DANC 2303 is a general survey of dance forms designed to create an appreciation of the vocabulary, techniques, and purposes of the creative process. This course includes critical interpretation and evaluations of choreographic works and dance forms within cultural and historical contexts.

Credit Hours: 3 credit hours. 3 lecture hours. This is a 16-week course. Students should expect to commit 3-6 hours/week to this course.

This course requires that students complete the following:

• There will be seven (7) short quizzes over the class content.
• There will be seven (7) discussion boards related to the class content.
• There will be one (1) research presentation mid-term.
• There will be one (1) critical review, a 750 word term paper.
• Students will have additional small assignments throughout the semester.

There are no prerequisites for DANC-2303 Dance Appreciation.

COURSE LEVEL

Upon completion of this course, students will:

• Identify various forms of dance.
• Articulate the relationship between dances and the historical and cultural contexts from which they emerged.
• Express an informed personal reaction to dance forms.
• Critically analyze and write about dance using established methods of dance criticism.
• Evaluate the impact of dance on culture.

GENERAL ED

Students completing this creative arts core curriculum course will meet the following objectives: 

• Communication Skills: Develop, interpret, and express ideas and information through written, oral, and visual communication that is adapted to purpose, structure, audience, and medium.
• Critical Thinking Skills: Gather, analyze, synthesize, evaluate and apply information for the purposes of innovation, inquiry, and creative thinking.
• Personal Responsibility: Identify and apply ethical principles and practices to decision-making by connecting choices, actions and consequences
• Social Responsibility: Analyze differences and commonalities among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices to include intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities.
• Teamwork: Consider different points of view to work collaboratively and effectively in pursuit of a shared purpose or goal.

PROGRAM LEVEL

Students will demonstrate, through speaking and/or writing, the ability to clearly articulate aesthetic concerns in dance, including analysis of choreography.

Topics to be covered in class:

• Aesthetics and the Elements of Dance
• Ceremonial and Ritual Dance
• Development of Dance and the Stage: Ballet
• Connecting the Dots: Ballet into Modernity
• Social Justice in Dance: Modernism
• Curated Concert Research Project
• Power to the People: Social Dance
• Dance in the Digital Age: Contemporary Trends & Dance on Film
• Criticism in Dance: Applying an Aesthetic and Writing a Critical Review

This is a ZTC (Zero Textbook Cost) section. In place of required textbooks, all textbook materials needed for the class will be available to students free of charge online via Blackboard. Students may print copies of the resources but will be responsible for printing costs.