Course Descriptions

This course will introduce students to the field of dance studies as an embodied cultural practice focusing on dance as a function of education, community, cultural knowledge, social justice, equity, history, ritual, and performance. Students will learn how each area can be related to the development and care of the dancer’s mental and physical health.  On completion of this course, students will be prepared to mindfully navigate the dance studies program and their college careers at CSU Channel Islands.

This course focuses on mind-body awareness, kinesthetic intelligence, and psychophysical understanding and functioning through movement learning. The movement practices explored are from the field of dance and Asian Somatic Practices such as yoga and eastern martial arts. Students will develop a personal body practice grounded in awareness of cultural histories and potential ideologies from which one moves, sensitivity to cultural bias and the earth, where we live, where we came from, and our connections to the land and others .

An introduction to Jazz dance practices, history and culture. The course activities will focus on the embodied knowledge and roots of jazz dance from the early 20th century  to the mid 20th century as an African diaspora art form and function of community. Students will examine the transformation of this dance from social/vernacular practice to commoditized spectacle through the history of minstrelsy (the foundation of American entertainment industry), Vaudeville, Broadway, and the Golden Age of Hollywood movie musicals.  We will also focus on the aspects of race, gender, and power that contributed to this process of commodification and appropriation.

An introduction to modern/contemporary dance practices. The course activities will focus on the embodied knowledge and beginnings of modern dance from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. Students will examine the development of this dance form through its many manifestations such as a function of nationalism, social justice, and diplomacy.

An introduction to Hip Hop dance practices, history and culture. The course activities will focus on embodied knowledge of hip hop dance and culture from its emergence in the 1970s in New York City and its development by primarily Black and Latinx diasporic practitioners, with contributions and influences from Asian and Native American cultures/communities. Students will embody and examine the development of Hip Hop dance practices at parties, battles, clubs, and ballrooms. This course will also examine the dissemination, technology, commoditization, and globalization of the form and the aspects of race, gender, sexuality, and power that factor into the growth and proliferation of Hip Hop dance.

Introduces students to analyzing dance through writing and understanding embodied practices through reading. This course considers the ritual, educational, and communicative aspects of dance with special attention to the historical, cultural, and political contexts of major dance movements, artists, and conventions. Requires attending or participating in a dance performance.

This course will explore the various aspects of dance making through community, improvisation, and choreography. Students will explore components of dance as it exists in time and space through effort and energy, and will explore improvisation in group settings as a method of community based dance making. Students will explore various types of performance spaces, but not limited to, from site-specific, the proscenium arch, and virtual space.

This course will prepare transfer-students to broadly apply and investigate the field of dance studies as an embodied cultural practice focusing on dance as a function of education, community, cultural knowledge, social justice, equity, history, ritual, and performance. Students will create plans and pathways regarding each area and how they contribute to the development and care of the dancer’s mental and physical health. On completion of this course, transfer-students will be prepared to mindfully navigate the dance studies program and their college careers at CSU Channel Islands.

This course examines dance in relation to historical, social, and political influences; the effects of migration, colonization, and forced migration. Includes dance as community, social, educational, and cultural practice, as well as in performance. Dance in history is contextualized within multicultural perspectives.

As a curriculum and a philosophy, this course will connect the cognitive, social, and emotional, aspects of how children learn. Students taking this course will be informed of  the expectations set by the common core (VAPA) standards in the state of California for teaching dance in K-12 education. Students will achieve literacy in the artistic, cultural, and socio-political field of dance, focusing on specific content knowledge, codified dance terminology, practical skills, and values to achieve fluency and alignment with the state standards and the “CSET” in dance which is based on the state standards. Dance students interested in securing a teaching credential in the state of California will benefit from taking this course.Students will explore ways to harness the inherent body knowledge and imagination children possess so that they may cultivate a love of learning and confidence that comes through the study of dance in education.

