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. This course looks at the vast and diverse cultural and aesthetic landscape of dance performance in the millennium and the new breed of choreographers making cutting-edge work that persue radically different methods, materials and strategies for provoking new ideas about dance, body and the corporeal aesthetics.

Prerequisite: 113 and a minimum of one year of Contemporary Dance study. L.

This course introduces the students to the New York mambo style of salsa (beginner-level). It also covers elements of the Cuban style of salsa, representative of an Afro-Caribbean dance aesthetic. Students master different variations of the salsa basic step, as well as turns, connecting steps and arm work. They learn how to dance in couples and also in larger groups known as ruedas (wheels). Toward the end of the semester, students are able to use their salsa vocabulary as basis for improvising and choreographing salsa combinations.

A duet form of movement improvisation. The technique focuses on work with gravity, weight support, balance, inner sensation and touch, to develop spontaneous fluidity of movement in relation to a partner. Enrollment limited to 10. May be repeated once for credit.

Limited enrollment.

This course is an introduction to educational foundations. It is designed to introduce students to the basic structure, function and history of American education, and to give them perspective on important contemporary issues in the field. Includes directed observation in school settings. Not open to students who have had two or more courses in the department. Enrollment limited to 35.

The integration of the design elements of line, texture, color, gesture and movement into unified production styles. Further study of the history of clothing, movement in costume, construction techniques and rendering. Production work may be required outside of the class meeting time. Prerequisites: 254 and P.

The course develops overall design skills for designing sets for the theatre. After reading assigned plays, students learn to develop their designs by concentrating on character analysis and visualizing the action of the play. Visual research, sketches, basic drafting skills and model building are some of the areas in which students learn to develop their ideas. This course also emphasizes the importance of collaborating with every member of the creative team. Enrollment limited to 12.

Building on the legacy of Alice Childress, Lorraine Hansberry, Adrienne Kennedy and Ntozake Shange, this course explores the work of Pearl Cleage, Lynne Nottage, Suzan Lori Parks, Anne D. Smith and other playwrights who from the 1950s to the present go about reinventing the narrative of America. We consider their theatrical/artistic production in the context of black feminism.

The plays, theatres and playwrights of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe. A leap from Buchner to Ibsen, Strindberg, Shaw, Chekhov, Wedekind and Gorky onwards to the widespread experimentation of the 1920s and earlier avant garde (e.g., Jarry, Artaud, Stein, Witkiewicz, Pirandello, Mayakovsky, Fleisser, early Brecht). Special attention to issues of gender, class, warfare and other personal/political foci. Attendance may be required at selected performances.