Dance

DANCE

Chair: Sara Lee Gibb
Graduate Coordinator: Pamela S. Musil
294 RB
Provo, UT 84602-2005
(801) 378-5087

THE PROGRAM OF STUDIES

The Department of Dance at Brigham Young University defines dance in three dimensions—the physical, the intellectual, and the spiritual. Dance refines and integrates the body, mind, and spirit in a continual pursuit of excellence.

The Dance Department is committed to preparing reflective, articulate dance artists, teachers, and scholars. Honoring and preserving the past as it gives voice to the present and seeks to define the future, the dance program provides for study, research, experimentation, practice, and the creation and performance of new works.  And, in addition to rigorous preparation in dance, the department has many opportunities for collaborative work with other arts and science disciplines.

The graduate program requires a breadth and depth of inquiry and exploration that extends beyond individual dance genres and styles, encompassing the theory and principles of the discipline. To this end, the graduate program seeks to enhance an undergraduate foundation in dance with the following academic goals: (1) intensify learning in selected areas of emphasis within the dance discipline by providing demanding course work; enhanced creative, pedagogical, and research opportunities; and real-life experiences; (2) foster the development of significant new ideas and creative works through careful research, rigorous intellectual inquiry, and masterful artistic effort; (3) recognize, acknowledge, and preserve our cultural and intellectual heritage; and (4) carefully prepare well-qualified professionals who not only do but also contemplate, comprehend, and articulately express what has been found.

The Department of Dance maintains an average of twenty to twenty-five graduate students. The program is designed to be completed in three or four semesters.

One degree is offered through the Department of Dance: Dance—MA.

Dance—MA

This graduate program provides focus in two areas of emphasis: (1) choreography/performance and (2) pedagogy/
research. Areas of emphasis are determined by elective choices beyond the required core of dance studies.

Admission and Entry.

• Semesters of entry and application deadlines: fall and summer, February 1. By the posted deadline, all parts of the completed application must have been received by the Dance Department Graduate Office. To be complete the application must include all items requested in the application packet provided by the department. Note: Candidates may enter either fall or summer. The fall entry program is designed to be completed in three or four semesters. The “summer only” program is designed to be completed in four summers. Entry into the summer program is offered only in odd-numbered years.
• Prerequisite: baccalaureate degree in dance with knowledge and competency equivalent to that required in the undergraduate program at Brigham Young University; applicants will be required to satisfy deficiencies.
• Application requirement: GPA must be a minimum 3.0 for last 60 hours of undergraduate work.
• Entrance examination: GRE general test. Application will not be considered without GRE scores. Please allow 4-6 weeks after the test date for scores to be received by the Office of Graduate Studies.
• Audition: All applicants except current BYU undergraduate dance majors must audition in person or submit a videotape (or other suitable documentation) demonstrating basic dance competency and proficiency in one or more of the following areas: choreography, performance, pedagogy, research.  Contact the Dance Department for an audition date and/or guidelines for making an audition videotape.

Requirements for Degree—
Choreography/Performance Emphasis

• Credit hours (30): minimum 24 course work hours plus 6 thesis hours (Dance 699R).
• Required courses (15 hours): Dance 540R or 630R (4 hours), 611 (3 hours), 612 (1 hour), courses selected from 640 through 653 (3 hours), courses selected from 660 through 663 (4 hours).
• Dance electives (5 hours): selected from Dance 500R, 540R, 555, 562R, 563R, 599R, 630R, 638R, courses not previously selected from 640 through 653, courses not previously selected from 660 through 663, 695R, 697R.
• Electives (4 hours): selected from graduate courses in any college. For example, anthropology, art, dance, humanities, music, physical education, theatre, or other graduate programs as determined in consultation with graduate committee.
• Completion of at least one advanced ballet or modern technique class during each semester of enrollment (may or may not be part of required or elective courses).
• Successful periodic reviews of progress.
• Formal presentation and documentation of student choreography and/or performance.
• Thesis: includes written and oral presentation of three-chapter thesis prospectus.
• Examinations: (A) comprehensive oral examination on course work; (B) oral defense of thesis.

Requirements for Degree—
Pedagogy/Research Emphasis

• Credit hours (30): minimum 24 course work hours plus 6 thesis hours (Dance 699R).
• Required courses (15 hours): Dance 540R or 630R (4 hours), 611 (3 hours), 612 (1 hour), courses selected from 640 through 653 (3 hours), courses selected from 660 through 663 (4 hours). (Pedagogy emphasis must take 651.)
• Dance electives (5 hours): selected from Dance 500R, 540R, 555, 562R, 563R, 599R, 630R, 638R, courses not previously selected from 640 through 653, courses not previously selected from 660 through 663, 695R, 697R.
• Electives (4 hours): selected from graduate courses in any college. For example, anthropology, art, dance, humanities, music, physical education, theatre, or other graduate programs as determined in consultation with graduate committee.
• Successful periodic reviews of progress.
• Formal written thesis.
• Thesis: includes written and oral presentation of three-chapter thesis prospectus.
• Examinations: (A) comprehensive oral examination on course work; (B) oral defense of thesis.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Substantial financial assistance is available to qualified graduate students in the form of teaching assistantships, research assistantships, choreographic or research internships, and departmental academic or performance scholarships.

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

The Department of Dance is housed in the Richards Building, whose facilities are among the best in the nation. Faculty and dancers have access to eleven fully equipped and air-
conditioned rehearsal studios, two of which convert into dance production studios. Two full-scale theatres in the Harris Fine Arts Center and an additional 10,000 seats in the Marriott Center are available for major concerts given by the Dance Department's world-famous performing groups, The Dancers' Company, Ballroom Dance Company, DanceEnsemble, International Folk Dance Ensemble, and Theatre Ballet, as well as visiting guest artists.

