Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Spring Dance Concert

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

The Alexander Technique Applied To Dance And The Choreographic Process: Freeing Physical Expression From Trauma-Based Tension, Julia Johnston

Senior Honors Theses

Ballet, contemporary, and modern dancers have expressed incurring trauma during their training and professional dance experiences; in a 2020 survey, 41% of professional dancers and 30% of ballet students reported experiencing or witnessing sexually inappropriate behavior in their respective workplaces and schools (DDP). This is just one example of a potential source of trauma for dancers. The physiological effects of trauma cause physical effects, creating tension in a dancer’s body. Dance relies on physical expression, the expression of thought and feeling through movement, to connect with the audience. Trauma-based tension inhibits a dancer’s range of physical expression and connection to …

...The End (April 18, 20, 2024), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs

Event program for ...The End (April 18, 20, 2024), Lindenwood University.

The Beginning Of... (April 17, 19, 2024), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs

Event program for The Beginning of... (April 17, 19, 2024), Lindenwood University.

Exploring The Stereotypes Of Gender And Sexuality In Ballet And Its Impact On The Dance Community, Ava Jackson

Audre Lorde Writing Prize

Ballet has been deemed a feminine sport for hundreds of years. The famous words of choreographer George Balanchine, “Ballet is Woman,” remind us of this. While some may see classical ballet as a feminized birthplace of dance for queer men and women, the art form as a whole denies more flexible roles of masculinity. For men, the majority of roles are limited to strong princes, played by cis-gender men who fit the model of hegemonic masculinity. Dance is not exempt from oppression with intersectionality between dancers. An intersectional approach is imperative for understanding the exclusion dancers face, by challenging these …

Concert Intime

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Works In Progress

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Winter Dance Concert (January 25-27, 2024), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs

Event program for the Winter Dance Concert (January 25-27, 2024).

Doing The Nutbush: How Australia Got Its Very Own Line Dance, Panizza Allmark, Jon Stratton

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The Nutbush dance is unique to Australia. It is danced to the Ike and Tina Turner track Nutbush City Limits released in 1973. It is a line dance. Anybody can join the line. This article explores the history and reception of the Nutbush. The Nutbush seems have been developed around 1975 in Sydney as a part of modernizing the physical education and creative arts curricula for state primary and secondary schools. The Nutbush is relatively simple and is danced on the beat, a characteristic of dancing to rock music. Nutbush City Limits has a driving beat. This is no doubt …

Fall Faculty Dance Concert

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Fall Dance Concert (November 9-11, 2023), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs

Event program for the Fall Dance Concert (November 9-11, 2023).

Masters At Chapman, Julianne O'Brien, Ido Tadmor, Dwight Roden

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

All Write Already! Writing Across Curricula: An Instructional Tool In Theater And Dance, Lezlie R. Christian

Masters Theses

Whether it was to clean the barracks or check for foreign objects on the flight line, “All-hand-on-deck!” applied to every breathing body on the ship or in the building; rank did not matter. The same concept should apply to all teachers with writing, elective teachers included. To increase literacy and writing in our schools, all-hands-on-deck is necessary. Professional development on how to insert writing can help. If our young scholars are to be effective communicators, literacy in the arts can help. Do not view writing as an enemy, additional content you must teach. Work it as a tool. This project, …

Spring Dance Concert, Jennifer Backhaus, Liz Curtis

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Tap Musicians: Exploring The Use Of Tap Dance As An Instrument Through The Lens Of Notation, Kurt Horney, Kaia Goddard

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Known to very few, there is a written notation for tap dance: Kahnotation. Our research explores the integration of Kahnotation with musical notation. Tap dance is considered to be a performing art rather than a musical instrument. Our goal for this research is to develop a musical notation, derived from Kahnotation, that uses the bass clef and treble clef to incorporate tap as an instrument into a musical score. Multiple versions of tap notation exist; however, one universal form has yet to be codified within the performing arts industry. Synthesizing previous tap notations (that focus on movement patterns) and recalibrating …

