Dance Courses

Thesis—Year | 12 credits

DNCE 7400

Note: Restricted to Second Years.

The master’s thesis project, consisting of choreographic, written, and oral presentation components, must be completed in the second year. A 20-30 minute performance is realized in the Live Time-Based Art (DNCE 7124) component course, while the written thesis is supported by the Graduate Seminar (DNCE 7001). Finally, students will prepare an oral presentation of their thesis work in a lecture for the faculty and the Sarah Lawrence community.

Faculty

• John Jasperse

Program—Year | 12 credits

DNCE 7999

Note: Restricted to Second Years.

This credit-bearing program of study will consist of a combination of various individual component courses that together constitute a Dance Program—Second Year. In the second year, students build on their first-year foundation in movement practice, choreographic research, and analytic and theoretical studies in dance. Required courses in the second year include Advanced Movement Studio (DNCE 5505 U1 and U2), Graduate Seminar (DNCE 7001), and Live Time-Based Art (DNCE 7124), as well as coursework related to choreographic practice such as Guest Artist Lab (DNCE 7125) and select dance pedagogy laboratories. In addition, students select two-to-four class sessions per week of elective component coursework each semester in dance, theatre, and music, completing six credits per semester of coursework for a total of 12 credits for the year. Second-year students will also participate in Thesis Project (DNCE 7400). The second-year program completes the Master of Fine Arts in Dance degree program and prepares students to play active roles as vibrant artistic citizens in the 21st century.

Faculty

• John Jasperse

Program—Year | 24 credits

DNCE 7998

Note: Restricted to First Years.

This credit-bearing program of study will consist of a combination of various individual component courses that together constitute a Dance Program—First Year. In the first year, students build a foundation in movement practice, choreographic research, and analytic and theoretical studies in dance. Required courses in the first year include Advanced Movement Studio (DNCE 5505 U1 and U2), Anatomy (DNCE 5576), Graduate Seminar (DNCE 7001), Choreography of Light: Lighting Design Basics in the Context of Dance Making (DNCE 5564), and Live Time-Based Art (DNCE 7124), as well as coursework related to choreographic practice such as Guest Artist Lab (DNCE 7125) and dance pedagogy laboratories. In addition, students will select two-to-four class sessions per week of elective component coursework each semester in dance, theatre, and music, completing 12 credits per semester for a total of 24 credits for the year.

Faculty

• John Jasperse

Component—Fall

DNCE 7523

Note: Formerly DNCE 5523.

Students in this course will develop skills to bring their artistry into a teaching setting, combining practical and theoretical studies. We will work systematically and imaginatively to develop teaching practices in dance and movement forms that move us most deeply, addressing individual and collective concerns throughout the process. We will explore strategies for teaching a variety of techniques, from codified dance forms to generative forms, including improvisation and composition. Over the course of the semester, with all members of the class serving as both teachers and students, each participant will develop a cohesive plan for teaching in professional settings. Studio practices—including movement, observation, discussion, and class exercises—will support in-depth exploration of teaching and learning as intrinsically related aspects of education at its best. In addition to work in the studio, independent research will entail surveying literature in the field of dance education and training, as well as potential sources beyond the field, according to individual interests. Practical and theoretical research will form the basis of a final presentation (teaching one or more sections of the curricular plan) and a final written report with annotated bibliography, summarizing and documenting the development process, as well as providing a basis for future promotional material.

Faculty

• Peggy Gould

Component—Fall

DNCE 7001

Note: Required for first- and second-year Master of Fine Arts candidates.

