Teaching at Reed College

This course offers the opportunity for students to combine contextual study of Southeast Asian culture and performance arts with studio activities in dance. The class provides social, cultural, and aesthetic views of the performing arts in Southeast Asia with a special focus on Bali, Indonesia.

The course will examine selected ritual, social, and court dances of Bali such as Kechak and Legong in cultural and historical context. Students will be introduced to technical aspects of Balinese dance and its relation to music. Studio sessions will bring these ideas to life as students learn basic dance movements and musical structures. Lectures, readings, films, and slides will cover the diversity of the island, the role of dance and music in Balinese culture, and the challenges of globalization.    

Designed for high-intermediate and advanced level dancers, this course combines rigorous technical training with work in choreography. Classic and contemporary techniques will provide both conceptual and stylistic bases from which to approach complex movement vocabularies. In-class work will emphasize clarity and specificity in movement and include floor work, partnering and a detailed consideration of alignment.

Choreography projects will investigate the relationships between movement materials and structures and the interaction of sound, visual design and movement. Study in choreography will be supported by attendance at professional dance performances, video viewings, discussions, and critiques, and students will perform in the end-of-semester concert. With permission of the instructor, the course may be repeated as an advanced practicum.