Dance Appreciation

2nd Edition

ISBN: 978-1-7350385-0-6

Authors: Beth Megill, David Massey

MSRP: $49.99 USD

Created by Beth Megill and David Massey, Dance Appreciation surveys the elements of dance as a performing art through examples, including world, social, and Western concert dance forms. As a lower division, general education course delivered online, Dance Appreciation fulfills the arts and humanities requirement for transfer to, admission to, or graduation from four-year colleges and universities.

Interactive media objects make this an exciting, essential, and personal study of dance as an art form. Course modules are designed to be extremely flexible, allowing instructors to modify or reorder the curriculum as necessary. This course includes a special focus on dance literacy and developing observation skills from an audience perspective.

Lessons

Lesson 1: Introduction to Dance Appreciation

This lesson provides an introduction to dance, including what it means to appreciate dance as well as methods and tools for observing dance effectively.

Lesson 2: Dance Issues

This lesson provides an introduction to dance, including what it means to appreciate dance as well as methods and tools for observing dance effectively. This lesson introduces a more personal note with a behind-the-scenes discussion about the interrelated nature of the choreographer, dancer, and audience member, who together form the triangular world of dance. It traces the path of the choreographer, the life and career of a dancer, and the role of the audience to offer a glimpse into the world of dance and the lives of its inhabitants. Students will also take a look at one of the more controversial issues in dance, namely the role of the male dancer within the dance world.

Lesson 3 - Elements of Dance

This lesson explores a variety of methods for analyzing the components of dance. Students will also learn (even more) about a system of symbols and related movement concepts from the Language of Dance® that will help guide them through the entire course.

Lesson 4: Dance Today

This lesson looks at current trends and practices in the dance field that can provide an easy and accessible door into the dance world at large. Dance continues to be a part of human interaction and social networking, entertainment, and relaxation.

Lesson 5: World Dance I: Indigenous and Folk Dances

This lesson explores two significant forms of World Dance—tribal dance and folk dance.

Lesson 6: World Dance II: Classical Forms

This lesson offers an introduction to the Classical dance forms of China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia.

Lesson 7: Social Dance and Ballroom

Tracing the development of the vast umbrella of social dance forms, this lesson introduces the court dances of the Renaissance era and explores a variety of popular ballroom dance forms from both Europe and the Americas.

Lesson 8: Ballet I: Early Ballet through the Classical Era

A dance characterized by elegance, regal posturing, strength, and control, ballet reached its full maturity and codification during the Classical era of the late nineteenth century. This lesson introduces the essential movement concepts seen in Classical ballet, tracing how ballet originated in the Baroque courts and developed through the Romantic era into its magnificence.

Lesson 9: Ballet II: Modern and Contemporary Ballet

The beginning of the twentieth century brought great change for the world and its arts. Ballet, with its strong ties to the hierarchy of European court life, saw a great shift in focus under new leaders such as Vaslav Nijinsky and George Balanchine. This lesson covers ballet’s move away from the codified Classical form toward greater freedom artistically and stylistically and follows up with the contemporary trends currently seen in the field.

Lesson 10: Modern Dance

This lesson shows how modern dance embodies a break with ballet’s traditionalism, giving performers the freedom to explore and interpret new ideas and setting the stage for the diversity within the genre. In line with the Modernist approach seen in the other arts, the pioneers of modern dance sought to emphasize the human condition through movement. Form was broken down in order for expression to reign.

Lesson 11: Contemporary Dance

In this lesson, students will learn to decode the mysteries of modern dance through observation and analysis techniques that can be applied universally to all dance but serve particularly well for the breadth and scope of the ever more versatile modern dance world.

Lesson 12: Tap Dance

This lesson offers an overview of the history of tap and introduces the two primary styles of tap: Musical Theater/Broadway tap and rhythm tap.

Lesson 13: Jazz and Musical Theater Styles

The first half of this lesson describes the historical context in which jazz dance developed and identifies the underlying movement aspects that give jazz dance its distinctive expression and style. The second half of this lesson traces how musicals on film and on Broadway have changed under the influence of great choreographers such as Katherine Dunham, Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, and Michael Bennett.

Lesson 14: Dance Writing and Criticism

The purpose of a dance critique is not simply to judge or rate a dance performance or piece of choreography but to practice observation, analysis, and eventually evaluation of a dance work. In this lesson, students integrate everything they have learned in the course into a written dance critique.

Lesson 15: Dance on Camera/Current Trends

This lesson shows how the technology of the video camera has affected the art of capturing dance on film, and it also explores how the camera can be used as an additional tool for communicating the choreographer’s vision. Students will see how some choreographers have begun making dances exclusively for camera to take advantage of the flexibility and versatility offered in the filming and editing process. The lesson also showcases how the feature film industry has capitalized on the popularity of dance in recent decades by creating films centered on dance themes while staying outside of the musical theater genre.

Lesson 16: Dance Production

This lesson offers a basic introduction to dance concert production seen within Western dance practices. In discussing dance production elements, this capstone lesson brings to light issues that students already have an inherent understanding of as audience members, encouraging them to learn more about the production elements while also identifying the various elements that work together to evoke a response. Production elements are essential to the final product of a dance performance and can greatly influence a viewer’s reaction to a dance work.

Movement Literacy Study Guide

This e-reference lecture offers short introductions to each of the Language of Dance concepts incorporated through this online course. Each symbol and its meaning will be defined and described both conceptually and visually. Then the discussion will go deeper into the movement concept with questions for students to answer and exercises to complete in the sections called “In Practice.”

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