DANCE 301: Dance Culture and Diversity

1.) Which dance culture intrigued you the most? What about it caught your interest? What did you learn that stuck out the most? What significant information will you take from this dance culture/style.

2.) On the dance that you chose for #1, what about their political system and/or belief system, has shaped their dance culture? How do you think the dance style will evolve? Would it be different if the dance style came to the U.S. Would it remain intact or evolve? What current/social influences can directly affect the maintenance or change of this dance culture?

3.) In our text book, which two dance cultures reflect different belief systems? Or what two dance cultures reflect similar belief systems? Discuss their differences and/or similarities. Can anything be said about their movement vocabulary, costumes, or stylistic approaches to dance?

4.) Lastly, our final chapter discussed the Healing powers of Dance. How has reading this book/class/concert viewings (Virtually or Live) or other outside movement practices allowed for any form of healing for yourself? How has dance/learning dance culture left its mark on your education? What did you take from the course?

More information about this class:

Textbook: Dance and Cultural Diversity-third edition by Darlene O’Cadiz , is published by Cognella Academic Publishing and distributed by University Readers, Inc.

Course Goal

Dance 301 is a General Education (GE) course that satisfies area C.3 & Z GE: Exploration in the Arts and Humanities & GE: Cultural Diversity as outlined in the University Policy Statement (UPS) 411.201 and Executive Order 1100.

The goal of Dance 301 is to educate students about various forms of dance expression in multiple cultures. Students will learn about different dance styles around the world. Traditional dance, the evolution of social dance, and a diversity of ethnic dance forms will be discussed. This course details significant contributions made to the dance art form by a multitude of people from different races and ethnicities. We will also discuss important cross-cultural traditions and influences leading to an inter-connectedness of all humanity.