This course will serve as a research tutorial, providing a space for students to engage in and share individualized research into lineages of study and artmaking, as well as research on specific texts and works of performance and art that contextualize, influence, and sit in conversation with their creative research and practice in the Master of Fine Arts in Dance program. As a class, we will encounter shared readings and works of art situated within dance studies, performance studies, phenomenology, gender and sexuality studies, critical race theory, disability studies, authotheory, and autohistoria, as well as other experimental forms that do not claim or fit into a singular discipline or field. These core sources will provide a frame of discourse for students to extend, deepen, push against, trouble, and complicate, as they develop and follow their own lines of creative and scholarly inquiry that map the particular ecosystems of thought and work that their dance and movement practices exist within and in relationship to. In Lauren Fournier’s Autotheory as Feminist Practice in Art, Writing, and Criticism, she asks, “What kinds of knowledge are understood as legitimately critical or rigorous, and by whom?” This question, echoed by many others within and beyond academia at large as well as dance and “body-based forms”, will serve as an underbelly for our group discussions. As artists working within dance and embodiment, how do we bring all of our sensory knowledge and intelligence to our scholarship? How can we honor nonverbal communication as it exists in a kaleidoscopic relationship with verbal communication? How do we produce, transmit, and archive the multiplicity of knowledge channels that exist within dance, performance, and time-based art? For whom do we do this? This course will also serve as preparation for the submission of the written thesis in students’ second year of the program. First-year and second-year graduate students will build an annotated bibliography of sources relevant to their performance practice, creative research, and scholarship. Written assignments for second-year graduate students will include a thesis proposal and outline, while first-year graduate students will submit writing that reflects their engagement with course readings and sources from their individualized research. All students in the course will deliver a final presentation on their work over the course of the semester that may weave elements of formal and/or experimental delivery of research, taking the shape of a performance, a reading, or other form as discussed in consultation with the instructor.

Faculty

• Rakia Seaborn

Component—Year

DNCE 5576

How is it possible for us to move in the countless ways that we do? In this course, students will learn to develop their X-ray vision of human beings in motion through functional anatomical study that combines movement practice, drawing, lecture, and problem solving. Movement is a powerful vehicle for experiencing in detail our profoundly adaptable musculoskeletal anatomy. We will learn Irene Dowd’s Spirals, a comprehensive warm-up/cool-down for dancing that coordinates all joints and muscles through their fullest range of motion, facilitating study of the entire musculoskeletal system. In addition to movement practice, drawings will be made as part of each week’s lecture (drawing materials provided), and three short assignments will be submitted each semester. Insights and skills developed in this course can provide tremendous inspiration in the process of movement invention and composition.

Faculty

• Peggy Gould

Component—Year

DNCE 5575

Prerequisite: Anatomy (DNCE 5576)

This course is an opportunity for students who have completed a full year of anatomy study in the dance program to pursue functional anatomy studies in greater depth. In open consultation with the instructor during class meetings, each student will engage in independent research, developing one or more lines of inquiry that utilize functional anatomy perspectives and texts as an organizing framework. Research topics in recent years have included aging and longevity in dance, discussion of functional anatomy in relation to linguistics, pedagogy, choreography and performance, investigation of micropolitics in established dance training techniques, examining connections between movement and emotion, development of a unique warm-up sequence to address specific individual technical issues, and study of kinematics and rehabilitation in knee injury. The class meetings will discuss progress, questions, and methods for reporting, writing, and presenting research, alternating with weekly studio/practice sessions for individual and/or group research consultations.

Faculty

• Peggy Gould

Component—Year

DNCE 5527

Note: Students will be responsible for a $15 materials fee in addition to purchasing their own 2”-wide loose-leaf binder.

This course will be an introduction to designing costumes for dance/time-based art. The course will emphasize collaborations with a choreographer and include topics such as: The Creative Process of Design, Where to Begin When Designing for Dance, The Language of Clothes, The Elements of Design, Color Theory, Movement and the Functionality of Dance Costumes, Figure Drawing/Rendering Costumes, and Fabric Dictionary/Fabric Terminology. The course will also involve learning numerous hand and machine stitches, as well as various design-room techniques, such as taking measurements, fitting and altering costumes, and wardrobe maintenance. Each costume-design student will eventually be paired with a student choreographer, with whom they will collaborate to realize costumes for the choreographer’s work that will be presented during the fall or spring departmental dance productions. Students will also be creating their own resource book throughout the year, which will include all handouts, in-class exercises, and notes in a loose-leaf binder. The resource book will be a useful reference tool as students work on various class assignments and/or departmental productions. This course is designed to give students a basic knowledge of the many intricate creative and technical steps involved in the design process when creating costumes. A deeper understanding of the various aspects of costume design for dance is an enormous tool that will not only enhance one’s overall design skills but also allow the student to communicate more fully during the creative process with fellow designers or as a choreographer or director collaborating with the production team. The resource book will also serve as a helpful guide in the future, as students embark on their own productions at Sarah Lawrence and beyond.

