16.00 Credits
Faculty: Kabby Mitchell (dance, African American history) Major areas of study include beginning dance technique, dance anthropology, Laban Movement Analysis, multicultural movement and non-verbal communication, music and dance history, expository and critical writing, collaborative performance, introduction to choreography and research. Class Standing: Sophomores or above; transfer students welcome. Adagio represents the space of inner reflection between opening and closing movements of a cycle. In Western classical and contemporary dance, it is a central piece of movement that allows for individual expression of kinesthetic and emotional interpretation. In this program, students will experience and explore connections between musical and movement phrasing and analysis. We will study African, Afro-American and Euro-American dance choreographers who challenged and changed rigid classical form to contemporary expressive form. We will listen to and critique major classical and contemporary musical compositions that were either written for or adapted to dance performance. The composers we will study include: Beethoven, Vivaldi, Stravinsky, Barber, Ellington, Gershwin and Jarrett. Students will choose from these composers, as well as others, to research musical selections used to create improvisational and faculty-choreographed work. The texts students will study and adapt to their individual research include: Nijinsky, Diaghilev, Massine, Laban, Wigman, Ailey, Dunham, Graham, Primus, Duncan, Limon, DeMille, Alonso, the Nicholas Brothers, Balanchine, Brown and Jamison. Students will also participate with guest artists who will explore dance forms as interpretations from their formal training (e. g. , trained Western classical dancers who interpret Japanese classical and contemporary dance forms, Hispanic flamenco dancers who have trained in classical Spanish dance, Afro-Cubans who have integrated traditional ritual dance with Euro-Western dance forms, and capoeira as a martial arts/dance form adapted to the Euro-Western body). One component of this program will be the study of experiential and intellectual uses of dance, specifically movement in general, through the application of dance therapy and authentic movement. Student activities will include: viewing films and live performances, writing critical analysis in journals and meeting with noted guest artists to discuss their work. During spring quarter, students will prepare for a public performance. Among the requirements will be attendance at a minimum of two dance and/or music performances each quarter. Total: 16 credits each quarter. Enrollment: 20 Special Expenses: Approximately $75 each quarter for performance tickets. Program is preparatory for careers and future studies in anthropology, dance, history and music. We will study African, Afro-American and Euro-American dance choreographers who challenged and changed rigid classical form to contemporary expressive form. We will listen to and critique major classical and contemporary musical compositions that were either written for or adapted to dance performance. The composers we will study include: Beethoven, Vivaldi, Stravinsky, Barber, Ellington, Gershwin and Jarrett. Students will choose from these composers, as well as others, to research musical selections used to create improvisational and faculty-choreographed work. The texts students will study and adapt to their individual research include: Nijinsky, Diaghilev, Massine, Laban, Wigman, Ailey, Dunham, Graham, Primus, Duncan, Limon, DeMille, Alonso, the Nicholas Brothers, Balanchine, Brown and Jamison. Students will also participate with guest artists who will explore dance forms as interpretations from their formal training (e. g. , trained Western classical dancers who interpret Japanese classical and contemporary dance forms, Hispanic flamenco dancers who have trained in classical Spanish dance, Afro-Cubans who have integrated traditional ritual dance with Euro