Dance Minor
An academic minor in Dance is available for students who have an interest in Dance and/or for students who want a concentration of study in dance to complement an affiliated performing arts program. The minor is designed to provide a broad foundation of creative and technical experience for the development of dance artists.
Creative Work
- TR 115 – Movement: 2 credit hours
- TR 271 – Principles of Acting: 3 credit hours
- TR 227 – Stage Makeup: 2 credit hours
- DA 260 – Basic Dance Choreography: 3 credit hours
Exploration of the choreographic processes. Focus on seed phrases to create solo material, the introduction of musically derived choreographic forms, and work with compositional elements of space, time, and energy.
Technique
Minors will select 8 hours from four of the five different technique areas offered: Jazz, Tap, Modern Dance, Ballet, and Dance and Culture.
DA 110 – Basic Tap: 2 credit hours
Learn the basics of tap terminology and steps, and apply them to the art of performance.
DA 111 – Jazz Technique I: 2 credit hours
Introduction to rhythmic awareness, movement coordination, and jazz styles through performance of dance combinations.
DA 211 – Jazz Technique II: 2 credit hours
Intermediate study of jazz dance with emphasis on technique, flexibility, balance, control, and retaining long combinations in a variety of jazz styles.
DA 112 – Modern Dance Technique I: 2 credit hours
Emphasis on flexibility, strength, and alignment practiced through standing and floor exercises. Movement improvisation explores qualities of motion.
DA 212 – Modern Dance Technique II: 2 credit hours
Emphasis on release techniques, rhythmic precision, and spatial principles through extended combinations and movement improvisations.
DA 114 – Ballet: 2 credit hours
Emphasizes discipline, coordination, and developing practical performing skills in classical ballet technique. Includes barre and floor combinations.
DA 214 – Dance and Culture: 2 credit hours
This course examines theatrical forms of dance in historical and cultural contexts. Through readings, lecture, videotaped performance, and studio experiences, this course focuses on the conceptual components of dance while exploring various dance styles: folk and ethnic dances of Europe, Near and Far East, Africa, and the Americas as they relate to concert dance.