Faculty

• Katherine Williams

Component—Year

DNCE 5564

This course will introduce the fundamentals of theatrical lighting design as a collaborative and expressive tool with the ability to direct an audience's attention and deepen the dramaturgical arc of a work. Through theoretical and hands-on instruction, students will learn to amplify choreographic intent by manipulating the color, timing, and intensity of light and shadow.

Faculty

• Anna Wotring

Component—Spring

DNCE 7001

Note: Required for first- and second-year Master of Fine Arts candidates.

This course will provide opportunities to explore foundational texts in dance and performance in order to refine skills for developing new insights, questions, and knowledge of our subject matter. In the context of the Master of Fine Arts in Dance program, with curricular focus centered on the practices of performance and choreography, there are nevertheless important writings and discussions in the area of dance studies and beyond, which will be essential for students to engage as they prepare for a career in the performing arts. Emphasis will be on developing a line or lines of inquiry, devising strategies with which to effectively and meaningfully follow learning pathways to connect with both reading and writing, and to extend knowledge in support of individual interests. Careful consideration of all sources, consistent participation in class discussions, and periodic presentations of the research and writing in progress are the tools employed for this research tutorial course. In the fourth and final semester, the focus will be on the culmination of research and preparation for oral presentation.

Faculty

• Peggy Gould

Component—Spring

DNCE 7104

In this course, we will examine and hone the tools needed for propelling your creative work into the professional landscape. Taught from the perspective of an active artist/arts professional in the nonprofit sector, the course will attempt to achieve fluency for all makers by providing practical encounters with key areas of budgeting and finance, fundraising and grant writing, presenting and touring, and self-producing components (including marketing, press, audience-development and engagement strategies, digital and social interactions, and production administration). We will explore various dance and theatre financial models, from being an independent solo artist to starting your own ensemble. The course will be participatory, asking each student to craft project descriptions, grant narratives, and budgets for their thesis projects or other works shown in the previous semester or first year. We will develop and stage mock applications and peer/panel reviews for real-world funding opportunities, undertake group budgeting for productions that occur in each department, and develop concurrent fundraising plans and crowdsourcing campaigns. The aim of this course is to provide a greater level of competitive preparedness for graduating dance and performance makers on the cusp of representing themselves and their work in their chosen field(s).

Faculty

• John Jasperse

Component—Spring

DNCE 7114

Note: Formerly DNCE 5508. Open to undergraduates by invitation only.

In this course, we will explore varied entry points toward the creation and practice of a personal dance teaching philosophy and pedagogy. We will interrogate our varied and unique histories, values, patterns, cultures, and aesthetic desires, observing how they illuminate or limit our teaching goals. Our experience and assumptions around teaching and being taught will help us amplify and name integral skills and tools that support our work in dance/body/movement-based classrooms. How do we build a class architecture that nurtures growth? How do we create a safe and equitable space for reciprocal learning? How do we find a balance between planning and improvising? How do we clarify and hone our intentions while using clear language and communication? These questions and many more will ignite us to observe, support, and inspire one another, as we imagine new and engaged approaches to our teaching practices.

Faculty

• Megan Williams

Component—Fall

DNCE 5531

Improvisation is a potentially limitless resource. In this course, we will explore motion potentials, concepts, and sensory/poetic/intellectual/metaphorical impulses to yield raw materials for creating performance works; advance technical capabilities in dance/movement performance; and fortify connections to individual and collective movement/action. 

As performers, collaborators, makers and spectators, we will engage in multiple approaches to improvisation, from highly structured to virtually unstructured activities. We will employ movement as a material for learning and inventing in various settings, from the dance studio to outdoor sites around the campus.

The power of sound and silence, as well as the presence of music and its dynamic interactions with dancing, will be central in our studies as we have the honor of working with musician/composer Jerome Morris. We will proceed systematically and imaginatively, cultivating instincts and appetites for movement exploration, honing perception and communication skills, and expanding appreciation and understanding of dance as an elemental art form. 

