Dance Commons^™

Deaf Inclusion And Accessibility In The Dance Field, Samantha M. Doyle, Caroline S. Clark

Symposium of Student Scholars

Over the past ten years, the dance field in the United States has shifted towards practicing diversity and inclusion. However, there are still underrepresented groups in dance, such as the Deaf community. There is a current lack of pedagogical content to help dance teachers and choreographers be inclusive to Deaf dancers. This research addresses the gap by discussing issues and access for Deaf and hard-of-hearing (HOH) dancers in the dance classroom and on stage. To do so, I present a literature review and analysis of current scholarship with a goal of bringing awareness to the current lack of accessibility to …

Addressing The Lack Of Availability In Diverse Skin Tone Options For Performance Fabric, Jessica Batey

Honors College Theses

The following research addresses the lack of availability in diverse skin tone options for performance fabric. The project will discuss the struggles people of color face when finding fabrics that accurately match their skin tone and the difficulties in sourcing the materials needed to successfully design a garment. The research gathered will be used to produce a collection of 4 looks using nude mesh fabrics that are readily available to the average consumer. The garments within the collection will be designed to match the skin color of 4 models. The collection’s theme will be based around the 4 cardinal witches …

Fall Dance Concert (November 11-13, 2021), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs & Brochures

Program for the Fall Dance Concert (November 11-13, 2021).

The Women Of Lockerbie

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University's performance of The Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort..

Performed October 29-31 & November 5-7, 2021 at the Mitchell Theatre.

The Women of Lockerbie is a poignant drama inspired by the real-life aftermath of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The play follows a grieving mother from New Jersey who roams the hills of Lockerbie, searching for her son's remains. She encounters the women of Lockerbie, who are fighting the U.S. government to retrieve the clothing of the victims found in the wreckage. These women aim to wash the clothes …

Integrating Dance And Language Education: A Pedagogical Epiphany, Nan Zhang, Jane Southcott, Maria Gindidis

The Qualitative Report

Dance fulfils several educational purposes, particularly in the context of second language teaching and learning. Nevertheless, challenges to implementing dance as an approach to teach and learn a second language do exist. For teachers, it is essential to develop varied pedagogical approaches to suit different student cohorts. But it is not reasonable to expect that every language teacher is a born expert and connoisseur of dance or every dance teacher a born expert and connoisseur of the target language. Moreover, we have not seen studies focus on the development of the pedagogy of using dance as an approach for teaching …

Kinetic Meditative Experimental Drawing, Julie Lord, Elizabeth Adams Thomas, Chai Avery

P-12 Lesson Plans

This lesson for high school students provides an opportunity to make a work of art without a preconceived plan by using their bodies and spontaneous movements to control mark-making. Symmetry is explored along with the art of Heather Hansen and Tony Orrico.

Limbo, André Williams '15, Veronica Pejril

President Lori S. White Inauguration Symposium

"'Limbo' was based on what it might be like to wake up in limbo. But now I'm not so sure it's quite that simple. I hope that in "Limbo" you might also go on a journey of acceptance of fate, or maybe even destiny." - André Williams, ‘15, Choreographer

A Gentleman's Guide To Love And Murder, Otterbein Theatre And Dance Department

2021-2022 Season Production

Join us as we celebrate a return to live theater with a very special staged concert version of the show that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020. While we are unable to fully realize the elaborate design of this hilarious knock-em-dead musical romp, the script will be performed in full with much of the original cast, and you will not leave without having a hearty laugh. Poor, low-born Monty Navarro is desperate to inherit the dukedom by surpassing no fewer than eight members of the well-to-do D’Ysquith family in line before him. Just wait until …

Borrowed Babies

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University's performance of Borrowed Babies by Jennifer Blackmer.

Performed September 10-12, 2021 at the Mitchell Theatre.

Borrowed Babies is a play by Jennifer Blackmer that delves into the historical practice of university "practice houses" for home economics students. The story follows Judy London, a Professor of Home Economics, who encounters one of her former "practice babies" as she nears the end of her career. This meeting prompts Judy to reflect on her life's journey and the sacrifices she has made. The play explores the evolving roles of women and mothers in American society over the past …

Cota Collaborations: Towards Interdisciplinary Projects In The College Of The Arts, Sarah Joseph

Symposium of Student Scholars

The College of the Arts at KSU is comprised of four departments that offer unparalleled education, artistry, and production. However, they are often function separately from each other. This paper outlines a vision of future collaborations for the college, recommending possible projects to collectively strengthen each of the departments. My research was conducted in a Senior Seminar course, including interviews and survey work within the college. It also stems from my own cross-disciplinary experience as Theatre major and Music minor. Ultimately, the paper will argue that both smaller level (student-lead) and larger level (COTA-lead) are desired and would benefit students …

Stepping Back In Time: Dance In 45 Plays For 45 Presidents, Antwanera Braxton

Symposium of Student Scholars

Stepping Back in Time: Dance in 45 Plays for 45 Presidents

Dances that are specific to their time period, like the minuet, which appears in the play 45 Plays for 45 Presidents, need to be supported with extensive research to ensure that their authenticity is preserved in performance. The play, as a whole, is constructed of forty-five mini plays, one for each of the presidents in America’s history. A few of the plays were musicals, ballets, or just plain dance breaks. Being that the production was done in 2019, and the dances were set in centuries prior, how does …

