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choreographic workshop

Course Overview
This course is a praxis-oriented workshop creating and performing a piece, which will be included in the faculty dance concert 2009. Using movement vocabulary and working processes informed by postmodern and contemporary dance, we train, create, rehearse and perform together as a company. This demanding course invites you to explore and develop your individual abilities within dance including physical, performance, creative and interpersonal skills.

Project Description
The piece with the working title about time explores the notion of time and how time is manifest in movement. We create visceral physical material and phrases and dense structures related to: Time as duration, tempo, simultaneous, successive. Time as pulse, ongoing, repeating, set and measured. Time as rhythm, seasons, day and night.

Creative Research and Tasks
By setting and developing specific creative tasks, we will research and gradually establish movement material to be included in the performance piece. These tasks include solo as well as partnering and group work. The research will also extend to out of class writing and use of spoken text.

Rehearse and Perform
The piece we set will be rehearsed intensively in the studio both independently and working with me as a rehearsal director. The rehearsals also include yet to confirmed spacing, technical and dress rehearsals onstage in the Meany Studio Theater. The piece will be performed five times (including the preview night) between December 2 and 6. Performing in the concert and taking part in all spacing, technical and dress rehearsals is an integral part of the course.

As the instructor I take responsibility for initiating, structuring and coordinating the creative and rehearsal process, a process, which also heavily relies on your ideas, contributions and consistent performance.

Working Load
For a two credit course you need to expect about six hours of work per week. Resulting in a total of sixty hours for the quarter. For this course the time load will be uneven in its distribution with a high concentration of time during the week of performances.
Regular contact and rehearsal time 3h 40 min for ten weeks. There is no class meeting on the Thursday that falls on Thanksgiving as well as the last Thursday in the quarter. These regular hours accumulate to a total of thirty-two hours.

Attending the Chamber Dance concert, spacing, technical and dress rehearsals and performing in the concert totals another maximum of thirty hours. Much of this time is spent being present in the theater on call. There will be times when it is appropriate for you to work on other course work during this time, while being ready at anytime to work with the performers, technical director, choreographer and stage manager.

To avoid any scheduling conflicts and an overview of class sessions, rehearsal and performances please consult the term plan included in the course pack.

Class Questionnaire
We all have different circumstances. Individuals may need accommodations to work with the course procedures in order to meet the requirements and objectives outlined here. For this purpose read and fill in the confidential online WebQ by Monday, October 5.

Class Requirements

• In The Studio
• Commit to the class, rehearsal and performance schedule as detailed in the term plan.
• Arrive on time and prepared for the class. Bring notepaper and a pen. Wear comfortable clothing that reveals the movement. Do not wear jewelry and watches or use lotions, talc etc. on exposed skin.
• Please change in the locker rooms on the lower level, no changing on upper level. Use a locker with a padlock on the upper level to keep your belongings safe. No street shoes, bags, beverages or food in the studios, water allowed in plastic bottles.
• Warm up and prepare for the class by thinking and moving through established, material and structures.
• Take and share responsibility in creating, rehearsing and performing together. Work as a team. Make your needs known, while respecting the needs of others. Work safely and effectively in class and be respectful of your peers and instructors. Aspiring to professional conduct and performance is relevant both on and off-stage.
• Participate by attending class regularly, engage physically and conceptually, ask informed questions and always aim to dance at performance level.
• Retain and apply feedback and corrections.
• It is essential that you are a reliable contributor to the work. Do not attend class while being ill or contagious. Contact the instructor with a reason for absences. Absences without contacting the instructor are noted as unexcused. It is your responsibility to approach me about ways of dealing with absences. Sitting out due to injuries can be avoided by working with adaptations or by directing.
• Make sure you can be reached via phone and campus email. Check your account regularly.
  

Beyond The Studio

• Attend the Chamber Dance Company Concert, Oct 22-25. You are responsible to get your own ticket and to hand in the ticket stub as proof of attendance. Please note: Using art to highlight community need, the Dance Program will be collecting non-perishable food items for the University Food Bank in Meany lobby during Chamber Dance Company performances.
• If you have concerns about the course or your instructor, please speak to the instructor as soon as possible. If you are not comfortable talking with the instructor or are not satisfied with the response you receive, please contact the dance program chair, Betsy Copper, in Meany Hall 255, bcoop@u.washington.edu

Class Objectives and Learning Outcomes
The course procedures and the teaching strategies encourage and challenge you to:

• Create an understanding for the structure and function of different dance classes and forms of training and how they contribute to the skill set required of a dancer.
• Create and understanding for the demands the material and tasks make on your physical facilities and conceptual abilities at their present stage of development in dance.
• Understand and train, movement, rehearsal and performance skills in solo, partnering and group work including:
  • Creating and learning movement phrases
  • Picking up new material, concepts and skills relevant to the work
  • Self-awareness and self-management during the process and performance
  • Remembering and performing sections and the entire piece
  • Working independently and collaboratively
  • Communicating ideas, finding solutions and giving constructive feedback
  • Applying and integrating feedback

Given your active participation and full commitment you will develop significantly in the objectives above and increase your current level of skills and knowledge in composition and dance production.

Dance Major Learning Goals
These goals were devised by the Dance Program Faculty in consultation with the Office of Instructional Assessment.

1. Understand dance as a cultural practice that reflects and impacts local communities and global cultures.
2. Develop and practice analytic, evaluative, and contextual skills requisite to critical thinking, kinesthetic understanding, and personal growth.
3. Develop and practice skills in rhythmic, movement and compositional analysis.
4. Develop effective communication and research skills to promote and articulate a deeper understanding of dance practice and theory.
5. Engage in personal assessment and reflective practices that encourage self-directed learning.
6. Understand how basic principals of dance science and teaching methodologies can be applied to technical and aesthetic development.
7. Recognize and expand creative, artistic, and intellectual potentials.

Evaluation and Grading
The grades are determined via the continuous assessment of your in class contributions as well as your accumulated grades from the studies and the essay. View the grading rubric for a detailed breakdown.

• Participation (30%) You implement the class requirements. You contribute generously to the teaching, creative and performance process. You are a reliable participant and contact the instructor about absences and scheduling conflicts. WebQ and concert attendance also count towards this part of your grade.
  

• Understanding of Class Objectives (70%) This part of the grade assesses your level of understanding and skills with regards to the class objectives, which you demonstrate through your rehearsal and performance contributions.