Other resources include: the Biomechanics Laboratory and the Learning Resource Center. In the Biomechanics Lab, special cameras and other equipment, including a neumonic digitizer for quantitative analysis of motion, are available to assist researchers in the analysis of performance in sport and dance from a biomechanical perspective.

The Learning Resource Center contains eighteen individual study areas for graduate students as well as computer, audio, and video equipment to assist them in their work.

Other important resources include:

• Laser disc/computer technology for use in a variety of settings for study and further development.
• Dance conditioning laboratory for use with major body therapies, particularly conditioning with the use of Pilates-based equipment.
• Media Services, accessible by graduate students for teacher assistant instruction and course purposes. (A fee may be assessed for personal use.)
• A sound room for recording and editing.
• Library support for graduate work in dance, with access to over 30 million title records through interlibrary loan with membership in RLIN. Printed and CD-ROM versions of the Dictionary Catalogue of the New York Public Library Dance Collection is available.

For a more detailed description of the graduate program requirements, send for a copy of the department's bulletin.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Class Schedule

500R. Workshop in Dance. (1-3)

Experience with Workshop in Dance: aerobic, ballet, ballroom, folk, modern.

540R. Modern Dance Technique and Theory 5. (2)

Prerequisite: Dance 340R or equivalent.

Advanced technique, with movement combinations emphasizing dance as a performance art.

555. Dance Production. (2)

Prerequisite: Dance 355 or equivalent.

Technical and design aspects of dance production.

562R. Modern Dance Composition, Advanced. (1)

Prerequisite: Dance 362 or instructor's consent.

Development of substantive modern dance compositional works based on intent, form, and content relationships.

563R. Modern Dance Improvisation, Advanced. (1)

Prerequisite: Dance 363 or instructor's consent.

Developing advanced skills of immediate movement response to enhance nonverbal communication.

611. Introduction to Graduate Studies and Research Methods in Dance. (3)

Orientation to program requirements. Fundamental dance research methods and frameworks of analysis. Designing, analyzing, interpreting, critiquing, and reporting on dance research.

612. Master's Thesis Seminar. (1)

Prerequisite: Dance 611.

Guided direction in creation of master's thesis, emphasizing prospectus chapters.

630R. Dance Technique, Advanced. (1-2)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

Course designed for higher-level assignment and credit while attending ballet, ballroom, folk, or modern advanced technique course.

638R. Dance Performance. (1-2)

Prerequisite: instructor's consent.

Performing with a BYU dance company.

640. Creativity. (1)

Relationship of creativity to the discipline of dance.

641. Cultural Aspects of Dance. (1)

Cultural influences upon dance.

642. Current Trends in Dance. (1)

643. Dance Aesthetics. (1)

Aesthetic principles and concepts as they relate specifically to dance as an art form.

650. Dance Criticism. (2)

Introduction to writings of major dance critics, issues in reviewing performances, and practice in writing reviews.

651. Dance Pedagogy. (2)

Prerequisite: undergraduate course in dance methodology or equivalent.

Nature and application of pedagogy from universal and dance perspectives.

652. Exploration of Dance Therapies. (2)

Study of concepts of and approaches in dance therapy and body therapies.

653. Movement Analysis Systems. (2)

Comparison of various systems of analyzing and recording movement. Emphasis on methods of objectifying movement to facilitate qualitative interpretation.

660. Dance Composition—Theory and Principles. (2)

Scholarly research in dance composition.

661. Dance Improvisation—Theory and Principles. (2)

Prerequisite: Dance 451 or equivalent.

Research in dance improvisation.

662. Dance Performance—Theory and Principles. (2)

Research in dance performance.

663. Dance Technique—Theory and Principles. (2)

Research in dance technique.

695R. Dance and Related Fine Arts. (1-4)

Interdisciplinary study integrating dance with art, literature, music, or theatre.

697R. Individual Research and Composition in Dance. (1-4)

Prerequisite: admission to graduate study in dance.

Pedagogical research, choreographic, or performance project (faculty approved and supervised). Presentation of resultant product required.

699R. Master's Thesis. (1-6)

FACULTY 

ALLEN, SANDRA BIRCH, Associate Professor. MFA, University of Utah, 1967. Ballet; Methodology; Technique; History.

BLACK, CATHERINE H., Associate Professor. MFA, University of Utah, 1972. Dance History; Modern Dance; Choreography; Performance; Research Methods.

DAVIS, SUSANNE, Dance Professor. MS, Brigham Young University, 1971. American and Folk Dance Forms; Cultural Aspects; Pedagogy; Anthropology.

DEBENHAM, HADD PATRICK, Associate Professor. MA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1976. Modern Dance; Choreography; Technique; Performance; Musical Dance Theatre, Laban Movement Analysis; Bartenieff Fundamentals.

GIBB, SARA LEE, Professor. MS, Brigham Young University, 1970. Modern Dance; Dance Education; Pedagogy; Dance and Body Therapies.

MUSIL, PAMELA S., Assistant Professor. MA, Brigham Young University, 1985. Modern Dance; Dance Education; Kinesiology;   Technique; Movement Analysis.

PHILLIPS, REBECCA WRIGHT, Assistant Professor. MFA, University of Utah, 1990. Modern Dance; Music Dance Theatre; Technique; Choreography; Performance.

PROHOSKY, CAROLINE, Associate Professor. MA, University of California, Los Angeles, 1980. Modern Dance; Choreography; Technique; Performance.

SOWELL, DEBRA, Adjunct Assistant Professor. PhD, New York University, 1990. Dance Criticism, History, Research Methods.

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