Frameworks Concert, Amanda Kay White

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Navigating Gifted Pathways, Ashley Rosenthal

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Programs for gifted students have been used to identify and advance youth who show talent and academic potential in their academics for years. These programs separate the course load for gifted students from the typical education of their peers and allow them to further explore knowledge with advanced and accelerated work programs that manage the pace, content, and applications of their intelligence and talents. This research project investigates what it means to be a gifted student, how these students are identified, what the mental health trends of burnout are, the social-emotional relationships between peers, and how gifted students later bridge …

From Raqs Sharqi To Belly Dance: The Influence Of Western Cultural Values On A Middle Eastern Dance Form, Molly Talbot

Dance Department Best Student Papers

This paper examines the history and development of two Middle Eastern movement forms, raqs sharqi and belly dance, through an analytic lens of Western cultural influence. Raqs sharqi originated around 5500 b.c. and holds strong cultural values in honoring female rites of passage. During Napoleon's occupation of Cairo in the late 18th and early 19th century, raqs sharqi performers split into two paths. Some performers appealed to new norms imposed by French spectators while others refused such norms and removed themselves from the scene to create various movement subcultures. This rift began a theme in belly dance history of subjection …

La Botella Balzarotti Y La Danza De Los Guerreros Moche: Breve Ensayo Iconográfico En Honor De Victòria Solanilla, Carolina Orsini

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

Un pequeño número de vasos de la cultura Moche (costa norte de Perú, 0-600 d.C.) representan figuras danzantes con pintura de líneas finas. En este breve ensayo se presenta una pieza inédita con este tipo de decoración, la botella Balzarotti. Revisando el repertorio iconográfico de esta pieza, avanzo algunas hipótesis sobre la ocasión de las danzas representadas y los contextos de producción y utilización de este tipo de botellas.

A small number of vessels from the Moche culture (northern coast of Peru, 0-600 A.D.) represent dancing figures with the fine line painting technique. This brief essay presents an unpublished piece …

Examination Of The Cumulative Risk Assessment And Nutritional Profiles Among College Ballet Dancers, Kenya Moore, Nancy A. Uriegas, Jessica Pia, Dawn M. Emerson, Kelly Pritchett, Toni M. Torres-Mcgehee

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

This study examined female collegiate ballet dancers’ (n = 28) Female Athlete Triad (Triad) risk via the Cumulative Risk Assessment (CRA) and nutritional profiles (macro- and micronutrients; n = 26). The CRA identified Triad return to play criteria (RTP: Full Clearance, Provisional Clearance, or Restricted/Medical Disqualified) by assessing eating disorder risk, low energy availability, menstrual cycle dysfunction, and low bone mineral density. Seven-day dietary assessments identified any energy imbalances of macro- and micronutrients. Ballet dancers were identified as low, within normal, or high for each of the 19 nutrients assessed. Basic descriptive statistics assessed CRA risk classification and dietary macro- …

Works In Progress, Robin Kish, Julianne O'Brien, Tomas Tamayo, Amanda Kay White

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Jane Baas: Student To Professor, A Career Dancing On East Campus, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Professor Emerita and WMU Alum Jane Baas meets with Cassie Kotrch via Zoom to share stories and memories of her time as a student, professor, and dean at WMU, specifically teaching while Dance occupied portions of East Campus.

