Senior Dance Seminar / Dance 399

Fall 2012



Dance Department
St. Olaf College

á      Credit: 1.00

á      Schedule: T 9:35-11:00 / Th 9:30-10:50 / DC 204 Seminar Room

á      Faculty: Anthony Roberts

á      Phone: x3622 / 507-301-1959

á      Email: awr

á      Office: DC 327 / Hours: T: 1-2pm or by appointment

á      Class Alias: dance-399

 

Course Description:

            Senior Dance Seminar is the required capstone course of the dance major.  In this course you will prepare, develop, and execute your final senior dance project in your individual area of specialty.  You will also continue to prepare for a career in dance and related fields by discussing, creating and revising material relevant to the ÒbusinessÓ of dance: goal setting; professional correspondence documents (rŽsumŽ, cover letter, etc.); interviewing techniques; applying for graduate school; video sample creation, etc.  Student and instructor initiated discussion topics will explore the role and function of dance in your life and ways that you may participate. 

 

Course Goals/Objectives:

To provide support and mentorship in an academically rigorous environment during the:

1. Continuing examination and synthesis of your dance experience at St. Olaf in the context of your liberal arts experience at the College.

2. Conception, creative process, and presentation of your Senior Dance Capstone Project.

3. Continued exploration of dance related topics.

4. Development of ideas and skills in recognizing and achieving your career goals.

 

Assignments:

o   Convene & meet with Senor Dance Project Committee

o   Create, organize and complete all work associated with individual Senior Dance Capstone Project (including committee work associated with production, promotion, funding, etc.)

o   Professional Correspondence (Business of Dance/Career) Documents

o   Practice Interview with CEL career counselor

o   Weekly readings, responses & discussion of The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

o   Outside of class meetings with Kyle Carson, Dance Technical Director concerning technical aspects of senior dance projects

o   Lead seminar discussion of individually selected research topic

o   Assemble video source material (choreograph, performance, etc.) & create work sample DVD

 

Resources:

            Required Text:

                        The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp

Required Materials:

¤  External storage device for your video sample media (WD My Book Studio, for example)

¤  Blank Media for video work sample/reel:

¬       Blank DVD/s (may be purchased from the Dance Department for $0.50 each)

¬       and/or Blank mini-dv tape/s for video work sample (may be purchased from the Dance Department for $5.00 each).

 

Written Assignment Submission Guidelines:

á       Assignment File Submission: Submit or upload your assignments online using Moodle (http://moodle-2012-13.stolaf.edu/). There may be variations in exactly ÔhowÕ assignments are submitted (file upload, entering text online, etc.), so please pay attention to the specifics of each assignment.

á       Microsoft Word: Unless specified otherwise, all written assignments should be completed in Microsoft Word, double-spaced and checked for correct grammar and spelling. ALL electronic assignment files should follow the correct naming scheme specified below.

á       Assignment Inclusions: Include in your written paper:

o   your first and last names.

o   the name and section of the course in which you are enrolled.

o   the name/title of the assignment.

á       Assignment Length: Papers should address the requirements of the assignment thoughtfully and concisely. Unless specified otherwise, there is no required number of pages for written assignments.

á       Naming Scheme for Your Assignments: Unless specified otherwise, you are asked to follow a very specific naming scheme for your assignments. This process is in place to assist me with efficient file management of your assignments.

o   YourLastName_FirstInitialOfYourFirstName_AssignmentName_CourseNumberAndSection.docx

o  For example, my file for the reading assignment for chapters 1-2 of the Tharp text would have the following name: roberts-a-tharp-1-2-dance-399.docx.

o   Any assignments failing to follow the correct naming scheme must be resubmitted correctly to receive credit for the assignment. This may result in a late assignment, which will result in a 50% reduction in grade. So, I advise you to do it right the first time.

á       Late Assignments:

o   1 day late will receive only 50% credit.

o   2-3 days late will receive only 25% credit.

o   Over 3 days late will receive zero credit.

 

Course Requirements and Grading Criteria:

Senior Project: 70%

See the senior project guidelines

 

Class Participation: 15%

            Being a fully engaged member of the dance senior seminar community.

¤  Being in attendance, on time and fully prepared for all class meetings.

¤  Completing with curiosity, thoughtfulness, thoroughness and submitting with timeliness all course-related readings, assignments, committee responsibilities, etc.

¤  Being prepared for and participating fully (contributing your thoughtful point of view) in all class discussions.

¤  Engaging thoughtfully in peer review and discussion of senior project pieces.

 

Career Planning: 5%

¤  Completing and submitting all professional correspondence material.

¤  Completing practice interview with a CEL career counselor.

