WesMaps - Wesleyan University Catalog 2011-2012       Summer Session       Winter Session       Home       Archive       Search
CS92PROD
Bharata Natyam I: Introduction of South Indian Classical Dance

DANC 261
Spring 2012
Section: 01  
This course may be repeated for credit.
Certificates: South Asian Studies

This course is designed to introduce students to the fundamental aesthetic, social, and technical principles underscoring the culture of Bharata Natyam dance in its both indigenous and modern contexts. The course introduces students to Bharata Natyam largely through classroom practice (in the form of rhythmic and interpretive exercises), supplemented by brief lectures outlining the sociohistorical and cultural contexts of the form. Class lectures will also include video presentations. Occasionally the class could include a guest lecture given by either a visiting scholar, dancer, or choreographer respected in the field of South Asian dance internationally.

Essential Capabilities: Intercultural Literacy, Interpretation
This course focuses on the ability of students to understand, evaluate, and contextualize this culture specific dance form in a contemporary manner as it pertains to their individual context (both cultural and academic). This interpretative skill is embodied thru the students' physical vocabulary and a visceral and scholarly response to the technical grammar of the dance. In addition to this, decoding the historical complexities of the form plays a significant part in the students' education. The course also invites the students to see another perspective of world culture and to be able to contexualize cultural norms and stereotypes using this new framework as a gauge and not pandering to pre-conceived paradigms of dance, culture and cultural studies.
Credit: .5 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA DANC
Course Format: StudioGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Requirement for: (DANC-MN)(DANC)(GSAS-MN)(GSAS)
Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available

Last Updated on NOV-24-2024
Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions. Please include a url, course title, faculty name or other page reference in your email ? Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459