Faculty

• Peggy Gould

Component—Fall

DNCE 7124

Note: Formerly DNCE 5524.

In this course, graduates and upper-class undergraduates with a special interest and experience in the creation of time-based artworks that include live performance will design and direct individual projects. Students and faculty will meet weekly to view works-in-progress and discuss relevant artistic and practical problems, both in class and in conferences. Attributes of the work across multiple disciplines of artistic endeavor will be discussed as integral and interdependent elements in the work. Participation in mentored, critical-response feedback sessions with peers will be a key aspect of the course. The engagement with the medium of time in live performance, the constraints of presentation of the works both in works-in-progress and in a shared program of events, and the need to respect the classroom and presentation space of the dance studio will be the constraints imposed on the students’ artistic proposals. Students working within any number of live-performance traditions are as welcome in this course as those seeking to transgress orthodox conventions. While all the works will engage in some way with embodied action, student proposals need not neatly fall into a traditional notion of what constitutes dance. The cultivation of open discourse across traditional disciplinary artistic boundaries, both in the process of developing the works and in the context of presentation to the public, is a central goal of the course. The faculty leading this course have roots in dance practice but have also practiced expansive definitions of dance within their own creative work. This course will culminate in performances of the works toward the end of the semester in a shared program with all enrolled students. Performances of the works will take place on campus.

Faculty

• John Jasperse
• Yanira Castro

Component—Fall

DNCE 7125

Note: Pass/Fail. Formerly DNCE 5625. Taught by a selection of rotating faculty.

This course will be an experimental lab that aims to expose students to a diverse set of current voices and approaches to contemporary dance making. Each guest artist will lead a module of three-to-seven class sessions. These mini-workshops will introduce students to that artist and their creative process. Guests will present emergent, as well as established, voices and a wide range of approaches to contemporary artistic practice.

Faculty

• John Jasperse

Component—Fall

DNCE 5590

Prerequisite: permission of the program director

In this component, a visiting artist or company is invited to create a work with students or to set an existing piece of choreography. The works will be performed for the College community at the end of the semester.

Faculty

• Kyle Marshall

Component—Spring

DNCE 5590

Prerequisite: permission of the program director

In this component, a visiting artist or company is invited to create a work with students or to set an existing piece of choreography. The works will be performed for the College community at the end of the semester.

Component—Spring

DNCE 7124

Note: Formerly DNCE 5524.

In this course, graduates and upper-class undergraduates with a special interest and experience in the creation of time-based artworks that include live performance will design and direct individual projects. Students and faculty will meet weekly to view works-in-progress and discuss relevant artistic and practical problems, both in class and in conferences. Attributes of the work across multiple disciplines of artistic endeavor will be discussed as integral and interdependent elements in the work. Participation in mentored, critical-response feedback sessions with peers will be a key aspect of the course. The engagement with the medium of time in live performance, the constraints of presentation of the works, both in works-in-progress and in a shared program of events, and the need to respect the classroom and presentation space of the dance studio will be the constraints imposed on the students’ artistic proposals. Students working within any number of live-performance traditions are as welcome in this course as those seeking to transgress orthodox conventions. While all the works will engage in some way with embodied action, student proposals need not neatly fall into a traditional notion of what constitutes dance. The cultivation of open discourse across traditional disciplinary artistic boundaries, both in the process of developing the works and in the context of presentation to the public, is a central goal of the course. The faculty leading this course have roots in dance practice but have also practiced expansive definitions of dance within their own creative work. This course will culminate in performances of the works toward the end of the semester in a shared program with all enrolled students. Performances of the works will take place on campus.

Faculty

• Beth Gill
• John Jasperse

Component—Spring

DNCE 5517

This course will frame the practice of choreography through two primary modes. First, as a mode of research that produces questions, ideas, and experiences which productively expand our understanding of ourselves and the world. Second, as a mode of artistic production that creates an aesthetic experience of embodiment—live performance.

This course will present an expansive vision of dance that makes space for its many forms, including historical and contemporary concert dance, popular dance, traditional dance, and performance art. Students will be encouraged to draw upon their lived experience, investigating dance and choreography from where they are. They will also be encouraged to practice experimentation and move away from what is familiar to them. We will hold these different goals equally.