 

Student Led Seminar Discussion: 5%

You will lead the class in a discussion on a dance topic of your choice.  This discussion assignment includes:

¤  The preliminary research and selection of a dance topic that is relevant to your interests and/or career goals in the dance field.

¤  In depth research of the dance topic you ultimately decide to discuss.

¤  The distribution by the discussion leader of a minimum of two readings for the class to read and ponder.

¤  The creation and distribution of three thought-provoking questions relevant to your discussion for the class to consider.

¤  Your presentation should be 20 minutes in length.

¤  More detailed information will be given out as the semester continues. 

           

Video Work Sample / Source Material: 5%

You will create a video work sample/s that will include complete and excerpted dances, which you performed, choreographed, or directed during your years of dance at St. Olaf, using the DC 116 (design studio) computers. More information is available on Moodle.

 

Grade and Marking System for St. Olaf College:

http://www.stolaf.edu/catalog/academicregs/counting-courses.html
 2012 Senior Dance Seminar Weekly Summary (Subject to Change)

 

 

3 September - 9 September

 

Thurs, 9/06

 

Fri, 9/07


Reminder: 

á       Sat, 9/29 - 8:30am – 2pm Conversations with St. Olaf College Arts Alums and Guests

 

10 September - 16 September

 

Mon, 9/10


Tues, 9/11


Reminder:


Thurs, 9/13

 

Reminder:

á       Sat, 9/29 - 8:30am – 2pm Conversations with St. Olaf College Arts Alums and Guests

 

17 September - 23 September

 

Tues, 9/18

á       In class conversations on Goal Setting and Professional Correspondence with Kirsten Cahoon, Senior Associate Director, Career Connections, Center for Vocation and Career (CVC) (9:40- 10:55am)

 

Thurs, 9/20

á       In class conversations on Interviewing Skills/Graduate School Application Process with Kirsten Cahoon, Senior Associate Director, Career Connections, Center for Vocation and Career (CVC) (9:40- 10:45am)

5:45pm: Dance Majors dinner and meeting - Dittmann main floor lobby

 

Reminder:

á       Sat, 9/29 - 8:30am – 2pm Conversations with St. Olaf College Arts Alums and Guests

 

24 September - 30 September

 

Tues, 9/25

 

Thurs, 9/27

 

Sat, 9/29


Reminder:

á       Monday, 10/01

á       1st draft of the artist statement for choreography and performance projects and written material for written thesis and combination projects due to committee members.

á       Tuesday, 10/02

á       The Creative Habit (* for next class, read chapters 7 & 8 and complete assignments for discussion/submission)

 

1 October - 7 October

Tues, 10/02


Thurs, 10/04

á       Class time to work on:

á       Research on student discussion

á       Development of professional correspondence documents.


Reminder:

á       The Creative Habit (* for next class, read chapters 9 & 10 and complete assignments for discussion/submission)

á       Professional Correspondence Documents

á       Have CEL Peer Advisor review professional correspondence documents (resume and cover letter)

á       Due Thurs, 10/11:

á       First Draft (Proofed by Peer Counselor) of Professional Correspondence Documents (Moodle submission)

á       Marked up hard copy of Professional Correspondence Documents handed in during class

 

8 October - 14 October


Mon, 10/08

 

Tues, 10/09


Thurs, 10/11

Reminder:

 

 

15 October - 21 October


Tues, 10/16


Thurs, 10/18


Reminder:

 

22 October - 28 October

 

Tues, 10/23


Thurs, 10/25

 

Reminder:

 

29 October - 4 November


Mon, 10/29


Tues, 10/30


Thurs, 11/01

 

Fri, 11/02


Reminder:

 

5 November - 11 November


Tues, 11/08


Thurs, 11/10


Reminder:

 

12 November - 18 November

 

Mon, 11/12


Tues, 11/13


Thurs, 11/15


Reminder:

 

19 November - 25 November

 

Tues, 11/20



Thurs, 11/22

 

26 November - 2 December

 

Tues, 11/27


Thurs, 11/29


Reminder:

 

3 December - 9 December

 

Tues, 12/4


Thurs, 12/06


Fri, 12/07


Sat, 12/08

 

10 December - 16 December

 

Tues, 12/11

 

Thurs, 12/13 -- Tues, 12/18

á      Final Committee Meeting:

o   All Senior Dance Seminar students should schedule and convene a final meeting with his or her senior project committee during final exams week (12/13-12/18).

 

Mon, 12/17

 

By Tues, 12/18

á      The lead faculty committee member emails a summary of the final assessment comments and the final grade to the senior student and the instructor of dance-399 (Anthony Roberts / mailto:awr@stolaf.edu) by 12/18/12.