Rooted in dance, martial arts and studies of body development and awareness. A duet form where partners use weight, momentum, and inertia to move each other freely through space. Solo and duet skills, rolling, falling, balance, counter-balance, jumping, weight sharing, spirals explored. Skill work combined with more open dancing in a supportive and focused environment. No previous dance training required.

BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

Yoga is defined as “union”, the uniting together of ourselves in all aspects- body, mind, heart, spirit. This class introduces the student to a hatha yoga method which integrates a dynamic and engaging approach to living through practicing “on and off the mat.” The goal of this class is to learn how to create a deeper, more enlivened relationship to one’s self through honoring one’s abilities and limitations, while growing one’s skills and sensitivity in the supportive environment of the class community. Students will engage with principles of attitude, alignment and action in a full range of hatha yoga poses, breathing techniques, readings on yoga philosophy, reflection, journaling and discussion. Through this ongoing process, students of yoga are encouraged to cultivate a more expansive and clear perception of self and others. Attendance in selected workshops and performances are required.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: GYM

Body conditioning aimed to develop and strengthen specific musculature as it pertains to physical demands of dancers, athletes, martial artists, as well as those who wish to explore a mindful, physical and anatomically sound practice. Will introduce fundamental strength training based in Pilates, hands-on bodywork and basic movement sequences designed to help prevent injury as well as build core strength, endurance, coordination and overall physical mobility and stability.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

Development of basic skills, energy, strength, control, continuity, and rhythmic and bodily awareness through the teaching of rhythm tap dance. No previous tap dance experience is expected.

BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

Vernacular jazz movement as it relates to jazz music and its historical context. Stylistically eclectic courses will blend the challenges of full-bodied, culturally influenced dancing with a sense of one's own self. Development of basic skills, energy, strength, control, continuity, and rhythmic and bodily awareness.

BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

Social dance plays an important role in every society, simultaneously fostering community and self-expression. From the Waltz to Contra Dancing, Ragtime Dances to Rock n’ Roll, and Tango to Salsa, this course explores the history and culture of several social and popular dances in the United States from the country’s founding to the present. Students discover how cultural beliefs are embedded in social dance practices, and how, vice versa, social dance practices can help shape changing norms and behaviors. Through a mixture of lectures, readings, discussions, video-viewings and experiencing the basic steps, each social dance form studied is contextualized within its time period. The course as a whole considers patterns of cultural change across the decades in terms of gender, race, class and social identities. No previous dance experience is necessary.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

This course explores dance improvisation as a practice and technique for self-expression, performance and composition. By opening our senses and learning tools for generating movement in real-time, students will unite their bodies and minds to engage in spontaneous investigation and creation. Specific theories and techniques based in the work of Anne Bogart, William Forsythe and Laban Movement Analysis will be explored in addition to wider concepts such as scores, collective composition and site-specific work. The main goals of this class are to provide students with the freedom to explore their own movement-based research interests and to develop their individual artistic voices within a structured environment. Students will also strengthen their presence, intuition, self-awareness and decision-making skills

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

From subtle intrinsic movement to whole body integration, students will have the opportunity to experience several somatic modalities and discover what it means to be fully alive in movement and stillness. Mindful Awareness provide the foundation for listening inwardly to one’s immediate embodied experience. From this felt sense and the inherent wisdom of the body, students will be encouraged by various practitioners to explore Alexander Technique, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Body-Mind Centering®, and Continuum Movement®. This work can be powerful for dancers, and others who are inquisitive, in becoming more open, present, resilient and centered. Experiential practice, readings, discussion, and reflective writing will comprise the course. Participation in 2-3 labs throughout the semester will be required. Specific Friday afternoon dates TBD

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

An art form of self-defense with aerobic and dance elements that brings together a harmony of forces. Through history, movement and culture, students gain self-confidence, power, flexibility, endurance, and tools towards self-discovery. Open to all, Capoeira balances the body, mind, and soul and enables one to break through limits, revitalizing oneself for everyday life.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

