THDA 121 - Beginning Dance Composition

This course is the study and discipline of dance-making. Students learn the tools of the choreographer - time, space, energy - and how they can be shaped to give the body expressive power. The relationships between form, content, and technique are explored. Students choreograph short studies, improvise, discuss, and view dance on film and in live performance. The course values risk-taking and collaboration in a supportive, shared space. Through the creative process, we seek energy from a sense of investigation as opposed to the pressure to “succeed.” The solo form is emphasized. No dance experience is necessary. Either this course or Intermediate Dance Composition is required for a dance minor. Every fall. (4 Credits)