Gwybodaeth Modiwlau

Module Identifier

TP20920

Module Title

THE BODY IN 20TH CENTURY DANCE AND THEATRE

Academic Year

2010/2011

Co-ordinator

Dr Sabine Sorgel

Semester

Semester 2

Course Delivery

Delivery Type	Delivery length / details
Lecture	5 x 2 hour Lecture/Workshops
Seminars / Tutorials	5 x 2 hour Seminar/Workshops

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment length / details	Proportion
Semester Assessment	Essay (2500 words)	50%
Semester Assessment	Group Presentation and Documentation	50%
Supplementary Assessment	Essay (2500 words)	50%
Supplementary Assessment	Presentation plan and essay (1500 words)	50%

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

1. To display critical understanding of the relevance of theatre and dance practice to the discursive formation of corporeality in the 20th century.

2. To organize and present informed and original arguments reflecting research and independent thought in the subject area of the course.

3. To demonstrate critical awareness of current socio-cultural debates on corporeality, identity and embodiment as they relate to discursive formation in 20th century theatre and dance practices.

4. To co-operate as part of a group in presenting a w0 minute performance.

Aims

This restructured module will be offered as part of a suite of Year 2, 20-credit critical practice options in the Department's revised Part 2 provision. It may be taken by students registered for any of the Theatre Curriculum Group schemes depending on the specification of their degrees scheme pathway.

The module encourages students to undertake critical readings of key theoretical texts from Antonin Artaud to Richard Schechner as well as performance texts by major 20th century theatre directors and dance choreographers from Martha Graham to Merce Cunningham in comparison to changing perspectives on the body and corporeality.

Content

Provisional schedule of lectures:

1. Theatre and Embodiment
2. Corporeality in the Writings of Antonin Artaud
3. Theatre of Cruelty in Performance: Peter Brook: Marat Sade
4. Sasha Waltz
5. Environmental Theatre: Richard Schechner: Dionysos 69
6. The Body in Modern Dance: Phenomenolgical Readings of the Body
7. Constructing Archetype and The Collective Unconscious: Martha Graham: Night Journey
8. Deconstructing the Anthropological Paradigm: Merce Cunningham: Walkaround Time
9. Feminist Interventions: Pina Bausch: Blaubart
10. Racial Deconstrucions beyond the Color Line: Bill T. Jones: Dancing to the Promised Land, Three Solos

Brief description

This is a course of directed reading, video/dvd-based performance analysis and weekly discussions. Students will be challenged to research the interrelationship between theatre practice, avant-garde aesthetics and cultural theories of the body as they investigate the interrelationship between dance and theatre performance and choreography. Among the recurring themes of the module will be the following: the body and performativity, social habitus and performance practice, corporeality and aesthetics, media and the body, space and choreography, phenomenological analysis and kinaesthetics.

Module Skills

Skills Type	Skills details
Application of Number
Communication	. Students' oral and written communication skills will be developed (e.g. appropriate language and style, accuracy, precision and ability to be concise). . Opportunities will be given through interactive lecture-demonstration and discussion sessions for students to display confidence in using their speaking and listening skills when communicating their ideas. . Students will be required to present an oral report which will be encouraged to make use of audio-visual support as well as verbal communication skills.
Improving own Learning and Performance	. Students will be able to develop their skills of information location, bibliographic resources and interdisciplinary research methodology . Students will be given opportunity to expand on their effective note-taking skills . Students will develop the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate and integrate knowledge and understanding gained from lectures, dramatix texts as well as performance analysis as to encourage new ideas . Students will be given opportunity to design small-scale independent research projects and topics
Information Technology	. Students will be given the opportunity to develop their authorial and note-taking skills during lecture-demonstrations and in preparation of the oral and written assignments. . Students will be given opportunities to develop their skills using the CPR archive's audio-visual resources, electronic databases and retrieval of sources both on the web and on the UWS LIS. . Students will develop their skills when referencing from the web and related sources, whilst the ability to evaluate (not describe) and ability to be selective in using these materials are also essential key skills. . E-Mail and Blackboard will be major forms of communication and information-sharing in this module and students will be given the assignment to actively engage in these processes by contributing their work to the online forum. . The Department stipulates that students must present all of their written assignments in type-script and according to MLA-Style Guide. They must, therefore, acquire basic word
Personal Development and Career planning	. Students will be given the opportunity to evaluate current knowledge and skills and set targets for self-improvement. . Students will be encouraged to take increasing responsibility for managing their own learning. . Students will be encouraged to build upon the knowledge gained from lectures through developing skills in self study (supported by the general and specific reading lists and other resources distributed throughout the module)
Problem solving	. Problem identification and analysis, particularly when exploring theatre and performance research from a theatre/dance focused comparative perspective on corporeality and the body . Ability to choose from a variety of related source materials as well as organize and critically assess research material from an interdisciplinary perspective. . Skill to evaluate methodological choices and approaches when using interdisciplinary sources.
Research skills	. Students will be able to develop their skills of information location, bibliographic databases and interdisciplinary research methodology. . Students will be given opportunity to expand on their effective note-taking skills. . Students will develop the ability to analyze, interpret, evaluate and integrate knowledge and understanding gained from lectures, dramatix text as well as performance analysis as to encourage new ideas. . Students will be given opportunity to design small-scale independent research projects and topics.
Subject Specific Skills	See QAA Dance, Drama and Performance Subject Benchmark Statement (Version 2007). The following subject specific skills are developed and partly assessed: describing, theorising, interpreting and evaluating performance texts and performance events from a range of critical perspectives. Reading the performance possibilities implied by a script, score and other textual or documentary sources Contributing to the production of performance and/or film and/or television, for example, through direction, choreography, dramaturgy, stage management, scenography, sound and lighting production, editing, promotion, administration and funding. Using performance techniques associated with particular cultural forms and/or practitioners. Engaging in research, whether independent, group or performance-based. Identifying and interpreting the cultural frameworks which surround performance events and on which these events impinge, and taking these into account in creating and/or interpreting performance
Team work	. Team work will be developed in preparation for the oral report as well as through interactive lecture and seminar participation . Group/work and seminar collaboration will empower the student to develop their team-working and leadership skills

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 5