The class will be structured as a lecture and a lab. Students will work independently and collaboratively on assignments that bring the practice of choreography into view. Assignments will strongly embrace interdisciplinary practices. Students will also be introduced to contemporary dance works that relate to and inform their creative research.

The goal of the course will be to offer a forum through which students can deeply engage with creation, develop their own artistic voices, and investigate new ways of thinking about form through the lens of choreographic inquiry.

Faculty

• Beth Gill

Component—Spring

DNCE 7141

What is technique in dance and performance? How do we do what we do? In-depth understanding of technical orientation—ways of dancing that are carried from childhood to the present—can be instrumental in expanding our potentials as makers, collaborators, performers, and spectators.

There are multiple intersections between technical and creative practices. One of the realities of making art in any discipline is the task of bridging gaps between conceptualizing and actualizing. In this studio class, movement-based investigation will be emphasized as we pursue a dynamic balance of dancing and observing.

Structured and improvisational exercises (individual, with partners/small groups, and with the entire group) will be utilized in each class to explore extant technical strategies, identifying key aspects of participants' dance lineage, and increasing awareness of individual preferences and aesthetic interests in order to build capacity for inventing movement. Elements of functional anatomy and movement analysis will support our explorations. Rooted in the practice of moving, the objectives of this course will be to increase awareness of technique pathways currently in use, enliven imagination, and systematically broaden performative and choreographic possibilities.

Faculty

• Peggy Gould

Component—Fall

DNCE 5513

Students will be introduced to the Afro-Brazilian art of capoeira, which blends aspects of martial arts, dance, and music. The course will aim to provide the basics of capoeira movements and music while also advancing students’ understanding of their own bodies through conditioning and partner work. Elements of philosophy will also be incorporated to assess what it means to be a martial artist and a capoeirista. Students with or without previous martial-arts experience are encouraged to take this course.

Faculty

• Dylan Combs

Component—Fall

DNCE 5559

Note: Formerly DNCE 5525 and DNCE 5526. This is an open‑level technique class designed for students (of all levels) with prior dance experience from beginning to advanced.

Elevate your jazz dance technique with power and passion! From cabaret performances to concert stages, Broadway productions, and Hollywood films, Katherine Dunham had a brilliant career shaping the look, style, and formal training of American Jazz dance. This high‑energy class will build upon Dunham’s technique fundamentals while integrating classical jazz studio progressions and contemporary jazz dance.

Through experiential units that integrate technique with her research, theories, and the history of American dance and culture, students will explore Dunham’s lasting contributions to film, cabaret, and theatrical concert dance while cultivating their own performance quality and artistic expression.

This course will encourage students to find the joy in every step, “tell the story,” and take more risks while developing technical confidence and growth as an artist. Moreover, this class is designed to strengthen and train the body while equipping dancers with resilience and the performance skills needed to captivate audiences with power and passion.

Each session will include a classic Dunham warm‑up, isolations, center and/or barre work, formal studio jazz exercises, and vibrant Dunham and Dunham‑inspired jazz progressions, culminating in a choreographed combination. Select classes will incorporate brief lectures to deepen Dunham's theories and methodologies for context. Choreography will draw from styles Dunham explored or influenced, including vernacular jazz/swing, theater, commercial, and studio jazz, in addition to Dunham’s signature fusion of modern, ballet, and Afro‑Caribbean folkloric dance. Come join us!

Faculty

• Candice Franklin

Component—Fall

DNCE 5505

This course will emphasize the steady development of movement skills, energy use, strength, and articulation relevant to each teacher’s technical and aesthetic orientations. Instructors will change at either the end of each semester or midway through the semester, allowing students to experience present-day dance practice across diverse styles and cultural lineages. At all levels, attention will be given to sharpening each student’s awareness of time and energy and training rhythmically, precisely, and according to sound anatomical principles. Degrees of complexity in movement patterns will vary within the leveled class structure. All students will investigate sensory experience and the various demands of performance. 

