, heeled shoes are required. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 141kr Topics in Dance Forms: Korean Dance (2 Credits)

This is an introductory technique course to Traditional Korean Dance. No previous dance experience required. Korean identity, culture and aesthetics will be explored through dance. The class will focus on traditional dance vocabulary (didgi, gulshin, euleugi, gamgi, yeonpungdae), music and types of rhythms (gutgeori, jajinmori, heemori, shibbak), and breathing technique (hoheub). Students will learn excerpts of traditional repertory, such as palace dances, as well as modern reinventions of Korean traditional dance. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 141sw Topics in Dance Forms-Swing (2 Credits)

American swing dance is a collection of social dances that began with Lindy Hop in the late 1920’s in Harlem, New York City and still evolves today. This beginner level course is an introduction to the fundamentals of swing dance, including basic open, closed and semi-open partnering positions, and an introduction to the myriad of footwork patterns common to the dances of the “swing family”. All students learn to both lead and follow as they are introduced to the basics of the Lindy Hop and vernacular jazz as both solo and partnering dances, emphasizing rhythm and musicality through set and improvised movements. Enrollment limited to 30. (E) {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 142wa Topics: Dance Forms of the African Diaspora: West African Dance (2 Credits)

This course introduces West African dance, music and song as a traditional mode of expression in various West African countries. It emphasizes appreciation and respect for African culture and its profound influence on American culture and art. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 143ka Topics in Indian Dance-Kathak (2 Credits)

Highly expressive and technically precise, Kathak is a renown genre of Indian dance performed across the world—at once a symbol of North Indian culture and a transnational practice of the Indian diaspora. With roots in Indian temples and influenced by Middle Eastern culture, Kathak blends dance, drama and music to tell mythological stories. This course introduces elements of Kathak technique, including its signature percussive footwork and symbolic hand gestures (mudras). It fosters knowledge of Kathak’s history and cultural context, teaching the technique in dialogue with Indian music, philosophy and mythology. No previous experience necessary. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 144 Tango I (2 Credits)

Argentine Tango is the sensual and elegant social dance of the city of Buenos Aires, which is experiencing a worldwide revival. Class includes the movements, the steps, the history and anecdotes about the culture of Tango. The class covers traditional and modern forms. All dancers learn lead and follow, so you do not need a partner. May be taken twice for a total of four credits. Enrollment limited to 40. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 146 Beginner Hip Hop Dance (2 Credits)

Hip hop is a popular form of Afro-diasporic cultural production and, for many, a lifestyle. In this studio course for beginner dancers, students learn movements from the poppin', lockin', house and breakin’ dance techniques. This study of movement vocabulary is contextualized in analyses of hip hop’s history, culture and current trends. May be taken three times for a total of six credits. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring

DAN 149 Salsa Dance I (2 Credits)

This course introduces the students to the New York mambo style of salsa (beginner-level). It also covers elements of the Cuban style of salsa, representative of an Afro-Caribbean dance aesthetic. Students master different variations of the salsa basic step, as well as turns, connecting steps and arm work. They learn how to dance in couples and also in larger groups known as ruedas (wheels). Toward the end of the semester, students are able to use their salsa vocabulary as basis for improvising and choreographing salsa combinations. We approach salsa as a social dance form expressive of Caribbean culture and Latino culture in the United States. Most of the work takes place in the studio but, in addition to learning the dance, students read selected articles and watch documentaries about the dance genre. Class discussions and brief writing assignments serve as an opportunity to reflect on salsa’s history and culture. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 151 Elementary Dance Composition (4 Credits)

Introductory study of dance composition, including movement research, spatial design, rhythmic phrasing, musical forms and performance. Enrollment limited to 12. {A}

Spring

DAN 171 Dance History: Political Bodies From the Stage to the Page (4 Credits)

This course excavates the artistic, social and cultural trends that have driven the histories of ballet, jazz dance, modern dance and postmodern dance throughout the 20th & 21st centuries. The course looks critically at artists such as Isadora Duncan, Rudolf Laban, George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Katherine Dunham, Alvin Ailey, Anna Halprin, Pina Bausch and Bill T. Jones. Through readings, discussions, dance viewings, movement activities and sessions in the Museum of Art, Josten Library and Sophia Smith Collection, students examine how notions of race, nationality, gender, sexuality and political ideology inform dance. Students conduct historical research on a topic of their choice. Enrollment limited to 20. {A}{H}

Fall, Spring

DAN 200 Dance Production (1 Credit)