An immersion and progression into Jazz dance practices, history and culture. The course activities will focus on the embodied knowledge and roots of jazz dance as they transformed in the mid 20th century to late 20th century as an African diaspora art form. Students will examine how the end of the golden age of musicals (1943-1965), the invention of television, changing popular music styles, and how social movements impact the development and practice of jazz dance. We will also focus on the aspects of race, gender, and power that contributed to this process of development, commodification, and appropriation.

An immersion into modern/contemporary dance practices. The course activities will focus on the embodied knowledge and development of modern dance from the mid 20th century to the late 20th century.  Students will examine the development of modern/contemporary dance as a function of diplomacy, protest, spectacle, anti-spectacle, and its growth because of technological developments.

An immersion into the continued development of Hip Hop dance practices, history and culture. The course activities will focus on the embodied knowledge of Hip Hop dance and culture from the late 90s to the early 21st century. We will continue to recognize from where and what conditions (racial, ethnic, class, gender, sexuality) specific styles of hip hop dance emerge across the United States. Students will also examine how these dance styles evolved as a global phenomenon through emerging technology. 

Immersion into the embodied practice of various dance forms and cultures across the globe, ranging from indigenous to contemporary. Dance forms will be explored through appropriate lenses of indigeneity, identity, race, racism, racialization, racial stratification, white supremacy, ethnicity, ethnocentrism, Eurocentrism, colonialism, decolonization, enslavement, genocide, diasporic communities, equity, indigenous sovereignty, resistance, and liberation.

This course will prepare students for various careers in dance upon graduation. Students will build their digital portfolios, social media presence, and connect with professionals in various facets of dance. Students will learn grant writing, resume building, video/reel building and editing. Students will participate and create mock auditions and various practice-based scenarios in community, education, and performance. 

A critical inquiry into research methods employed in dance studies, making, and practice. Students will bring their collective experiences of studio practice, dance making, analysis and writing into an interrelated practice of critical inquiry and development of both written and embodied works. Additional research methods as they are applied to dance such as oral history, archival methods, metadata, etc. will be explored. This course will also prepare students for their Capstone in Dance.

A course for students to develop dance projects within the community. Projects can be, but not exclusively, teaching dance to children, holding dance practice in the community, creating dance performances with and for the community.

An advanced exploration of Jazz dance practices, history and culture. The course activities will focus on the embodied knowledge and roots of jazz dance as they transformed in the late 20th century to the present from its roots in the African diaspora transformed by popular culture, technology, and the effects of capitalism. Students will examine how the AIDS crisis, exponential growth of studio competitions, the rise of hip hop, rapidly changing technology, and social media impact the development and practice of jazz dance. We will also focus on the aspects of race, gender, and power that contributed to this process of development, commodification, and appropriation.

An advanced progression into modern/contemporary dance practices. The course activities will focus on the embodied knowledge and development of modern dance from the late 20th century to the present. Students will examine the development of modern/contemporary dance as technology, social media, reality television dance, social movements, and the continued push towards innovation continues to morph, expand, and change perceptions of the form.

An advanced progression of hip hop dance practices, history and culture. The course activities will focus on the students’ ability to “get open,” or in other words achieve an improvisational flow state in their dance practice that requires fluency in one or more hip hop dance styles. Students will embody and examine hip hop dance as a global phenomenon, catalyst and carrier of social justice movements, and its inclusion as a competitive sport in the Olympics. The course will examine aspects of race, gender, sexuality, and power that factor into the growth, commoditization, and ubiquity of hip hop dance.

A course to develop various types of dance performances.  These can range from site-specific, staged, community, and virtual events. Students can participate in a range of roles from performer, dance-maker, costumes, production, and archivist, etc.

Research project that is community, performance, archival, analytical, or critical inquiry in the Dance Studies discipline.

Performing, designing, implementing technical projects, or assisting in a CSU Channel Island Performing Arts production. Topics vary by semester and section and may focus on dance, music, or theatre, or integrate multiple performing and visual arts.