Faculty

• Catie Leasca
• Wendell Gray II

Component—Fall

DNCE 5587

This course will introduce students to strength, mobility, and physical organization techniques that develop awareness and skill in the moving body. Drawing from Pilates, yoga, and other dance-adjacent practices, students will build a dependable foundation to support their dance and movement practice. Each week, the class will focus on conditioning a specific region of the body, incorporating basic anatomy and joint biomechanics through guided movement investigations. While collective goals will be emphasized, attention is also given to individual body structures and personal movement objectives. Recognizing that every body is unique, students will learn how to work with their own anatomy to create strategies that support their personal movement journeys. Students will be expected to maintain a dedicated method for recording their practice—this might be a journal, sketchbook, or digital log. These records will support the development of personalized movement routines to be used outside of class. Full participation in both the physical and reflective aspects of the course is required. Students should demonstrate a clear understanding and integration of course material throughout the semester. This course is open to all interested movers. As students deepen their understanding of how their bodies move, they expand their potential for creativity, exploration, and play.

Faculty

• Cara Reeser

Component—Fall

DNCE 5512

Note: The class and its challenges will be catered to the skill level and experience of the participants.

This physical studio class with live music will examine the ballet vocabulary with attention to individualized functional anatomy exploration and will include a somatic warm-up, a ballet barre, and center work that explores space, time, musicality, coordination, agility, and strength, while finding the balance between rigor and ease. We will discuss ballet’s many histories and interrogate how and why we study ballet today and where those histories are situated in current methodologies. How our past learned experiences within the form can enhance or inhibit us will be examined while we find new pathways and techniques to support the ballet lexicon. How we bring our present selves to the practice will be prioritized. Our goal will be to dance fully, as we seek pleasure in the work, from floor to flight.

Faculty

• Megan Williams

Component—Fall

DNCE 5510

Note: The class and its challenges will be catered to the skill level and experience of the participants.

This physical studio class with live music will examine and introduce the ballet vocabulary with attention to individualized functional anatomy exploration and will include a somatic warm-up, a ballet barre, and center work that explores space, time, musicality, coordination, agility, and strength, while finding the balance between rigor and ease. How we bring our present selves to the practice will be prioritized. Our goal will be to dance fully, as we seek pleasure in the work, from floor to flight.

Faculty

• Megan Williams

Component—Spring

DNCE 5574

This course will use physical embodiment as a mode of learning about and understanding various West African cultures. In addition to physical practice, supplementary study materials will be used to explore the breadth, diversity, history, and technique of dances found in West Africa. Traditional and social/contemporary dances from countries such as Guinea, Senegal, Mali, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast will be explored. Participation in end-of-semester or year-end showings will provide students with the opportunity to apply studies in a performative context.

Component—Spring

DNCE 5505

This course will emphasize the steady development of movement skills, energy use, strength, and articulation relevant to each teacher’s technical and aesthetic orientations. Instructors will change at either the end of each semester or midway through the semester, allowing students to experience present-day dance practice across diverse styles and cultural lineages. At all levels, attention will be given to sharpening each student’s awareness of time and energy and training rhythmically, precisely, and according to sound anatomical principles. Degrees of complexity in movement patterns will vary within the leveled class structure. All students will investigate sensory experience and the various demands of performance.

Faculty

• Janet Charleston
• Marion Lorrain Spencer

Component—Spring

DNCE 5542

This studio practice course will introduce students to hip-hop culture through the classic hip-hop styles of dance. Cumulative technical dance training brings to light the ethos of the street dance culture and how it counteracts and sometimes adopts mainstream media misconceptions. Through the study of classic hip-hop dance styles, students will expand their awareness of connections between various dance forms that pre-date hip-hop while also exploring the dilemma of belonging yet standing apart. Through dialogue, students will begin learning about the history of the original dance styles in their communities and then discuss mainstream factors that helped or harmed the evolution of the community. Occasional guest teachers will offer a class in a club or street style that will help students get a feel for the New York City dance scene of the ’80s, which influenced today’s trends. Students will watch internet footage to aid in understanding the similarities and differences between previous trends and today’s social exchanges in dance. Students will receive dance training at a beginner level done to hip-hop music from past to present. If there are intermediate-level dancers, they will be taught at respective levels in order to make advancements in their grasp of vocabulary.