The Reality Of Bipolar Disorder: A Dance Film To Bring Awareness To The Misconceptions Of Mental Health, Julia Woolums

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

For my project, I researched bipolar disorder to create a dance film highlighting the associated symptoms and emotions of hypomanic and depressive episodes. The purpose of this research is to bring awareness to and educate on the reality of these mental health symptoms to reduce mental health stereotypes and stigma. I researched academic texts and peer-reviewed articles about bipolar disorder written from the perspective of those diagnosed with it and used the symptom criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to compose, choreograph, film, and edit my dance film. The completed film showcases what daily life could …

Investigating Pre-Professional Dancer Health Status And Preventative Health Knowledge, Joanna Nicholas, Sara Grafenauer

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Introduction: Dance is a highly demanding physical pursuit coupled with pressure to conform to aesthetic ideals. Assessment of health status and preventative health knowledge of pre-professional dancers may help inform educational strategies promoting dancers’ health and career longevity. The aim of this research was to establish a baseline understanding of dance students at a single pre-professional institution based on metrics focused on current health, nutrition, lifestyle, and wellbeing while also gauging knowledge of longer-term health implications. Methods: Adopting a cross-sectional study design, the Dance-Specific Energy Availability Questionnaire was tailored for Australian participants and administered online. Results: The response rate was …

Ritual, Spectacle, And Theatre In Late Medieval Seville (Chapter 1), Christopher B. Swift

Publications and Research

From the fall of Islamic Išbīliya in 1248 to the conquest of the New World, Seville was a nexus of economic and religious power where interconfessional living among Christians, Jews, and Muslims was negotiated on public stages. From out of seemingly irreconcilable ideologies of faith, hybrid performance culture emerged in spectacles of miraculous transformation, disciplinary processionals, and representations of religious identity. Ritual, Spectacle, and Theatre in Late Medieval Seville reinvigorates the study of medieval Iberian theater by revealing the ways in which public expressions of devotion, penance, and power fostered cultural reciprocity, rehearsed religious difference, and ultimately helped establish Seville …

Feminist Modernist Dance, Part Ii, Melissa Bradshaw, Jessica Ray Herzogenrath

English: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In late July of 1959 Chicago dance writer Ann Barzel went to Cuba. The successful revolution led by Fidel Castro to overthrow the military dictatorship of Cuban president Fulgencio Batista had happened a little over six months earlier, and relations with the United States, while not comfortable, were still imaginable. Barzel came at the invitation of her friends, the ballet dancers Alicia and Fernando Alonso, to act as a member of the selection board for auditions for the Ballet Alicia Alonso. Founded in 1948, Ballet Alicia Alonso was Cuba’s first professional ballet company (it would later become the Ballet Nacional …

2022 Bfa Dance Showcase

Dance Programs

No abstract provided.

Communicating Climate Change Through Dance, Alexandra M. Ryan

Honors College

The purpose of this thesis is to study how viewers react to seeing climate issues communicated through dance. Past research states that an effective climate communicator is not necessarily an expert, but a person who uses their platform to create a dialogue, and encourages public engagement with climate change by making the issues interesting and appealing to viewers. With this criterion in mind, three short dance videos were made surrounding three relevant climate issues. Along with climate topic inspired choreography, these videos contained written information regarding coral bleaching, air travel emissions, and renewable energy. These videos were posted to the …

My Dance Of Life: Teshuvah, Sarah Meyer-Waldo

Honors College

This project resulted in a book of poetry divided into three sections. Each section is accompanied by a video of original choreographic work; each choreographic work is set to one of the original poems from each section. The question proposed for this project is, how can I act on my insights, reflections, and thoughts as I move through life, in order to engage more fully with my own mental/conscious experience?

Therefore, the purpose of this project is to explore how utilizing poetry and dance to engage with my mental landscape might be a means to catharsis, for full self- expression …

The Effect Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Collegiate Dance Majors At Pace University, Taylor Kurtz

Honors College Theses

This thesis will explore the various adaptations dance majors at Pace University were required to make to their training during the shift to remote learning due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, beginning in March of 2020. Prior to universities moving to a completely remote learning environment as a result of COVID-19, collegiate-level dance had never been taught through an online platform. Because of this, dancers needed to shift the way in which they were training for this extended period of time. To begin my research on this topic, I first collected various scholarly articles and journal entries that related to the …