CORCORAN SCHOOL OF THE ARTS & DESIGN

COLUMBIAN COLLEGE
PROGRAM OF THEATER AND DANCE

Course and Contact Information

Course: Beginning Mod/Post Mod Dance- 1152-10
Semester: Fall 2019
Meeting time: MW 12:45 pm – 2 pm
Location: Marvin Center Studio #227 (800 21st Street NW)

Instructor
Name: Giselle Ruzany MA
Campus Address: Building J
Phone: (703) 395-7070
E-mail: ruzany@gwu.edu
Office hours: by appointment

Bulletin Course Description

This is a Modern/Post Modern dance class. Students will study and train in alignment, release technique,
floor work, breath, spatial awareness, improvisation, composition, strength, flexibility and musicality.
Students will be expected to keep a daily movement journal and will occasionally be asked to discuss
their journal findings. Furthermore, students will be asked to view dance concerts, lectures and workshops
and a final paper.

Prerequisites: none
Required Text(s): Snowber, C. (2016). Embodied Inquiry: Writing, Living and Being through
the Body. Springer.

Learning Outcomes and class schedule:

As a result of completing this course, students will be able to:

1. Week 1--3: Articulate body with clarity, ease and alignment.

2. Week 4--6: Move body through space attentive to quality and intention.
3. Week 7--9: Demonstrate full engagement in somatic improvisation, floor work, center, movement
across the floor and choreography.
4. Week 10--12: Show improvement in release technique, strength, flexibility, alignment, balance and
breath.
5. Week 13--15: Enhance quality of performance through change of level, tempo and dynamics.
6. Week 16-18: Develop attunement and creativity while working in duets and groups.
7. Articulate what is Modern/Post Modern Dance by doing, viewing and writing about it.
Average minimum amount of independent, out-of-class, learning expected per week:
[In a 15 week semester, including exam week, students are expected to spend a minimum of 100
minutes of out-of-class work for every 50 minutes of direct instruction, for a minimum total of
2.5 hours a week. A 3-credit course should include 2.5 hours of direct instruction and a minimum
of 5 hours of independent learning or 7.5 hours per week. More information about GW’s credit
hour policy can be found at: https://provost.gwu.edu/files/downloads/Resources/Assignment-
Credit-Hours-7-2016.pdf.

Note: This is a one credit course which needs 2.5 hours of work per week. We are meeting for
75 minutes a week of direct instruction and will need 60 minutes of out-of-class work weekly.
Please reserve 60 minutes a week for reading, movement exploration and embodied journaling.

CLASS POLICIES
No food or drinks in the dance studio.
All cell phones must be turned off during class.
Please arrive 10 minutes early and be ready to take the dance floor promptly.
All students that arrive after class starts will be given 1 tardy.

Three absences allowed (excused or unexcused)

three late arrivals or leaving early will be considered equal to 1 absence:
3 absences the grade will be lowered to the next letter grade; from A to A-,
4 absences equal B+,
5 absences equal B,
6 absences equal B- and so on.

If student cannot attend due to injury or sickness, observation may be allowed, one or two times, by
submitting a written report at the end of the class.

Attire: Students should wear comfortable attire that is not too loose or too tight restricting movement.
Clothing might get sweaty, stretched and rolled around the floor.
Assignments and Grades
Grading
1. Class attendance and participation 50 %
2. Journal and 20 minutes daily movement investigation and reading discussion 20%.
3. 2 papers and Fall Dance performance attendance 30%
Assignments
Assignment
Full participation in class
Weekly 60 minutes of out-of-
class work
Discuss two favorite
postmodern choreographers.
Please write a reaction paper
after viewing the Fall Dance
concert. Discuss what you
liked when you watched a
dancer move and how did the
choreography support this
dancer. Give an example of
what elements of those
qualities you have and which
ones you want to improve.
Description Total Points
Participation means being curious,
respectful, self-reflective and
invested in improving own
50
movement vocabulary and
technique. Execution of movement
will be evaluated.
Please spend 20 minutes on
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 20
investigating your body. Journals
1 page
and reading will be discussed in
class.
Please include links to your two
favorite choreographers’ dance
works and describe on your paper a 10
couple of differences and 1-2 pages
similarities that make their work
effective.
20 points total:
5 points for dancer
movement quality
description
2 pages for 2 credits, 5 points for choreographic
analysis
5 points for self-reflection
on strength similarities
5 points for edges of growth
University Policies

University Policy on Religious Holidays [should be included verbatim]

1. Students should notify faculty during the first week of the semester of their intention to
be absent from class on their day(s) of religious observance.

2. Faculty should extend to these students the courtesy of absence without penalty on such
occasions, including permission to make up examinations.

3. Faculty who intend to observe a religious holiday should arrange at the beginning of the
semester to reschedule missed classes or to make other provisions for their course-related
activities

Support for Students Outside the Classroom [should be included verbatim]

Disability Support Services (DSS)

Any student who may need an accommodation based on the potential impact of a
disability should contact the Disability Support Services office at 202-994-8250 in the
Rome Hall, Suite 102, to establish eligibility and to coordinate reasonable
accommodations. For additional information please refer to: gwired.gwu.edu/dss/

Mental Health Services 202-994-5300

The University's Mental Health Services offers 24/7 assistance and referral to address
students' personal, social, career, and study skills problems. Services for students include:
crisis and emergency mental health consultations confidential assessment, counseling
services (individual and small group), and referrals. counselingcenter.gwu.edu/

Academic Integrity Code [NOTE: reference to the code should be made and the url provided]
Academic dishonesty is defined as cheating of any kind, including misrepresenting one's own
work, taking credit for the work of others without crediting them and without appropriate
authorization, and the fabrication of information. For the remainder of “Code of Academic
Integrity.”