Teaching Methodology
Class sessions will introduce beginner level principles of dance movement
including alignment, coordination, whole body and isolation, being grounded,
musicality, and understanding the language of the drum. Each class beings
with a full body warm up and stretch to prepare/condition the dancer.
Students will develop increased body awareness, flexibility, strength, and
ease within the various African Diaspora dance movement vocabularies.
Students will better understand the relationship of specific drum traditions
and the significant role polyrhythms play within the structures of African
Diaspora dance traditions.
Course Objectives/Student Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, students should be able to:
• Identify and explore some of the Level I African Diaspora dance
concepts including; polyrhythms, repetition, call-and-response,
curvilinearity
• Embody beginner level of movements with attention to
rhythm, “settle down”, “free flow”
• Develop creative potential through a variety of experiences in
improvisation and composition
• Critically respond to a live dance concert, In-class video screenings,
class discussions, a required Cooper event and TriCo Philly Experience,
through writing assignments
• Develop a curiosity for movement potential, embodied movement,
creative thinking, problem solving, cultural and historical connections, and
deeper appreciation of the Arts
• Investigate how the Post-Colonial African National Dance Movement
served as a mechanism for understanding the world through a
transnational, trans local, culturally, historically and politically embodied
dance experience.
Course Structure:
The course will consist of a rigorous training in African Diaspora
dance Level I techniques from West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas.
Additional classroom experiences will include discussion of readings,
collaborative group process work, and video screenings that will provide
foundational knowledge in the following areas of dance and music: historical
context, creative movement exploration, composition, wellness for the
dancer, and dance criticism. Drum and dance videos, and readings will be
provided by the professor on Moodle and in a Google Folder. Assignments
are to be submitted in the F25 African Dance I Google Folder.
Class sessions will introduce beginner level principles of dance movement
including alignment, coordination, whole body and isolation, being grounded,
musicality, and understanding the language of the drum. Each class beings
with a full body warm up and stretch to prepare/condition the dancer.
Students will develop increased body awareness, flexibility, strength, and
ease within the various African Diaspora dance movement vocabularies.
Students will better understand the relationship of specific drum traditions
and the significant role polyrhythms play within the structures of African
Diaspora dance traditions.
Course Objectives/Student Outcomes
Upon the completion of this course, students should be able to:
• Identify and explore some of the Level I African Diaspora dance
concepts including; polyrhythms, repetition, call-and-response,
curvilinearity
• Embody beginner level of movements with attention to
rhythm, “settle down”, “free flow”
• Develop creative potential through a variety of experiences in
improvisation and composition
• Critically respond to a live dance concert, In-class video screenings,
class discussions, a required Cooper event and TriCo Philly Experience,
through writing assignments
• Develop a curiosity for movement potential, embodied movement,
creative thinking, problem solving, cultural and historical connections, and
deeper appreciation of the Arts
• Investigate how the Post-Colonial African National Dance Movement
served as a mechanism for understanding the world through a
transnational, trans local, culturally, historically and politically embodied
dance experience.
Course Structure:
The course will consist of a rigorous training in African Diaspora
dance Level I techniques from West Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas.
Additional classroom experiences will include discussion of readings,
collaborative group process work, and video screenings that will provide
foundational knowledge in the following areas of dance and music: historical
context, creative movement exploration, composition, wellness for the
dancer, and dance criticism. Drum and dance videos, and readings will be
provided by the professor on Moodle and in a Google Folder. Assignments
are to be submitted in the F25 African Dance I Google Folder.
- Teacher: Jeannine Osayande