Exploring The Relation Between Musical And Dance Sophistication And Musical Groove Perception, Samantha R. O'Connell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Listening to groovy music is an enjoyable experience and a ubiquitous human behavior in some cultures. Specifically, many listeners agree that high-groove songs are enjoyable, familiar, and likable compared to low-groove songs. While the pleasurable and dance-inducing effects of musical groove listening seem omnipresent, what is less known is how subjective feelings towards music, individual musical or dance experiences, or more objective musical perception abilities are correlated with the way we hear music with groove. Therefore, the present online study aimed to evaluate how musical and dance sophistication relates to musical groove perception. One-hundred and twenty-four participants completed an online …

American Indian Law Students Association (Ailsa) Sponsors A Drum Circle, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Tendu To Tango Across The Lifespan: An Argument For Prioritizing Fixed Ballet Instruction As A Contemplative Practice For The Adolescent Mind And Social Dance Instruction For Healthy Aging In The Elderly Population, Jenica Barker

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Why dance? This thesis investigates and provides arguments for prioritizing different dance training methods and styles across a person’s lifespan for maximum neurological and mental benefit. Beyond the interpersonal, motivational, and creative skills it delivers, dance training provides significant neural benefits for the developing adolescent brain (ages 10-24). Additionally, there are significant implications for dance’s aid in the prevention or delay of symptoms of healthy aging, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.

According to the synthesis of research provided in this thesis, fixed ballet training is an optimal form of ballet training for adolescents because of its features consistent with …

Review: 'Pragmatist Philosophy And Dance: Interdisciplinary Dance Research In The American South', Aili W. Bresnahan

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Eric Mullis’ Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance is a thoroughly multi-disciplinary and transdisciplinary book that is centered on and deeply engaged in the experimental and lived experience of Pentecostal dance in the American and Appalachian South. The focal point for Mullis’ research is not observation and critique of dance as embodied religious practice from a critical distance (although he does engage it critically and analytically) but from the inside, embedding his own person and body into the environment with all the resources of the unifying self that he has at his disposal to not just understand the form but feel it …

My Body, No Apologies, Maxine Montilus

Theses and Dissertations

“My Body, No Apologies” is a 20 - minute autobiographical dance film, conceived, choreographed and performed by Maxine Montilus, with text from Sonya Renee Taylor’s The Body is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love. The supporting paper examines the impact of family, history and societal forces on her Black female body.

The film premiered on the Hunter College Dance Department’s website, www.hunterdances.com/mybody, on Saturday, May 1, 2021.

The Ripple Effect: ‘Training The Trainer’ On The Impact Of Body Image Through A Dance/Movement Therapy Technique, Marina Gearhart

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis describes the capstone project which was a psychoeducation and experiential workshop for fitness trainers. The workshop investigated the impact trainers’ work may have on the body image of their clients through a dance/movement therapy (DMT) technique. The aim was to enhance the trainers’ sensitivity around body image issues of their clients and to create a space for vulnerable movement conversation that may in turn lead to better mental health advocacy for their clients within the scope of ethical practice. The participants of the workshop were six white female identifying trainers ranging from 24 to 35 years of age. …

Double Helix, Katie Patrick

Symposium of Student Scholars

The human body can be an exceptional vessel to interpret and express historical ideas through the art of dance. Rosalind Franklin is the scientist who captured the famous Photograph 51- the first photo taken that revealed DNA’s three-dimensional structure - and made groundbreaking discoveries in the area of molecular biology. This piece will be a study of her life as she fought anti-Semitism during World War II, sexism in her field of study, and ovarian cancer that eventually led to her untimely passing; as well as a celebration of her discoveries on DNA, disease control, and her love for travel. …

El Papel De La Desviación De Normas Tradicionales De Género En El Desarrollo Del Tango Porteño Finisecular, Catherine Hoye

Honors Program Theses and Projects

Estas líneas de Ventura Lynch reflejan parte del poco conocido origen del tango argentino. Como Lynch indica, este baile es el producto de la burla y perversión del candombe – un tipo de baile que surgió entre los descendientes de esclavos libres en Uruguay a principios del siglo diecinueve – que hicieron los compadritos al integrar algunos de sus ritmos y pasos a la milonga rioplatense. La frustración del compadrito al no poder entender las tradiciones africanas dio inicio a un baile que pasó por varios cambios y varios espacios durante los siglos diecinueve y veinte hasta llegar a ser …

A Gap In The Narrative: Exploring The Experiences Of Trans Dancers Today, Erica Best

Dance Independent Study Projects

The scarcity of trans dancers in dance history, dance spaces, and dance research suggests a need for greater understanding of this group and how their needs are and are not being met in dance. This qualitative study explores the experiences of transgender, nonbinary, and otherwise gender-nonconforming dancers in concert, commercial, and social dance forms. Interviews with 10 participants from the US and Australia emphasize dance as a valuable space for gender exploration, but also highlight a lack of media representation for this population and argue that what representation does exist is often objectifying and tokenizing. Participants also shed light on …