Goucher College 2011-2012 Undergraduate Catalogue PLEASE NOTE: This is an archived catalog. Programs are subject to change each academic year.
Dance Department
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Established over 35 years ago, the Dance Department offers a rigorous and comprehensive B.A. major in dance, as well as a minor in dance. Highly developed/advanced and specialized courses allow students to pursue areas of interest that emphasize independence and initiative with an emphasis on the tradition of a liberal arts education. The Dance Department offers several areas of study. The performance and dance education tracks require an audition and the tracks in choreography, dance therapy, dance and theatre, dance history and criticism, dance administration, and dance science do not require an audition. Each specialized area has a recommended course of study to prepare a student for a career in dance or graduate school. The dance major requirements accommodate the interests of both the serious performer as well as students with choreographic, scholarly, or interdisciplinary interests. The Dance Department encourages cross-curricular pursuits through double majors (within or beyond the Dance Department) or minors in other areas of study.
Our studio curriculum challenges performing artists in both classical ballet and modern dance and is augmented by courses in musical theatre and jazz. Dance technique classes engage the students in various modes of scholarly inquiry including critical thinking, writing, and insightful dialogue. The technical level of every student is determined by a mandatory class placement audition in June or August of each academic year. Yearly dance major juries monitor student progress through the major and students advance at the discretion of the dance faculty. In addition to daily technique classes taught by dance department faculty, our guest artists-in-residence program allows students to interface each semester with professionals beyond the Goucher community. Our roster of past distinguished artists, teachers, and choreographers includes: William Whitener, Seán Curran, Alan Hineline, Andrea Woods, Robert Weiss, Michael Vernon, Gabriel Masson, Jessica Lang, Larry Keigwin, Gen Horiuchi, Rachel Berman, Kevin Iega Jeff, Thaddeus Davis, Armando Luna, Jennifer Archibald, Brian Reeder, Roger C. Jeffrey, Zippora Karz, Heidi Henderson, Constance Dinapoli, and Dermot Burke.
The Dance Department has a reputation for consistently producing new choreography as well as reconstructing works from the past. Our repertory ranges from traditional classical choreography to contemporary new works commissioned specifically for our dancers. Formal and informal studio performances give students opportunities to choreograph and perform throughout the year. Dance courses, including performing and choreographic opportunities, are open to all students who have completed the appropriate prerequisites. Performance opportunities are by audition.
In addition to offering intensive studio training in the performing arts, the Dance Department offers theory courses exploring dance from choreographic, aesthetic, historical, anatomical, cultural, analytical, educational, and therapeutic perspectives. Through our dance curriculum, students learn to observe, analyze, document, synthesize, and integrate both theoretical and applied knowledge in order to prepare graduates for leadership in the multifaceted world of dance.
Students are encouraged to pursue their individual interests through completion of independent studies, community outreach programs, senior thesis research, and performances, as well as outside the department through interdisciplinary projects, internships, and participation in a variety of abroad experiences. The Dance Department offers several opportunities to study abroad, including semester-long study in Italy and England and intensive courses abroad in West Africa, Scotland, and England. Since career development is an integral part of the college experience, students can receive credits while developing applied skills through internships both during the academic year and in the summer. Internship sites have included professional dance companies, dance studios, public and private schools, and arts agencies, including the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, the Pennsylvania Ballet, David Dorfman Dance, the Edinburgh Festival, National Dance Education Organization, National Dance Association, Dance USA, Union Memorial Hospital, Venue C in London and Edinburgh, Dance Magazine, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Center, Bates Dance Festival, American Dance Festival, Jacobs Pillow, Ad Deum Christian Dance Company, Maryland School for the Blind, Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center, Baltimore newspapers, and the Maryland State Arts Council.
Department Faculty
Professors
Chrystelle Trump Bond (dance history, theory, philosophy, criticism, choreography, anatomy and kinesiology for dance, and Chorégraphie Antique), Amanda Thom Woodson (Labanotation)
Associate Professors
Elizabeth Lowe Ahearn, chair (Pilates, dance composition, repertory, modern dance technique, ballet technique, and pointe), Juliet Forrest (modern dance technique, dance composition, performance, improvisation, repertory, and dance anthropology)
Assistant Professors
Rick Southerland (modern dance technique, dance composition, dance education)
Instructors
Eric Brew (Music Department, African drum ensemble), Laura Gurdus Dolid (ballet technique and pointe), Katherine S. Ferguson (ballet technique and pointe), Linda Garofalo (ballet technique, modern dance technique, and outreach seminar), Katie Morris (ballet technique), Karissa Horowicz (anatomy and kinesiology, ballet technique and pointe), Stephanie Powell (modern technique), Amelia Riley (Pilates).
Lecturers
Jerome Herskovitz (music for dance), Lester Holmes (jazz and musical theater jazz), Todd Mion (dance production and lighting, and London ICA), Bonnie Schulman (physical therapist), Sara Workeneh (dance therapy), other lecturers to be appointed
Departmental Honors
Honors in the major is achieved through successful completion of senior thesis work. Refer to senior thesis guidelines for further information.
Multiple Failed Courses
It is the department’s policy that students majoring in dance must receive at least a C- in every course taken toward the completion of the major.
Placement
All students are placed in technique levels by audition or evaluation.
Dance Major and Minor Review
Each year prospective and declared dance majors will participate in a ballet and a modern dance technique class that will determine the ability of the student to achieve the required level of technique to complete the dance major or dance minor. Students struggling with the technical requirement of the department may be advised to find an alternative major while continuing their studies in the Dance Department.
Progression through Dance Technique Levels
A percentage of the grading of each dance technique course will reflect the student’s ability to achieve technical competencies as stated in the competency skills for the course. The specific technical skills for each level must be achieved before a student may progress to the next level of technique. Students who receive an A for the technical grade component of the course will be eligible for promotion to the next level of technique.
Repeatable dance technique courses:
The following courses are repeatable up to six credits:
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