A laboratory course based on the preparation and performance of department productions. Students may elect to fulfill course requirements from a wide array of production related responsibilities, including stage crew. It may not be used for performance or choreography. May be taken four times for credit, with a maximum of two credits per semester. {A}

Fall, Spring

DAN 201 Dance Production (1 Credit)

A laboratory course based on the preparation and performance of department productions. Students may elect to fulfill course requirements from a wide array of production related responsibilities, including stage crew. It may not be used for performance or choreography. May be taken four times for credit, with maximum of two credits per semester. Can be taken with DAN 200. {A}

Fall, Spring

DAN 202 Strength and Flexibility through Movement Intermediate (2 Credits)

This course provides students with a practical and theoretical understanding of the relationship between strength, flexibility and mobility of the body. Through experiential methods students learn how the connective tissues of the body function as an interconnected web which facilitates movement, alignment, coordination and proprioception. Students develop an individualized practice throughout the semester drawing from various movement systems and dance training methods. The course examines the relationship between strength, flexibility and agility as applied to dancing. This course supports students training in dance and other movement forms. Students learn anatomical connections within the musculo-skeletal system and apply them to movement practice. Enrollment limited to 25. (E) {A}

Spring

DAN 207 Intermediate Repertory (2 Credits)

This course offers an in-depth exploration of aesthetic and interpretive issues in dance performance. Through experiments with improvisation, musical phrasing, partnering, personal imagery and other modes of developing and embodying movement material, dancers explore ways in which a choreographer’s vision is formed, altered, adapted and finally presented in performance. May be taken three times for credit. Audition and instructor permission required. {A}

Fall

DAN 210 Hybrid Technique: The Modern Dance to Ballet Continuum (2 Credits)

This technique course emphasizes that dance genres are not isolated in themselves. Each style has a variety of influences. The course will physically explore and embody both the similarities and differences between two forms of dance and the variety of movement aesthetics and possibilities created when ideas and tools from both forms are present in the body simultaneously. The course will also teach how these two genres can support each other and enrich a dancer's unique movement qualities and sequences. Prerequisite: Modern and/or Contemporary Technique at the Advanced Beginner level. Enrollment limited to 35. {A}

Fall, Spring, Annually

DAN 215 Intermediate Contemporary Dance 1 (2 Credits)

Prerequisite: Any topic of DAN 113 or previous dance experience. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall

DAN 216 Intermediate Contemporary Dance 2 (2 Credits)

May be taken three times for a total of six credits. Prerequisite: DAN 215 or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Spring

DAN 219 Intermediate Contact Improvisation (2 Credits)

A duet form of movement improvisation. The technique focuses on work with gravity, weight support, balance, inner sensation, outer awareness, and touch, to develop spontaneous fluidity of movement in relation to a partner. Prerequisite: at least one previous dance technique course or equivalent. Enrollment limited to 25. Instructor permission required. {A}

Fall, Spring, Annually

DAN 222 Intermediate Ballet 1 (2 Credits)

Intermediate study of the principle and vocabularies of classical ballet. Class covers both Barre and Center. The primary concepts from the beginning study are developed: body alignment, development of whole-body movement, musicality and embodiment of performance style. All types of turns and various jumps are developed, both petit and grand allegro. Two to three semesters at the intermediate level are recommended before auditioning for Advanced levels. Prerequisite: DAN 121 or equivalent. May be repeated up to three times. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Fall

DAN 223 Intermediate Ballet 2 (2 Credits)

A continuation of DAN 222. Intermediate study of the principle and vocabularies of classical ballet. Class covers both Barre and Center. The primary concepts from the beginning study are developed: body alignment, development of whole-body movement, musicality and embodiment of performance style. All types of turns and various jumps are developed, both petit and grand allegro. Two to three semesters at the intermediate level are recommended before auditioning for Advanced levels. Prerequisite: Previous dance experience. May be taken up to three times. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Spring

DAN 227 Intermediate Pointe Technique (1 Credit)

This course is an intermediate study of contemporary pointe technique. All students are assumed to have an appropriate level of ballet technique (as covered in the FCDD's ballet courses or the equivalent). The FCD Advanced Placement status is not required however, all students must be concurrently registered for a related two credit technique class and are required to be at the intermediate level in that technique. May be taken up to three times. Meets with DAN 327. Combined enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring, Annually

DAN 237 Intermediate Tap (2 Credits)

Refinement of performance of tap dance steps with increasing complexity and length of dance sequences learned. Emphasis is on clarity of rhythm and body coordination while working on style and expression. Prerequisite: Beginning Tap or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 15. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 241 Scientific Foundations of Dance (4 Credits)

