Introduction to contemporary dance with a focus on alignment, flexibility, strength, the fundamentals of dance vocabulary and the connection between movement, thought and emotion. May be repeated up to 6 units.

Course Content
1. Anatomy: skeletal, muscular/tendons
2. Alignment, flexibility, strengthening
3. Fundamental dance vocabulary developed out of the ballet tradition
4. Fundamental modern dance vocabulary
5. Fundamental contemporary dance vocabulary
6. Fundamentals of rhythm, beats and counting music
7. Spatial relations: self/ensemble/environment
8. Directions in space
9. Stage definitions of space (upstage, downstage, off-stage, etc.)
10. Qualities of movement (legato, staccato, syncopation, suspension)
11. Combinations of movement vocabulary in time and space
12. Assignments: attend a minimum of three (3) on-campus performance events
13. Final Exam: student-generated dance (duet/trio – 3 minutes maximum) that demonstrates application of
course material.

Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Articulate a knowledge of and practice of proper skeletal alignment
• Demonstrate how to release personal habits of tension that inhibit proper alignment
• Demonstrate how to properly isolate, stretch and strengthen the joints and muscles of the body
• Demonstrate the differences in movement vocabularies between ballet, modern and contemporary dance
• Count musical time
• Move in sync with specific musical times
• Learn a series of movements and repeat in time and space
• Move in relationship to other people in the space, and in relationship to the space itself
• Combine learned shapes and movement vocabularies to create a combination of movement in time and space