Dance and Movement Studies
Professors Sumerfield (Director), Guthrie, Mosbacher, and Myers
Dance and Movement Studies provides an experiential program that explores the relationship of movement to self, culture, and environment. The program is multi-dimensional and offers students the opportunity to enhance technical skill and personal presence, to promote wellness and self-discovery, to investigate performance values, and to build community. It enriches applications to education through expanding how students think about the learning process, acknowledging that an individual’s kinesthetic experience can be a tool for learning, providing possibilities for internship practica, and informing the knowledge base of prospective educators regarding how humans learn through movement. Practices are designed to develop ease of movement, flexibility, power, and expressiveness. In addition, students are guided in expanding their awareness of and their experience with the diverse and dynamic language of movement. Dance and movement can be used as metaphors for finding personal meaning and appreciating individual, social, and environmental differences.
In the studio, the critical analysis practice involves asking questions, making observations, reflecting on possibilities, and articulating choices. The program draws on resources that include somatic experience, community interaction, scholarly writings, film and video, and contemporary critical reviews. By considering the implications of dance and movement as cultural signifiers, the program fosters activity that integrates the individual with society and the world. Flexibility in course study is permitted to meet a student’s individual interests and needs. The Dance and Movement Studies program is part of the Humanities division.
Students who successfully complete Dance and Movement practice courses will:
- Gain proficiency in skills specific to the practice or dance style;
- Be familiar with the history and cultural significance of the practice or dance style.