An introduction to selected scientific aspects of dance, including anatomical identification and terminology, physiological principles, and conditioning/strengthening methodology. These concepts are discussed and explored experientially in relationship to the movement vocabularies of various dance styles. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 242 Dance Forms of the African Diaspora Intermediate (2 Credits)

This studio course offers intermediate level technique training in any of the dance forms from Africa and the African Diaspora. The physical study of the form is contextualized socially, culturally and historically, favoring an interdisciplinary perspective. Through the course, students approach the study of dance as a catalyst for cultural empowerment and social change. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Spring

DAN 246 Intermediate Hip Hop (2 Credits)

This course journeys through time and allows students to experience in their own bodies the evolution of Hip hop from its social dance roots to the contemporary phenomenon of commercial choreography that Hip hop has become. Using film and text in addition to studio work, this class creates a framework from which to understand and participate in the global culture of Hip hop dance. May be taken twice for a total of four credits. Enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Spring

DAN 252 Intermediate Dance Composition (4 Credits)

Course work emphasizes dance making, improvisation, and performance through generating and designing movement based studies and one fully realized performance project. Various devices and approaches are employed including motif and development, text and spoken language, collage and structured improvisation. Enrollment limited to 10. {A}

Fall

DAN 267 Dance in the Community (4 Credits)

During the first part of the semester, students in the Dancing in the Community course collaborate to create an interactive lecture demonstration of dances based on their interests and backgrounds. The program will be adapted for audiences of all ages and abilities. The second half of the semester, students will travel to various venues in the Pioneer Valley to perform. Performances will be held during the Tuesday/Thursday class period. A strong background in dance is not required but students must be interested in movement and willing to perform.Enrollment limited to 12. {A}

Spring

DAN 272 Dance Anthropology: Performed Identities and Embodied Cultures (4 Credits)

What are social functions of dance? How does the body signify culture? How does movement articulate identities? What forms of knowledge do dance anthropologists produce, and how? Through theories of performance and embodiment, this course illuminates the relationships between self, body, culture, and society. It discusses the nature of fieldwork and ethnographic research in dance, critically examining how contemporary ethnographers negotiate the historical relationship between anthropology and coloniality. The course highlights ethnographies of dance forms from the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Students conduct a fieldwork project of their choice, engaging in participant observation and fieldnote writing. Enrollment limited to 20. {A}{S}

Spring

DAN 287 Analysis of Music from a Dancer's Perspective (4 Credits)

A primary goal is development of the ability to focus on subtle details in music while dancing, teaching, choreographing, or performing. Dancers cultivate an open-mind and skills for imagining many relationships between dance and music. Students improvise music, make up songs, translate choreography into music, and dance with music from various cultures and historical periods. The course emphasizes rhythm, terminology, and categories, meaning in music, and strategies for finding music. Students listen to varied musical styles and paradigms, formulate statements about music, study ethical questions about music and musicians, and distinguish between recorded and live music. Enrollment limited to 12.

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 300ct Topics in Dance Technique and Performance-Contemporary Trends (1 Credit)

This studio dance course offers a series of contemporary dance technique master classes with Smith MFA teaching fellows and other dance artists. It is designed to augment students' on-going dance training. Through this course students engage in a wide range of approaches and material in the contemporary dance realm. Each week will be a “deep-dive” into a different aesthetic and artistic philosophy. It aims to introduce students to a variety of perspectives on dance and its place in our culture.

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 305 Advanced Repertory (2 Credits)

This course offers an in-depth exploration of aesthetic and interpretive issues in dance performance. Through experiments with improvisation, musical phrasing, partnering, personal imagery and other modes of developing and embodying movement material, dancers explore ways in which a choreographer’s vision is formed, altered, adapted, and finally presented in performance. May be taken twice for credit. Instructor permission and audition required. {A}

Fall

DAN 309 Advanced Repertory (4 Credits)

This course offers an in-depth exploration of aesthetic and interpretive issues in dance performance. Through experiments with improvisation, musical phrasing, partnering, personal imagery and other modes of developing and embodying movement material, dancers explore ways in which a choreographer’s vision is formed, altered, adapted and finally presented in performance. In its four-credit version, this course also requires additional readings and research into broader issues of historical context, genre and technical style. Course work may be developed through existing repertory or through the creation of new work(s). May be taken twice for credit. Audition and instructor permission required. {A}

Fall

DAN 317 Advanced Contemporary Dance 1 (2 Credits)

By audition/permission only. Prerequisite: DAN 216. Enrollment limited to 25. {A}

Fall

DAN 318 Advanced Contemporary Dance 2 (2 Credits)

