Dance Studies

The study of dance is expressive human movement that unites the physical with the intellectual and the emotional with the spiritual. It utilizes the body as a means of communication and has the power to unify people across boundaries of language, culture and other divisionary lines. Dance Studies aims to strengthen and develop the dancer’s instrument. Areas of focus include dance vocabulary, styles and techniques, safe and effective use of the body, and basic elements of choreography. Students in this course take a 3-mod core sequence, consisting of 2 mods in Contemporary Dance and 1 mod in Ballet. This course may be completed over multiple years. After completing this sequence, students may repeat individual mods for credit. See individual mod descriptions below.

The Ballet mod is the first class in the 3-mod sequence.  It is designed to develop awareness of alignment and basic ballet vocabulary and technique through barre work, center, and across-the-floor exercises. It emphasizes movement quality, carriage of upper body, core and leg strength, and flexibility.

Contemporary dance is an important genre of dance performed in societies around the world. It trains and encourages dancers to be versatile in their expressions and to be able to portray a wide variety of movement styles and emotions. Primary areas of focus include spatial and body awareness, flexibility in the use of the body, efficiency of muscular usage, safe body alignment, and musicality.  Two mods of Contemporary Dance follow the Ballet mod and must be completed before moving to the Advanced level in Dance.

Min-Max Credit Hours: 1.0-4.0