Academic Catalog

DANC 1A: BEGINNING BALLET

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2023
Units: 1
Hours: 3 laboratory per week (36 total per quarter)
Advisory: This course is included in the Ballet & Conditioning family of activity courses.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Area VII: Lifelong Learning
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Perform the fundamental exercises of elementary Ballet Technique, demonstrating correct body placement and positions while exhibiting flexibility, coordination and core strength.
  • Identify ballet steps and combinations with correct terminology and analyze musical accompaniment and phrasing.

Description

Introduction to the elementary fundamentals of classical ballet technique and training. Includes the basic vocabulary and practice of beginning barre and center floor exercises.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. Perform the fundamental exercises of elementary ballet technique, including barre warm-up and center floor combinations
  2. Define the traditional vocabulary of steps in the elementary ballet class syllabus
  3. Identify and explain the progression and purpose of the specific order of classroom exercises
  4. Analyze the historical development of ballet dancing
  5. Increase body awareness and confidence
  6. Apply the concepts of proper alignment and placement in all activities
  7. Recognize ballet as both a physical discipline and an artistic expression
  8. Appreciate classical music as an integral part of the ballet class

Course Content

  1. Barre exercises
    1. Plie
    2. Tendu
    3. Degage
    4. Rond de jambe a terre
    5. Rond de jambe a l'aire
    6. Frappe
    7. Fondu
    8. Developpe
    9. Grande battement
  2. Center floor exercises
    1. Adagio
    2. Centre
    3. Waltz
    4. Petit allegro
    5. Grande allegro
  3. Historical analysis of ballet dancing
    1. Sources and influences of historical periods on ballet styles
    2. Transition from highly specialized training to a universal form of exercise
  4. Body awareness
    1. Alignment
    2. Placement
    3. Strength
    4. Flexibility
    5. Agility
    6. Endurance coordination
    7. Control
    8. Grace
  5. Artistic references
    1. Reference to contemporary dance companies and performances
    2. Sources and styles of musical accompaniment for ballet class

Lab Content

Lab content may include, but is not limited to the following:

  1. Demonstration and practice of beginning ballet barre exercises
  2. Demonstration and practice of beginning ballet center floor exercises
  3. Demonstration and practice of proper body awareness and alignment

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

1. Dance studio, comfortable exercise clothing, and proper ballet shoes.
2. When taught as an online distance learning or hybrid section, students and faculty need ongoing and continuous internet and email access.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Observation of performance skills through the beginning level
Objective exams
Cooperative learning assignments
Term papers

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture presentations and classroom discussion using the language of classical ballet technique
Cooperative learning exercises
Laboratory
Demonstration

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

Grant, Gail. Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet. 2014.

Although this text is older than the suggested "5 years or newer" standard, it remains a seminal text in this area of study.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Written critique of a live dance performance
  2. Optional writing exercises based on recommended reading

Discipline(s)

Dance