COURSE DESCRIPTION

A survey of dances from different cultures, their histories, and their influences on contemporary dance and society. Cultural origins, significance, motivations and techniques will be explored experientially.

Credit Hours: 64 active hours. In a 16-week semester, students should expect to commit 4 hours/week to this class. This does not include time spent on homework assignments and preparations for tests.

COURSE RATIONALE

DANC 1305 will begin with an analysis of how dance may be used in different cultures around the world. Students will interpret commonalities and differences among peoples, ideas, aesthetic traditions, and cultural practices in regions of Africa, Asia, The Americas, and Polynesia. The course will include physical labs where students will learn elements of selected dance forms from community members. The course will conclude with a presentation on a dance form of interest to the student and the writing of a comparative paper.

INSTRUCTIONAL METHODOLOGY

Course delivery method is via recorded lectures, discussion boards, and self-guided movement experiences. The primary modes of learning will be lectures (recorded) by the instructor, class discussion boards, and multicultural recorded movement labs. Multicultural lab experiences will play a significant part in our class experience and students are expected to experience each movement lab via the recording. Students will also complete library/internet research for their end of semester presentations.

EXAMS AND ASSIGNMENTS    

There will be five (5) elements evaluated in class throughout the semester. The first evaluation will review a series of concepts and ideas which each student will identify and write about the significance of that image/dance/action to the correct culture. This will take the form of a quiz at the end of each module. The second evaluation will be a series of short module focused journal entries based on the student’s personal observations of ideas we explored in the lectures, readings, discussion boards, and cultural labs.  The third element included in evaluation is the students’ involvement and engagement with the course material, discussion boards, and recorded movement labs. The fourth element included in evaluation is a presentation of a cultural dance form which is a part of the students’ personal heritage, or a cultural movement form we have not addressed in class. The final element is a comparative paper. The comparative paper is a comparison between two modules, using the previous module journals as a starting point, OR the examination of one theme and how it is seen across all of the modules we explored. (See assignment for more details.)

• • Module Journal Entries  
  • Module Quizzes  
  • Personal Involvement and Interaction
  • Cultural Presentation
  • Comparative Paper (end of the semester comparison between two modules OR looking at one theme across all modules)

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS 

The course text is World Dance Cultures by Patricia Leigh Beaman. This book is available in the ACC bookstore as both a hardcopy and an eBook. Other, non-textbook, readings will be posted in Blackboard and may be emailed upon request. See the attached Course Schedule for reading assignments. Video will be used frequently in DANC 1305 including lectures and interactive dance labs.  

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS 

The course text is World Dance Cultures by Patricia Leigh Beaman. This book is available in the ACC bookstore as both a hardcopy and an eBook. Other, non-textbook, readings will be posted in Blackboard and may be emailed upon request. See the attached Course Schedule for reading assignments. Video will be used frequently in DANC 1305 including lectures and interactive dance labs.  

DANC 1305 World Dance

All readings (apart from the textbook) will be posted on Blackboard.

Week 1

India Module: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali

Read Chapter 1 in Beaman text.       

Contemporary Dance in Indian popular culture: Bollywood

*Lab: Bharatanatyam

Week 2

Africa: Fertility festivals, death ceremonies, and ancestor worship

Read Chapter 6 in Beaman text.

Week 3

North Africa, Turkey, and Spain: Healing, worship, and expression

Read Chapter 7 in Beaman text.

*Lab: Flamenco

Week 4

Native America, the Caribbean, and South America: Resistance, spirituality, and spectacle

Read Chapter 8 in Beaman text.

Puerto Rico, Mexico, Argentina

Read Ballet Folklorico reading.

*Lab: Ballet Folklorico

Week 5

Japanese noh, kabuki, and butoh: Entertaining samurai, merchants, and rebels                      

Read Chapter 4 in Beaman text.

Korean Dance

Read Korean Dance reading.

*Lab: Korean Folk Dance

Week 6

Cambodia and China: Dance as a political tool

Read Chapter 3 in Beaman text.

*Lab: Classical Chinese Dance

Week 7

Bali and Java: From temple, to village, to court

Read Chapter 2 in Beaman text.

Hawai’i, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea: Guardians of culture

Read Chapter 5 in Beaman text.

*Lab: Tinikling

Week 8

Presentation

Final Comparative Paper

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. To gain a critical understanding of dance as a form of human cultural expression.    

2. To be able to identify and discuss major traditional uses of dance. 

3. To create civic and cultural awareness of the uses of dance.

4. To think critically about the uses of dance as an aesthetic tradition.

5. To present a culturally significant dance form.  

6. To practice writing about dance and its use as a cultural symbol in a clear, concise, and sophisticated manner, identifying key concepts, reasons for development, and uses of dance in various cultures.

7. To gain a greater understanding for and appreciation of world dance as a cultural art form.   

LEARNING OUTCOMES

COURSE LEVEL

Upon successful completion of this course, students will: 

1.    Evaluate and discuss the influence of culture on dance movements. 

2.    Recognize and appreciate cultural diversity through the aesthetics of movement. 

3.    Compare and contrast musical accompaniment to cultural dances. 

4.    Discuss the history and cultural relevance of world dance forms. 

5.    Apply cross-cultural analysis to the study of dance.

GENERAL ED:

Students completing this Language, Philosophy, and Culture 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.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

• Consistent interaction

• Completion of all reading and viewing assignments

• Completion of one comparison paper, one presentation, six (6) short module journal entries, and six (6) online module quizzes

• Self-guided participation in multicultural movement labs 

EVALUATION & GRADING

Interaction in class will have a direct impact upon grading. Other assignments, module journal entries, comparison paper, quizzes, presentation, will be given the following percentage:

Module Journal Entries (6)    25%

Module Quizzes (6)              25%

Interaction                            10%

Presentation                        20%

Comparative Paper             20%

  TOTAL                              100%

SCALE

A            90-100 Points

B            80-89  Points

C            70-79   Points

D           60-69   Points

F            below 60

*Note: Please speak with or e-mail the instructor at any time if you have concerns or questions about your grade.  Your assignment grades may be checked on Blackboard throughout the semester.