Karlie Esworthy shares her thoughts about the arts in higher education. Esworthy graduated from Penn State Altoona in 2015 with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies and a minor in Dance Studies.
The Dance Studies Minor at Penn State Altoona is designed to enhance the students' approach to movement in all its many expressive forms; modern, jazz, and ballet.
Bartenieff Fundamentals (Dance 270) and Laban Movement Analysis (Dance 482) are required study for all Dance Studies Minors to increase the physical and cognitive understanding, observation, and execution of all movement.
Two additional required courses, Dance History (Dance 484) and Movement Analysis (Dance 301), help dancers develop their relationship to past, future, and self within the world of dance as a whole.
Dance Studies Minors are expected to successfully complete the highest level of technique offered; Contemporary Movement Lab III. The Contemporary Movement Labs I, II, and III highlight modern dance technique supported by creative processes to enhance the understanding of modern dance as an expressive art form. Improvisation, Dance Composition, and Choreography are utilized in the Labs to bring about new perspectives and approaches to performance and technique.
Most Dance Studies Minors become involved with Ivyside Dance Ensemble, our faculty directed dance company. Ivyside Dance Ensemble performs every semester in a variety of faculty and student choreographed pieces.