400

This lecture course will inform students of the history of jazz dance as it relates to the African Diaspora and African American roots of jazz dance. Through lectures and media, students will gain familiarity with significant individuals and social forces that shaped the development of jazz dance. Students will learn to recognize and discuss the movement and rhythmic aesthetics of American Jazz Dance. Course topics include discussion of the culturally diverse social, vernacular and popular dances jazz dance draws upon. Classes will explore the influences of African American movement aesthetics present in social, studio, commercial and musical theater traditions of American Jazz Dance.

A capstone course for graduating dance majors. Students will propose to the faculty a senior project that will take place over a two-semester time period. Possible senior projects include performance or choreographic projects, research projects, dance videography projects, or other topics upon advisement. Students will take this course twice in subsequent semesters.

This course builds upon the elements of the craft of choreography: space, time, effort/force and motivation from, DANC 364 - Choreography II. The concepts learned can be applied to any genre of dance when choreographing. Movement invention will be approached through improvisation, movement studies, readings, performance viewings, video viewings and written assignments. An emphasis will be placed upon discovering your own unique expressive movement vocabulary and deepening your powers of observation of self, others and the world around you. Dancers will learn how to investigate movement and to probe and manipulate movement materials. Concepts will be explored as soloists and group works. In preparing for a final composition showing, dancers will investigate issues that are important and use their findings to create a final work, a solo either set on themselves or someone else, or a group work. Dancers will leave this class with different methods of how to generate movement for themselves, and how to describe their movement using language to others.

An independent study that will provide a rigorous academic experience equivalent to that of any other undergraduate course. Independent study courses are ways to explore a subject in an in depth approach specific to the dance field or closely related subject of the student's academic interest. To do an independent study project, it is recommended that the request be made in the form of a written proposal prior to the end of the previous semester of when the intended Independent Study would start. Permission of instructor and department is required.

This course is a continuation of DANC 485 - Senior Project Seminar. The focus of the course will be to finish the research and creative process of the solo and group requirements, and produce a BFA Senior Project concert.