Academic Year 2020-21

This page will contain updated information about course offerings, performance opportunities, and community initiatives for the 2020-21 academic year. Despite the serious constraints imposed by the pandemic, the faculty remains committed to creatively deliver its distinctive academic and artistic program in ways that prioritize the safety and needs of the entire College community, especially its most vulnerable.  Moreover, as we pursue our research, training, and performance, we are determined to find meaningful ways to serve the broader dance community that has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. On that note, the Faculty wishes to express its pride in the many Barnard and Columbia alumnae who are leading the discussions and debates that this moment uniquely requires – about racial equity in dance, artists as essential workers, scientific research for re-entering studios and theaters, arts education, among others. We welcome all new and returning students into our circle of artists and scholars. More on that soon! 

The new 2020-21 Department of Dance curriculum will be offered over three semesters (Fall, Spring, Summer). In addition to our traditional semester-long courses, the department will offer immersive classes that will meet over a 7-week period, allowing students to take fewer courses at the same time and a more sustained focus on course content.  In Fall 2020, classes will be conducted remotely via Zoom. Our world-class faculty have adapted their pedagogy to suit the online platform to support student physical training, artistic growth, and community development. 

Please note that this schedule may be subject to change, and students are encouraged not only to revisit this page but also to confirm the course listings in the online Directory of Classes. 

For a calendar view of classes, see the Block Schedule.

On the list of classes below, click on the Course Title for a link to the Directory of Classes and on the Instructor’s name for a brief video with information about the course. 

Fall 2020
S-Semester Long                    A - Fall A (9/8 - 10/19)              B - Fall B (10/26 - 12/11)

Academic Year 2020-21 Curricular Highlights
The Spring and Summer semesters will offer an array of studio dance classes, as well as academic and performance courses. Here’s a preliminary view of course offerings, all subject to change.

Spring 2021
Semester-long Courses
World Dance
Choreographing Race in America
Human Anatomy & Lab
Composition: Form
Coding Choreography
Screendance
Senior Project

Immersive Courses
Social Dance History: From Choreomanias to TikTok (A)
Dance Criticism (B)
Rehearsal & Performance (A&B)

Summer 2021
Dance Education, Policy and Leadership Seminar* (A)
Music for Dance (A)
Dance in New York City (B)

Studios
The Department has developed a plan for a limited number of students to take classes in the studios (with instructors teaching remotely, from a separate location), to the extent that health and public safety guidelines allow. Students approved to access the studios must complete a training session on health and safety protocols and strictly comply with Department of Dance Studio Guidelines. Information about accessing the studios will be communicated through your instructors.

Until further notice, the Department’s studios will be reserved for the exclusive use of a limited number of current students completing coursework. Dance majors will be prioritized, wherever possible, in the ongoing and evolving process of determining studio access. To comply with enhanced cleaning protocols and guidelines, we need to suspend reservations for all student groups, faculty, and alumni. Majors who need access to studios to complete coursework should contact Tricia Toliver. 

Performances
One of the distinguishing aspects of a Barnard/Columbia Dance is our live concerts that feature the work of guest artists at Miller Theater and New York Live Arts. This year, we’ll still offer opportunities to create, collaborate and perform, though works will be shared in different venues: livestreams, online concerts, and films. We will support live performance when and as College and State health guidelines make it possible to do so. In Fall A, Barnard faculty member Caroline Fermin will lead a Rehearsal & Performance course that develops a work that stems from the question: “What place does dance-making have in social change?” Using this question as a point of departure, this rehearsal and performance course will examine how choreographic tools can enable critical discourse around issues of social justice, and will culminate in the production of a publicly available dance film. Course is open to all students with an intermediate level of experience and an interest in a collaborative creative process dealing with issues of social justice. In Spring A, Jennifer Archibald will lead a “Global Hip Hop Project”  building on her collaboration with hip hop artists around the world. Please check back for updates on new projects for 2020-21. In consultation with current students, we are engaged in discussions with other guest artists about offering additional virtual performance opportunities through Rehearsal & Performance courses for both the Fall and Spring semesters.

Community Initiatives
We enter this challenging year guided by the Department’s commitments to fostering racial equity and social and environmental justice. Over the past two years, the faculty conducted a curriculum review focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion and is in the process of transforming the curriculum and pedagogy in ways that deactivate the operations of power and privilege in the studio and on the stage. One of the major outcomes of this review was securing College approval to conduct a search for a full-time professor of African/African-Diaspora/Black Dance Studies to support the mentorship and growth in this area of performance and research. The search will officially commence in 2021. In the meantime, there’s much more the Department can and must do to. Here are some initiatives for 2020-21:
• deliver our curriculum of African-diasporic dances, including studio courses in West African dance, Afro-Cuban dance, tap, jazz, and Hip-Hop
• offer pathways for critical study of intersectionality, diaspora, and decolonization, including courses such as Choreographing Race in America, World Dance, and this year, a new course, Dances of Africa
• sponsor community workshops from leading artist-activists in the arena of anti-racism and social justice organizing
• support the three-year residency of Angela’s Pulse, an interdisciplinary performance group that will conduct anti-racism training and organizing, at the Barnard Movement Lab

If you have questions about classes, including information about the major in Dance, please contact dance@barnard.edu .