Dance 377 - Advanced Studies in History and Aesthetics: PhoneDance: Motion and Meaning in Digital Choreographies

This course explores a specific idea, concept, period, person or event important in the history and/or aesthetics of dance. Topics vary depending on the instructor’s research and expertise. Enrollment limited to 20: The smartphone is a powerful tool and users have long been aware of its ability to create spontaneous, short videos for social media. But what are the implications for using this tool to create exceptional dance films that expand the canon? Can we use the phone as a creative tool in dance and exploit its inherent portability and intimacy? Can the ease of phone video enhance dance in this time of social distancing and remote connections, or merely reinforce the challenges in making coherent composition? Does the democratization of expensive and complex technologies benefit the field or dilute it? What creative possibilities are revealed by our current limitations? (E)