Dynamic dance traditions of Guinea, West Africa. Accompanied by live music, students learn footwork and movements for several rhythms and acquire familiarity with the physical stance common to many styles of West African dance. Learn to execute movements together with the rhythmic foundation provided by our drummers and become familiar with the origins and cultural significance of each dance, and the songs that accompany them.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

A continuation of Dance 181.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

PREREQUISITES: DAN 181

Sansifanyi is an ensemble that provides various performance opportunities both on and off-campus for intermediate and advanced students of African dance & drumming. Instructor Kerfala Bangoura trains ensemble members in a performance style that integrates dance, drumming, vocal song, and narrative elements. Dancers who enroll in Sansifanyi will learn choreographic techniques for West African dance and gain experience dancing as soloists. Dancers will also learn focus on rhythmic timing and on drumming while dancing. Drummers enrolled in Sansifanyi will learn extended percussion arrangements and techniques for accompanying choreography. They will also learn how to play the breaks required of lead drummers. Prerequisites: One of the following: DAN181&182, DAN 283, DAN 253, DAN 285. For Drummers one of the following: MUR168A, MUR168B, MUR146 OR to audition, email kerfala.bangoura@gmail.com

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

PREREQUISITES: One of the following: DAN181/182, DAN 283, DAN 253, DAN 285 For Drummers one of the following: MUR168A, MUR168B, MUR146.

Continuing from DAN 188: Hip Hop Culture and Breaking, students will further their knowledge and understanding of battling (competing) in the hip hop world both physically and analytically. This course will challenge students to create a standardized system for judging battles as well as the opportunity to test their systems during class. From a physical perspective, students will utilize much of what was taught in the previous course but with a focus on individual feedback and flexibility as to where they want to take their styles. Students who have not taken DAN 188 in previous years must contact the instructor by email first for approval to enroll.

BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

PREREQUISITES: DAN 188 OR PERMISSION FROM INSTRUCTOR

A continuation of DAN 104 that is taught concurrently with the introductory course. Students in DAN 203 will gain a deeper experiential and intellectual knowledge of contact by exploring issues further. Work includes both more advanced practice with other DAN 203 students, and the experience of helping teach the DAN 104 students the basic principles of contact.

BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

A study of Taijiquan, (also known as T’ai Chi Ch’uan or “Tai Chi”), a traditional Chinese martial art, and its intimate relationship to the cosmological, physiological, and philosophical conceptions found in the culture and thought from which it emerged. The course investigates both the traditional Chinese philosophy and movement aspects of Tai Chi in order to better understand the integration of human body, mind, and spirit. The Simplified 24-Step Taijiquan (Ershisi Shi Taijiquan) is learned, along with the foundation skills of the Eight Methods or Energies (Ba Fa), Reeling Silk (Chan Si Gong), Pushing Hands (Tui Shou), and Standing Pole meditation (Zhan Zhuang). Tai Chi is not only a valuable cross training exercise for the dancer, but also provides training for relaxed strength, whole body coordination, balance, centered alignment, timing, weight shifting and moving with fluid grace.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

Qi Gong is a ancient Chinese internal art and an early forerunner of Tai Ji Quan. It is an Eastern Movement Discipline (EMD) which embodies a holism of Eastern martial arts and Eastern meditation. This course is a study of the philosophical roots, mindful practices and physical movements of Qi Gong in order to better understand and attain the integration of body, mind, and spirit. Topics will include traditional Chinese cultural concepts such as Yin-Yang theory, Five Element theory and Qi theory and their potential inclusion in modern Western culture. Qi Gong provides the dancer and athlete with healthy lifestyle practices and fitness training for better breathing, body awareness, focus and concentration, mental presence, imagery, and cultivating and expressing energy flow.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

Throughout much of Southern Africa, the word “ngoma” means drum. It also refers to specific musical styles that combine drumming, dance, and song. Finally, there is often a ritual dimension to ngoma, which is used in ceremonies focused around individual and social healing. In this class, students will bring ngoma alive by learning to perform various Zimbabwean ngoma genres, with the option of specializing in either drumming or dance. Through video clips, audio recordings, photos, and articles, we will also learn to understand ngoma within a larger cultural framework.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

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BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

