Fall 2021 - CA 324 D100
New Dance Composition (3)
Class Number: 7263
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 8 – Dec 7, 2021: Tue, Thu, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
GOLDCORP
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Instructor:
Robert Kitsos
rkitsos@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
CA (or FPA) 124, 228W, and 285.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Students will be introduced to traditional choreographic structures and explore new directions in composition. Emphasis will be on the creation and analysis of work generated by extending the parameters of source, style and form in contemporary dance. Students with credit for FPA 324 may not take this course for further credit. Quantitative.
COURSE DETAILS:
This class explores ways to generate material for the making of dances. Through an exploration and manipulation of movement structure, we will expand personal vocabularies and impulses into a more distinctive style for each student. Through improvisation and movement studies we will explore the major elements of composition and focus on interdisciplinary techniques in performance drawing on other disciplines in the SCA
Grading
- Participation 35%
- Assignments 40%
- Written assignments 15%
- Work Journal 10%
NOTES:
Participation:
The energy, attitude, working process, investment in class both physical and mental and contributions to class discussions are the most important areas of your evaluation. Be appropriately dressed, warmed up and ready to go. This is not a technique class so you may choose to wear anything that works for you. Please do not wear your street clothes unless you do not intend to dance. This class is a physical process as well as an intellectual one. However, time spent developing material in this class needs to be predominantly a physical one -time spent sitting, imagining and planning needs to be done outside the classroom structure.
Assignments:
Movement studies will be assigned daily. Larger projects will be assigned with an indicated due date. Be prepared to show your work daily. You are required to keep all material you are working on at performance level during the semester. No improvisations allowed unless that is the assignment. You will be required to keep up on the reading assignments and be prepared to discuss the text, your assignments and your classmates work in class.
Written Assignments:
Some of the exercises in class will require you to write compositional strategies for your process. These assignments are to be handed in at designated dates throughout the semester. You are also required to see a dance performances within the semester. Please turn in your ticket stubs and a three-page review of the concerts using concepts and vocabulary from class.
Work Journal:
You are required to keep a journal for this class. You should use this as a tool for each project and keep regular written reactions and evaluations of the reading, assignments your work. The journal will be collected periodically and evaluated.Materials
REQUIRED READING:
A Choreographers Handbook: Jonathan Burrows
ISBN: 9780415555302
RECOMMENDED READING:
The Creative Habit: Learn it and use it for Life: Twyla Tharp
Sparks Of Genius: The 13 Thinking tools of the World’s Most Creative People: Robert and Michele Root Bernstein
The Intimate Act of Choreography: Lynne Anne Blom and L. Tarin Chaplin
The Shape of Content: Ben Shaw
The Art of Making Dances: Doris Humphrey
Free Play: The Power of Improvisation in Life and the Arts: Stephen Nachmanovitch
Dance Composition: A Practical Guide to Creative Success in Dance Making: Jacqueline M. Smith Autard
DANCE: Documents of Contemporary Art: Edited by Andre Lepecki
Dance and the Specific Image: Improvisation- Daniel Nagrin
Dance and the Specific Image: Choreography- Daniel Nagrin
The Viewpoints Book: Tina Landau and Ann Bogart
Devising Performance: a critical history: Deirdre Heddon and Jane Milling
Postdramic Theatre: Hans- Thies Lehmann
Registrar Notes:
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
TEACHING AT SFU IN FALL 2021
Teaching at SFU in fall 2021 will involve primarily in-person instruction, with approximately 70 to 80 per cent of classes in person/on campus, with safety plans in place. Whether your course will be in-person or through remote methods will be clearly identified in the schedule of classes. You will also know at enrollment whether remote course components will be “live” (synchronous) or at your own pace (asynchronous).
Enrolling in a course acknowledges that you are able to attend in whatever format is required. You should not enroll in a course that is in-person if you are not able to return to campus, and should be aware that remote study may entail different modes of learning, interaction with your instructor, and ways of getting feedback on your work than may be the case for in-person classes.
Students with hidden or visible disabilities who may need class or exam accommodations, including in the context of remote learning, are advised to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (caladmin@sfu.ca or 778-782-3112) as early as possible in order to prepare for the fall 2021 term.