Faculty

• Ana Garcia

Component—Spring

DNCE 5509

The Alexander Technique is a system of neuromuscular re-education that enables the student to identify and change poor and inefficient habits that may be causing stress and fatigue. With gentle, hands-on guidance and verbal instruction, the student learns to replace faulty habits with improved coordination by locating and releasing undue muscular tensions. This includes easing of the breath, introducing greater freedom, and optimizing performance in all activities. It is a technique that has proven to be profoundly useful for dancers, musicians, and actors and has been widely acclaimed by leading figures in the performing arts, education, and medicine.

Faculty

• Peggy Gould

Component—Spring

DNCE 5512

Ballet students at all levels will be guided toward creative and expressive freedom in their dancing, enhancing the qualities of ease, grace, musicality, and symmetry that define this form. We will explore alignment, emphasizing anatomical principles; we will cultivate awareness of how to enlist the appropriate neuromuscular effort for efficient movement; and we will coordinate all aspects of body, mind, and spirit, integrating them harmoniously.

Faculty

• Susan Caitlin Scranton
• Mary Lyn Graves

Component—Spring

DNCE 5510

Ballet students will be guided toward creative and expressive freedom in their dancing, enhancing the qualities of ease, grace, musicality, and symmetry that define this form. We will explore alignment, emphasizing anatomical principles; we will cultivate awareness of how to enlist the appropriate neuromuscular effort for efficient movement; and we will coordinate all aspects of body, mind, and spirit, integrating them harmoniously.

Faculty

• Susan Caitlin Scranton
• Mary Lyn Graves

Component—Spring

DNCE 5569

This course will introduce students to the North Indian classical dance form Kathak while providing a broader understanding of Indian classical dance traditions. Through the physical study of Kathak repertoire, students will engage in an embodied exploration of the form’s technique, aesthetics, and expressive language. The course will situate Indian classical dance within its historical and cultural contexts, examining how gender and caste hierarchies, nationalist movements, and social histories have shaped these traditions. It also will examine Indian classical dance through a contemporary framework, exploring how these traditions continue to evolve and generate new forms of expression.

Through readings, videos, and discussion, students will analyze Indian classical dance in India and the diaspora through a critical cultural lens to develop informed perspectives. The course will culminate in a creative multimodal project in which students draw on their understanding of Kathak and Indian dance aesthetics to create movement-based work that reflects their own perspectives.

Faculty

• Parul Shah

Component—Fall and Spring

DNCE 5507

Note: This component course is Pass/Fail and does include a brief written evaluation; successful completion of this component course will have an effect on your grade within your program of study.

Each student enrolled in a three-credit Dance Study (DNCE 4400), five-credit Dance Third (DNCE 4400), or Master of Fine Arts in Dance program of study is REQUIRED to complete one tech/production job each semester in order to receive full credit for dance courses. In completing Dance Tech/Production (DNCE 5507), students are exposed to “behind-the-scenes” operations required to put on a dance performance. All students do this work, so each student may be performing on stage in one concert and working a crew position in the next. The production process is much the same here at Sarah Lawrence as in the professional world. For each concert, the technical crew works during the performances and during the “tech week” before the show. Each student will receive instruction for every tech job, so students should not worry if they are assigned to do something that they have never done before. 

Faculty

• John Jasperse

Component—Fall and Spring

DNCE 5506

Note: This component course is Pass/Fail and does not include written evaluations; successful completion of this component course will have an effect on your grade within your program of study.

Dance Meeting convenes all undergraduate students enrolled in a five-credit Dance Program/Third (DNCE 4499), a three-credit Dance Study (DNCE 4400), or a one-credit Dance Study (DNCE 4400), along with all Master of Fine Arts in Dance graduate students, in meetings that occur roughly once a month. We gather for a variety of activities that enrich and inform the dance curriculum. In addition to sharing department news and information, Dance Meeting features master classes by guest artists from New York City and beyond, workshops with practitioners in dance-related health fields, panels and presentations by distinguished guests, Sarah Lawrence dance faculty and alumni/alumnae, and casting sessions for departmental performances created by the Live Time-Based Art class.

Faculty

• John Jasperse