Overview
This course examines dance performance as an embodied, collaborative, and analytical practice. Students develop the technical, interpretive, and professional skills required to translate choreography into compelling performance through repetition, memorization, musical responsiveness, dynamic range, projection, focus, presence, and informed artistic choice.
Studio learning addresses rehearsal etiquette, preparation, punctuality, conditioning, injury prevention, warm-up and cool-down practices, spatial orientation, cue awareness, ensemble timing, partnering and contact principles where appropriate, and adaptation to varied performance environments. Students engage with performance studies concepts including liveness, audience relationships, embodiment, identity, cultural context, documentation, and distinctions between rehearsal and performance.
Selected live and recorded works provide material for structured critical responses addressing movement, design, performers, space, sound, and audience experience. Through collaborative projects, practical performance tasks, feedback processes, and reflective assessment, students develop reliable ensemble practice and an articulated understanding of their own artistic development.
Learning Outcomes
- Sustain choreographic material accurately, consistently, and expressively in rehearsal and performance contexts.
- Demonstrate professional rehearsal, studio, backstage, preparation, and injury-prevention practices.
- Contribute reliably and responsively to ensemble processes, including spatial coordination, timing, cue awareness, and appropriate partnering practices.
- Apply musical, spatial, dynamic, and interpretive principles to performance decisions.
- Adapt performance practice in response to feedback, audience relationships, production conditions, and different performance spaces.
- Analyze live and recorded dance works using embodied, critical, cultural, and performance studies frameworks.
- Evaluate personal artistic development through documented preparation, performance reflection, and evidence-based self-assessment.
Timetable
| Type | Length | Frequency | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 2 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Studio | 3 hours | Weekly | All semester |
| Tutorial | 1 hour | Weekly | All semester |
| Workshop | 2 hours | Fortnightly | All semester |
Assessment Schedule
| Type | Description | Weighting |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance | Rehearsal participation and professional studio practice | 15.00% |
| Assignment | Preparation and development logs | 10.00% |
| Assignment | Viewing responses and structured performance critiques | 15.00% |
| Deliverable | Collaborative performance project | 25.00% |
| Test | Individual performance practical | 20.00% |
| Assignment | Final self-assessment and artistic development reflection | 15.00% |
Teaching Staff & Programs
This course is delivered jointly by faculty from the participating programs listed below. In line with the Douchewater Way, the University of Sexology tailors core instruction directly to each cohort's specific discipline — adapting curriculum to program needs rather than forcing students into a one-size-fits-all model. Learn more about our approach at The Douchewater Way.