This experiential course invites pausing and reflecting on the habits of mind, cultivating awareness of the present moment, which is the only moment available to learn and live. Students will be guided in meditation and insight techniques, relaxation, and other mindfulness practices. Incorporating mindfulness into daily life, class discussion, reading, and writing assignments will support understanding and personal growth. To facilitate establishing a personal practice, attendance will be required at meditation labs on Fridays

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

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BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

In this course, students with prior yoga and/or dance experience will learn how to refine their skills through a continued exploration of asanas, pranayama, philosophy, and meditation. We will explore a more rigorous vinyasa flow practice, resulting in students developing more clarity regarding alignment, breath support, core aliveness, and, ultimately, body/self-awareness. While this is an individualized practice, the importance of community will be emphasized throughout as students share aspects of their practice with each other. Readings, discussion, and reflective writing are inherent to deepening one’s practice.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: GYM

PREREQUISITES: DAN 114 or DAN 216 or equivalent experience with instructor's permission.

This course examines the origins and development of western concert dance during the 20th and 21st centuries. Through lecture, discussion, film/video viewing, reading/writing assignments and movement experiences, we explore a variety of dance artists and their work and acknowledge a broader global perspective in terms of aesthetics, socio-cultural context and continued evolution in the contemporary dance landscape in regards to form, trends, and style. This course will serve as an investigation of dance history from a critical and analytical perspective, interfacing with a variety of theoretical frameworks.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

This is an introductory design course aimed at giving students exposure to light as a medium, lighting design, lighting equipment, and visual story telling for performance through class discussion, and practical work. This is a 2 credit course and only meets a few times throughout the semester from 12:30-3:30pm on 7 Fridays that are TBD. Students will be required to attend dance performances and will help install the light plot. The class is built around specific performance dates that will provide the students with an opportunity to light a dance piece.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

Students will create and perform multi-media site-specific choreography and installations that will be captured and re-mixed. Geared for students of dance, film and photography, this course will explore creative collaboration, composition, lens based art and post-production. Students will be encouraged to curiously and playfully embody manipulations of movement material and play with technology to better understand different points of view and to explore the elements of site, space, shape, time and effort to see how they affect quality and content. Students will gain hands-on experience with digital photo and video equipment and editing software, and will serves roles both in front of and behind the camera. $50 Equipment Useage Fee.

BUILDING: SAGE | ROOM: BLDG

Dance/Movement Therapy Foundations examines the field’s approaches to (1) enhancing personal, professional, and creative development, and (2) treating a wide range of challenges (e.g., autism, anxiety, eating disorders, abuse, developmental challenges, and psychosis). To these ends, students will learn how Dance/Movement Therapy integrates natural movement, formal elements of dance, music, language, psychology, counseling, neuroscience, and concepts drawn from Asian approaches to healing. Improvisational dance, music-making, role plays, live music, and videotapes of actual sessions highlight these concepts. Dress comfortably. Be prepared to move. Participation in 3 labs during the semester will be required.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

This course investigates community engagement and creative collaboration. It is designed for students who are interested in merging social activism, dance, theater, other art mediums and teaching. The class will include sessions at designated off-campus sites, specifically local high schools, where students will lead and participate in teaching movement dialogues. Emphasis is on concepts and skills utilized in designing and implementing movement experiences for community building and social change. Students will aid in constructing classes for community sites while developing the knowledge necessary to create community-building, art-based programs in the future.

BUILDING: TODD | ROOM: 107

In this course, students practice contemporary dance forms and examine concepts influenced by Laban/Bartenieff theories. Classes explore patterns of total body organization and connectivity, efficiency of movement, weight sensing, and somatic practices. Students develop self-awareness and technical skills while addressing artistry and self-expression. The course looks at Contemporary Dance’s rich history and its influence on 21st century forms. In addition to movement practice, students participate in discussions, workshops and performances. Students can register for either section A or B during initial enrollment. A first-day placement class will determine appropriate section for each dancer.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

In this course, students practice contemporary dance forms and examine concepts influenced by Laban/Bartenieff theories. Classes explore patterns of total body organization and connectivity, efficiency of movement, weight sensing, and somatic practices. Students develop self-awareness and technical skills while addressing artistry and self-expression. The course looks at Contemporary Dance’s rich history and its influence on 21st century forms. In addition to movement practice, students participate in discussions, workshops and performances. Students can register for either section A or B during initial enrollment. A first-day placement class will determine appropriate section for each dancer.

BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

This fall course provides a forum for dance majors, especially with a concentration in Dance Studies, to develop ideas for their interdisciplinary research projects. Juniors or Seniors taking this course will be introduced to various research methods, as well as viewing, reading about and experiencing existing interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Working under advisement of the instructor, students will identify a mentor within the Program of Dance and Movement, as well as an advisor from a partnering discipline when appropriate, who agrees to provide external feedback. In preparation for creating a Senior thesis, students engage in individualized research, concept planning, and drafting written and performative material. To support the research in this course, students may participate in internships, lab work, creative practice, service learning, and/or other community-based work.

BUILDING: | ROOM:

Continuing technical development and comprehension and integration of theory into practice is the focus in this course. Students will practice contemporary dance experientially through examining dance concepts influenced by Laban/Bartenieff theories and by exploring complex choreographic combinations. Classes will explore continuity and connectivity, patterns of total body organization, efficiency of movement, momentum, musculo-skeletal anatomy, strength, alignment, weight sensing, rhythm and somatic practices to develop and improve technical skills. We will also investigate subtlety and individual expression in performance. Experience in dance required. Having already taken DAN250 is helpful.

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

Continuing technical development and comprehension and integration of theory into practice is the focus in this course. Students will practice contemporary dance experientially through examining dance concepts influenced by Laban/Bartenieff theories and by exploring complex choreographic combinations. Classes will explore continuity and connectivity, patterns of total body organization, efficiency of movement, momentum, musculo-skeletal anatomy, strength, alignment, weight sensing, rhythm and somatic practices to deepen the investigation and mastery of technical skills. We will also continue to work on deepening the understanding or artistry as it pertains to subtlety and individual expression in performance. Pre-requisite: DAN 266: Intermediate Contemporary Dance

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

PREREQUISITES: DAN 266 Intermediate Contemporary Dance

Practice and performance of classical and contemporary ballet with a contemporary approach in order to serve the dancer of any style of movement. Within the ballet form, classes will explore efficiency of movement, breath, anatomical mechanics, strength, alignment and through-line, weight, rhythmic accuracy, clarity of space, shape and effort, and somatic practices to develop and improve technical skills..

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

PREREQUISITES: DAN 116 or permission from Instructor

Experiment with various methods of dance-making and focus on examining craft in the service of choreographic expression. You will be encouraged to curiously and playfully embody manipulations of movement material to better understand different points of view and to explore the elements of time, space, shape and effort to see how they affect quality and content. Drawing from dance, visual art, music, current events, writings and other sources, we will explore diverse approaches to creativity, experimentation and choreography.

BUILDING: OBRN | ROOM: DANCE

Dancer as Collaborator is a one-credit movement course engaging students as dancers for choreographic work generated from the DAN 278 Choreography class and/or the Program of Dance and Movement’s Fall Concert. DAN 279 students act as collaborators in that they embody and perform the choreographers’ concepts and vision and participate in creative process. Rehearsals will average twice weekly for the bulk of the semester. Pieces created in this course will be included in the Fall concert, the End of the Term Showings, and/or other Program approved performance opportunities throughout the semester. Enrollment is by permission of instructor. Please email requests to m.p.smith@rochester.edu.

BUILDING: | ROOM:

PREREQUISITES: Enrollment is by permission of instructor. Please email requests to m.p.smith@rochester.edu.

Improve Strength, Flexibility and Self-awareness of the body. This class will explore Traditional forms of Middle Eastern Dance such as Egyptian Raks Sharqi, Turkish, Tunisian and Moroccan. History, Costuming, and Culture from these countries will be experienced. Class will include meditative movement, dance technique, improvisation and rhythm identification through music and drumming. Discourse and research topics will explore issues of gender, body image, historical perspectives and Orientalism. Clusters: Movement and Culture, Dance and Performanc

BUILDING: SPURR | ROOM: DANCE

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BUILDING: | ROOM: