Instructor: Laurienne Singer History& Appreciation of Dance
323-953-4000 x2865 singerl2@lacitycollege.edu Dance Studies 805
Welcome to the first Dance History course to be presented at LACC.
We are about to embark on an adventure together.
We are going to explore the history of Dance, the aesthetics of Dance, and perhaps even probe into the meaning of Dance as it is interpreted through different times and different cultures. We will look at it in relation to the culture, spiritually, politically and socially.
We will view different genres of dance, different styles and different techniques.
We will meet some of the pioneers of different dance modalities.
REQUIRED BOOKS:1) THE DANCE EXPERIENCE by Myron Nadel and Marc
Strauss, 2) APPRECIATING DANCE by Harriet Lihs 3 RD OR 4 TH edition
My objective for this class is that you will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the dance, and that you will be able to view the dance with a more educated and perceptive eye, and be able to speak intelligently about what it is you are seeing. Also, I hope you will enrich your own personal relationship with movement and the Dance.
Therefore I hope your critical mind and your spirit will be engaged in a new way by the end of this course, and that you will gain a greater appreciation of this very exciting art form, that is often not given its rightful position among the arts.
As much as possible, I will try to present this information with examples from video and
DVD. You will be expected to do one research paper and one visual, and kinetic presentation on your paper of the subject of your choice in the areas we will be discussing and viewing.
Most likely there will be a midterm exam and certainly there will be a written final. There may be further reviews of the subject matter. The written final at the end requires a bluebook.
Please TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES and electrical devices during class, unless you have an emergency. Than speak to the instructor regarding your keeping it on.
Attendance is very important because a great deal of the material will be video and kinetic. If you do have to miss, see if you can get notes from a classmate. It is a good idea to get a classroom buddy, so you can even work together on your projects, and fill your partner in on what was covered if they did have to miss a class. One absence is acceptable, 3 absences is reason to drop, 4 absences is failing. You are required to be present for the entire 3 hours of each session. That includes the experience of doing the dance.
I hope you love dance and are curious about its origins and its process. Bring a notebook, takes notes and keep a record of the material presented each day.
Grades will be based on attendance, active presentation of your chosen research in class, sharing the important visuals of your subject (You Tube, Video, DVD, costumes, movement etc); completing all homework assignments, taking and passing both written midterm and final paper, and turning in a completed research paper, in proper English form, no less than 5 to 7 pages that includes the historical, political, social and spiritual

connections of the times and how it relates to the dance, person, genre, company that you have chosen to research. It must also include your reasons for choosing your subject: how it relates to you personally, inspires you and has meaning for you. It must include a bibliography that shows a minimum of 5 research sources, footnotes, table of contents and is typewritten using correct English spelling and grammar. Make sure you spell check all material that you hand in. No e-mails will be accepted, no hand written papers will be accepted for the research paper or homework papers, papers must be typed . Turn them in on hard copy, on time.
If you are not present for your scheduled presentation, your grade point will drop. You must be able and ready to make your presentation the following week. Depending how many people need to make presentations we need to do it in a logical order based on where we are in our reading, it is extremely important that you be prepared at the time slot you are given. This does not mean that you must have your entire research paper ready, it means you have found the visual resources and are able to share the nature of your dance or dance subject with the class. That you are knowledgeable about your subject and have chosen with discernment and taste the selections you plan to present to the class. If you miss your given time for presentation, there is no guarantee that you will be able to make –up the time later. You will lose points towards receiving an excellent grade. Your presentation should be no longer than
15 minutes unless you have cleared it with the instructor. Sometimes a person will be very knowledgeable about their subject and desire to share more time. This can be a great asset to the class, however it does need to be approved before hand, so scheduling of other people’s projects will flow smoothly. Be succinct and clear; find the most relevant video images to give value to your subject.
I will request the area of concentration for your presentation be chosen by September 18
Rough outline or first draft will be due October 9th. After I receive your subject matter. I will prepare the time schedule for your presentation based on the pace of the class and what would reinforce our reading schedule. Please be prepared for your presentation on the day assigned you. If there are issues, please discuss it and clear it with me. Other words, you are expected to be ready and prepared for presenting to the class on your scheduled day. Please think carefully about the subject you wish to explore and do not change your subject matter after submitting your choice. If there is a problem, speak with the instructor.
In the past, we have had a scheduled evening in the library to review how to correctly do a research paper, how to research and what to include in terms of the form of your paper.
We will have such an opportunity this semester as well. The time will be announced.
It is important that you are aware when doing a research project that you do not use words and copy from a book or internet without giving credit to the author or source. It is expected that you use your own words when writing the final and documenting any statements or ideas expressed from another source.
To Recapitulate
To receive the 3 units of credit: 1) Attendance is important and that you stay for the entire
3 hours, experiencing the dance as well as the lecture and video material. 4 absences is failing.
2) You read the book assignments and are capable of discussing intelligently the areas covered.

3) You turn in all written material in a timely fashion, spell and grammar checked, typewritten and intelligently answered.
4) You do a well-prepared and planned visual presentation, sharing with the class the most important aspects of your paper and the movement whenever possible.
5) Turn in on time a well-researched paper on your subject matter with at least 5 or more resources listed and table of contents, bibliography, including knowledge of why you personally chose the subject matter and the significance for you. Paper must connect the dance socially, spiritually and politically to the times. Therefore it must be a substantially well-researched paper with at least 5 resources, wikipedia is not acceptable, and it must include a personal statement regarding your reason for this choice.
The research paper needs to be clear and logical, with well-constructed sentences and paragraphs and only minor punctuation errors. Describe clearly the topic selected, providing clear description, analysis and appropriate examples to explain the relationship between the chosen dance subject and its social, political, philosophical context as it affected or was affected by the society and the times of it origination.
The presentation
6) Be present for the final and take both written tests, passing them with clear knowledge of the subject matter and the ability to speak intelligently on the questions based on the knowledge you have acquired over the semester, illustrating an ability to think critically about the subject. Papers must be written in proper English, grammatically correct.
Included is an outline for the whole course. We may not necessarily follow this sequence or even be able to cover all this material in the semester. However, you are welcome to choose from any of these topics for your paper.
I hope you enjoy this experience and learn to love and appreciate the Art of the Dance!
Violations of Academic Integrity include, but are not limited to, the following actions: cheating on an exam, plagiarism, working together on an assignment, paper or project when the instructor has specifically stated students should not do so, submitting the same term paper to more than one instructor, or allowing another individual to assume one’s identity for the purpose of enhancing one’s grade
.
Students with a verified disability, who may need reasonable accommodations for this class, are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact the office of Special Services
Ch 109 323-953-4000 X2270 as soon as possible. All information will remain confidential.
Important! Drop Date Information
The deadline to drop without a “W” is the last day of Week 2 (of the semester), which is Sunday, September
8 th
for Fall 2013. If you must drop a course, drop before the specified deadline for dropping a class without a grade of "W." Dropping after Week 2 will result in a “W” on your transcript. Effective July 1, 2012 students will only have 3 attempts to pass a class. If a student gets a "W" or grade of "D", "F", “I”, or "NP" in a class, that will count as an attempt. A student’s past record of course attempts district wide will also be considered.
Therefore, before the end of Week 2 you should carefully consider if you could reasonably manage this course with the other factors in your life (e.g. work, family, course load). If you think you will not be able to complete this course with a C or better, drop by Sunday, September 8th.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to talk to me. You may also see a counselor in the Counseling Center in AD 108.
If you need help paying for books and other college expenses,
Call the Financial Aid Office at
(323) 953-4000 extension 2010, or see them at Student Services Village room 117 http://www.lacitycollege.edu/stusvcs/finaid/http://www.lacitycollege.edu/stusvcs/finaid/

The Sheriff’s Department is located on campus. Their number is 323-662-5276. It would be a good idea to program this number into your cell phone. From a campus phone you can press #3 to reach them. In case of an emergency in which you need police assistance call them and not 911. Doing so may direct your call to another enforcement agency. They in turn will require time to determine that they need to forward it to our Sheriff’s
Department, and precious time will be lost.