May be taken twice for a total of four credits. Prerequisite: DAN 317. Enrollment limited to 25. Audition and instructor permission required. {A}

Spring

DAN 324 Advanced Ballet 1 (2 Credits)

Advanced study of the principle and vocabularies of classical and contemporary ballet. Registration is allowed after passing a placement exam at the start of the academic year. Classes move at a rapid pace. A demonstrated understanding of body alignment and turnout, are expected, along with directions of the body, the use of port de bras, and advanced “bravado” steps. Emphasis is placed on musicality and an embodiment of performance style. Pointe work is optional in class, at barre and/or center, with the instructor’s permission. May be repeated up to three times. Enrollment limited to 25. Audition and instructor permission required. {A}

Fall

DAN 325 Advanced Ballet 2 (2 Credits)

A continuation of DAN 324. Advanced study of the principle and vocabularies of classical and contemporary ballet. Registration is allowed after passing a placement exam at the start of the academic year. Classes move at a rapid pace. A demonstrated understanding of body alignment and turnout are expected, along with directions of the body, the use of port de bras and advanced “bravado” steps. Emphasis is placed on musicality and an embodiment of performance style. Pointe work is optional in class, at barre and/or center, with the instructor’s permission. May be taken up to three times. Enrollment limited to 30. Audition and instructor permission required. {A}

Spring

DAN 327 Advanced Pointe Technique (1 Credit)

This course is an advanced study of contemporary pointe technique. All students are assumed to have an appropriate level of ballet technique (as covered in the FCDD's ballet courses or the equivalent). The FCD Advanced Placement status is not required however, all students must be concurrently registered for a related two credit technique class and are required to be at the advanced level in that technique. May be taken up to three times. Meets with DAN 227. Combined enrollment limited to 30. {A}

Fall, Spring, Annually

DAN 339 Movement, Ecology and Performance in the Smith Landscape (4 Credits)

This course offers an opportunity to explore how place and landscape offer inspiration and opportunities for dance, performance and embodied experience. Place can include natural landscapes, buildings, parks, pathways, stairways, living rooms, and the place of our bodies. The goal of this course is to create bridges between the ecological and the poetic realms of human experience. Students will explore how creativity is being in relationship to things, beings, environments, and the historical and cultural contexts. This course includes a series of public performances and is open to students interested in engaging in creative collaborative process. Enrollment limited to 18. {A}

Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 377ci Advanced Studies in History and Aesthetics-Contact Improvisation Practice and History (4 Credits)

In this course students will engage throughout the semester both in the practice of contact improvisation (CI) and the study of its history from 1972 till the present. We will study how CI has become a world-wide phenomenon, how it has evolved on different continents and regions, and how its participants have navigated issues of power, sexuality, race, identity, and culture. We will consider the ecosystems of CI classes, jams, and performances; CI in academia; and CI in relationship to professional dance training, aesthetics, and performance. All levels. Enrollment limited to 20. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 377sa Topics in Advanced Studies in History and Aesthetics-Salsa in Theory and Practice (4 Credits)

This course is an in-depth exploration of salsa from theoretical and practical perspectives. Dance lessons familiarize the students with beginner to intermediate level salsa steps, targeting skills in bodily coordination, musicality, expressivity and improvisation, as well as in memorization of choreography and communication between partners. The learning of the dance is framed within and analysis of literature on salsa cutting across dance history, anthropology, musicology and cultural studies. Readings, documentaries, class discussions and research assignments situate salsa as an expression of Latino and Latin American cultures, but also as a global product through which dancers and musicians from Cuba to Japan perform notions of gender, ethnicity and nationality. No previous dance experience required. Enrollment limited to 20. {A}

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 399 Senior Seminar (4 Credits)

Senior seminar is a capstone course that integrates dance studies through an individual research or creative project and to articulate critical analysis and feedback for peers. Required for senior dance majors. Enrollment limited to 12. Senior Dance majors only. Open by permission to other seniors with a serious interest in dance. Instructor permission required. {A}

Spring

DAN 400 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

For qualified juniors and seniors. Admission by permission of the instructor and the chair of the department. Departmental permission forms required. May be substituted for DAN 399 with permission of the department. May be taken twice for credit.

