DAN 171 excavates the artistic, social, and cultural trends that have driven the histories of ballet, jazz dance, modern dance, and postmodern dance throughout the 20th &21st centuries. The course looks critically at artists such as Isadora Duncan, Rudolf Laban, George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Katherine Dunham, Alvin Ailey, Anna Halprin, Pina Bausch, and Bill T. Jones.

Hip hop is a popular form of Afro-diasporic cultural production and, for many, a lifestyle. In this studio course for beginner dancers, student learn movements from the poppin', lockin', house and breakin’ dance techniques. This study of movement vocabulary is contextualized in analyses of hip hop’s history, culture and current trends. Enrollment limited to 30.

This course introduces West African dance, music and song as a traditional mode of expression in various West African countries. It emphasizes appreciation and respect for African culture and its profound influence on American culture and art.

This course serves as an accessible dance course for all students interested in dance, regardless of ability and dance experience. Throughout the semester, students are introduced to a variety of dance forms and approaches (contemporary dance, salsa, jazz/funk, improvisation). The course promotes the development of dancing skills, aesthetic appreciation, community connection and cultural literacy. In these studio classes, students learn dance techniques while cultivating physical competencies, artistic creativity and bodily expressivity as a part of a community experience.

Enrollment limited to 25.

For students who have taken Beginning Contemporary Dance or the equivalent. Enrollment limited to 25.

This course provides students with a practical and theoretical understanding of the relationship between the strength, flexibility, and mobility of the body. Through experiential methods students will learn how the connective tissues of the body function both as an interconnected web which facilitates movement, alignment, and coordination, as well as proprioception. We will develop an individualized practice throughout the semester drawing from various movement systems and dance training methods. We will examine the relationship between strength, flexibility, and agility as applied to dancing.

Explores the challenge of computer vision through readings of original papers and implementation of classic algorithms. This seminar considers techniques for extracting useful information from digital images, including both the motivation and the mathematical underpinnings. Topics range from low-level techniques for image enhancement and feature detection to higher-level issues such as stereo vision, image retrieval and segmentation of tracking of objects. Juniors and seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Prerequisites: CSC 212, MTH 153. Instructor permission required.

An introduction to machine learning from a programming perspective. Students will develop an understanding of the basic machine learning concepts (including underfitting/overfitting, measures of model complexity, training/test set splitting, and cross validation), but with an explicit focus on machine learning systems design (including evaluating algorithmic complexity and development of programming architecture) and on machine learning at scale.