Studies in Dance (465-0-20)

Instructors

Melissa Blanco

Meeting Info

Wirtz Center Ballroom: Fri 10:00AM - 12:50PM

Overview of class

A critical engagement with choreography begins with a question. What question are you trying to answer through embodied experimentation? What compositional choices are you making to help you discover a possible answer to this question? How does dance making help think through questions related to theoretical frameworks emerging from issues of identity, race, ecology, sexuality, power, politics, beauty, history, decoloniality or aesthetics? In this class we will theorize choreographic practice by reading theory; we will also watch a variety of dance pieces and examine how the dance is making the theory corporeal. We will also think about how the choreographer's compositional choices enable this process. By following this model, it will prepare you think about the relationship between theoretical inquiry and embodied practice. Ultimately, this class helps students develop choreographic ideas towards longer pieces of thoughtful choreography.