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Performing Arts · MS elective · 3 credit hours · 16 sessions

Choreography

Movement is a language. This course explores the art of designing motion for stage and screen. While grounded in dance, the curriculum expands to include “Blocking” for actors and “Choreography for Camera” (Screendance). Students will learn to manipulate time, space, and energy to create emotional impact, designing sequences that range from abstract dance to narrative action.

§ 01 By the end you can
  1. Understand the elements of Choreography: Space, Time, and Energy
  2. Apply "Laban Movement Analysis" to observe and describe motion
  3. Master "Blocking" and composition for the camera frame
  4. Collaborative Choreography: Working with dancers and non-dancers
  5. Design movement sequences that advance a narrative (Storytelling through dance)
§ 02 Sixteen sessions

The whole semester.

  1. 01Elements of Dance: Space, Time, Force
  2. 02Improvisation Techniques
  3. 03Composition: Motif & Development
  4. 04Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) Basics
  5. 05Musicality: Phrasing & Rhythm
  6. 06Group Dynamics: Unison & Canon
  7. 07Partnering & Contact Improvisation
  8. 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
  9. 09Choreography for Camera: Framing Motion
  10. 10Editing Dance: Cutting on the Beat
  11. 11Narrative Choreography: Storytelling
  12. 12Site-Specific Choreography
  13. 13Working with Non-Dancers (Actors)
  14. 14Lighting for Dance
  15. 15Notation & Copyrighting Movement
  16. 16Final Project: The Choreographed Short Film

Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.

§ 03 Final project

Final Project: The Choreographed Short Film

How it’s judged

Recommended reading
  1. The Intimate Act of Choreography by Lynne Anne Blom and L. Tarin Chaplin
  2. Dance Composition by Jacqueline M. Smith-Autard
  3. Envisioning Dance on Film and Video by Judy Mitoma
  4. Screendance: Inscribing the Ephemeral Image by Douglas Rosenberg
  5. A Choreographer's Handbook by Jonathan Burrows
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