Fall, Spring

DAN 430D Honors Project (4 Credits)

Fall, Spring, Annually

DAN 431 Honors Project (8 Credits)

Fall, Spring, Annually

DAN 500ct Graduate Seminar: Topics in Dance Theory-Contemporary Trends in Dance (4 Credits)

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 500dp Graduate Seminar: Topics in Dance Theory-Dance Pedagogy (4 Credits)

Enrollment limited to 12. Dance MFA students only. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 500ms Graduate Seminar: Topics in Dance Theory-Music and Sound (4 Credits)

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 500pc Graduate Seminar: Topics in Dance Theory-Philosophies of Contemporary Dance (4 Credits)

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 500pi Graduate Seminar: Topics in Dance Theory-Performance Improvisation (4 Credits)

Enrollment limited to 12. Dance MFA students only. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 500pt Graduate Seminar: Topics in Dance Theory-The Pedagogy of Dance Technique (4 Credits)

The goal of this course is to grow pedagogical techniques for teaching dance technique that can be used on a college or high school level. These strategies should include a thoughtful understanding of each teacher’s creative aesthetic, artistic philosophy, current passions in the field of dance and dance making, and a personal sense of the value of dance and its place in our culture. Enrollment limited to 12. Dance MFA Program students only. Instructor permission required.

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 500vc Graduate Seminar: Topics in Dance Theory-Video and the Camera (4 Credits)

Fall, Spring, Variable

DAN 505 First Year Performance (2 Credits)

First-year MFA students enroll in this course to fulfill the graduate performance requirement. Enrollment in DAN 505 takes place in the same semester as the performance. The requirement is met by participating in the choreography of a Five College Dance Department faculty member (including guest artists) or an MFA thesis. Students must attend the respective auditions.

Fall, Spring

DAN 507 Production and Management (2 Credits)

First-year MFA students enroll in this course to fulfill the graduate dance production requirement (usually stage managing a dance concert). Enrollment in DAN 507 takes place in the semester when the student completes the dance production assignment, as scheduled by the faculty.

Fall, Spring

DAN 515 Creative Process and Choreography I (3 Credits)

First-year MFA students enroll in this course to accrue independent study credit for their grad event choreography, but only in the semester when their grad event piece is not created within a choreography course (DAN 521 or DAN 553).

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 521 Choreography & Creative Process (5 Credits)

Advanced work in choreographic design and related production design. Study of the creative process and how it is manifested in choreography. Prerequisite: two semesters of choreography.

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 540 History and Literature of Dance (4 Credits)

This course seeks to expand the students’ knowledge of the literature in dance history and theory. It prompts discussions of historiography, writing, research methods, and cultural theory in dance studies. The readings trace the development of critical dance studies since the 1990s by surveying the field’s foundational texts as well as recent scholarship. These texts illuminate a variety of dance genres, time periods, and artists, while theorizing the body, movement, choreography, and performance from cultural, social, and ideological perspectives. Additionally, this course cultivates skills in dance research and writing. Students work on individual research projects throughout the semester.

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 553 Choreography and Design (5 Credits)

This class examines and engages the choreographic process through a study of the interaction of expressive movement with concrete and abstract design ideas. Choreographic ideas developed in this class are based on the premise that design elements can be used as source materials for choreographic intent. In addition to studies and projects, weekly writings are assigned.

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 560 Scientific Principles in the Teaching of Dance (4 Credits)

This course is designed to assist graduate students as they teach dance technique. The principles of anatomy, injury prevention and rehabilitation, and nutrition are examined in relation to fundamentals of dance pedagogy; expressive dance aesthetics are examined formally within a context of current body science. Through analysis of body alignment, safe and efficient movement patterns, and proper nutritional needs, students learn methods that increase efficiency, clarity, strength and coordination and that ultimately achieve desired aesthetic goals. Class work includes lectures, experiential application, and computer analyses to reinforce a rigorous understanding of the scientific principles and body mechanics that are observed within dance performance as well as in excellent teaching of dance. Prerequisite: DAN 241 or the equivalent.

Fall, Spring, Alternate Years

DAN 570 SECOND YEAR SUMMER RESEARCH (2 Credits)

MFA students enroll in this course to conduct independent research for the thesis in the summer between their first year and second year in the program. Summer research indications are detailed in the MFA Handbook.

Fall, Spring, Summer, Variable

DAN 580 Special Studies (1-4 Credits)

Fall, Spring

DAN 590 Second-Year Thesis: Process and Design (4 Credits)

MFA students enroll in this course to obtain credit for the creative process of the thesis in the Fall semester of their second year in the program. Directions for the thesis are detailed in the MFA Handbook.

Fall

DAN 591 Second-Year Thesis: Production and Analysis (4 Credits)

Second-year MFA students enroll in this course in the Spring semester to obtain credit for the public presentation of the thesis choreography, the ensuing paper and the oral examination. Directions for the thesis are detailed in the MFA Handbook.

Spring