Course Description: This course foregrounds the development of a critical awareness about choreography and the dancing body. We will approach dance-making as the articulation of a particular point of view—an exercise in which social ideas are embedded and expressed through the body. Rather than viewing dance as an individual, context-free practice, we will engage the larger implications of our aesthetic choices, examining their underlying principles through a variety of means: familiarizing ourselves with key concepts in critical dance studies; viewing and analyzing a range of dance pieces; learning about the choreographic processes of diverse artists; and creating dance pieces. The readings, visual materials, and discussions with choreographers will act as a springboard for our thinking about how and why we make dances.
UCLA World Arts and Cultures/Dance