The Body in Performance: Dance Theatre MA

MA DANCE THEATRE: THE BODY IN PERFORMANCE

Programme Length Full-time: 13 months
Part-time: 25 months
Validated by City University, London. Programme Content The focus is on students' own creative performance practice and you will be introduced to various methodologies for devising, articulating, documenting and presenting this practice. Investigative and creative processes are explored within studio-based modules, with opportunities to consolidate this research into performances across Laban's theatres. Lectures and seminars that discuss philosophical concepts of subjectivity and embodiment do so in the context of artistic movements concerned with rethinking the nature of the body, movement and identity. This offers a sense of historical context, and the opportunity to consider your work within wider discourses on the performing body. The programme nurtures and fosters collaborative and interdisciplinary experiences as a means of exploring the devising process within a situation where exchange, discussion and critical reflection are central.

The taught content of the modules is delivered by a team comprised of Laban staff and visiting artists and lecturers. It consists of the following:

Creative Strategies
Histories of the Body
Performance Research and Development
Practice as Research

To complete the programme, you will also undertake an in-depth independent research project. This may take the form of a performance, a lecture demonstration, a written dissertation, or a mixed mode project.

Please note that technical training (technique classes) is not provided within the fee structure of the programme. However, classes may be available on payment of a supplementary fee to cover direct teaching costs; alternatively evening classes offered by the Education and Community department are available.

A range of professional classes are also offered at our partner organisation Greenwich Dance Agency, located some 15 minutes walk away.

The aims of the programme are:

• To engage with contemporary research into the body in performance through the provision of studio-based explorations of methods for creative practice, documentation and performance presentation.
• To facilitate collaborative and interdisciplinary practice as a means to synthesise knowledge from complex, incomplete or contradictory perspectives embedded in arts practice.
• To consider key concepts of the body and subjectivity in 20th - 21st century art-making, their philosophical context and the manner in which they have informed innovations in performance.EDUCATIONAL AIMS The programme seeks to: · Provide opportunities for developing the range of skills and meeting the challenges of working as a performer in today's professional arts environment. · Support the development of advanced-level performers through access to professional dance makers, performers, collaborative environments and performance opportunities. · Provide a means whereby students can engage critically with their studio practice. · Provide extensive opportunities for reflection on, and critical examination of, performance practice. · Provide a comprehensive professional-level environment in which students can refine their knowledge, skills and understanding of creative and performance processes within dance. · Foster innovative and quality practice-based research in the field of dance performance. · Engage students with the methods and creative processes of other art forms. Particular emphasis is given to: · developing advanced technical skills alongside embodied knowledge and understanding that enables their transfer to new and challenging creative contexts; · developing a deeper understanding of the artistic and technical complexities of the performance process; · providing intensive creative engagement with a range of visiting choreographers utilizing diverse creative practices; · developing a deeper understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the dancer in the creative process; · extending and refining skills and understanding through an extensive tour of performances. 1.2 TEACHING, LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES Teaching and Learning A primary focus of the programme is to provide - through Transitions Dance Company - a learning environment which closely resembles and prepares students for a professional company context. This is reflected in the emphasis on studio practice; on the structure of the working day, which routinely begins with a company class or complementary technical study; on extensive touring and performing opportunities; and on the leadership and guidance of the Artistic Director of the company. 2 · Technical skills are developed primarily through daily technique classes together with complementary studies in fitness and somatics. A balance is sought between consistency of teaching over the first fifteen weeks, and the introduction of a range of approaches aimed at drawing the varied backgrounds of students entering the programme towards a commonality of experience and understanding. · A carefully selected group of professional choreographers lead the students in intensive creative processes which involve them in devising new works, and introduce them to a wide range of choreographic styles and working methods including a research project. · To prepare for the professional performance milieu, students normally undertake 15 weeks of national and international touring where they perform in a wide range of performance contexts - from small spaces with minimal production capacity, to well equipped professional theatres. They are led in this process by the Artistic Director with support from professional production staff. · Reflection on both performance processes and individual development is encouraged in the studio and via regular seminars which relate closely to the phases of the practice being undertaken and the issues that arise from them. · Contextualizing studies in the form of a series of lectures from practicing artists, and supporting group seminars, place the performance practice developed in the Transitions Dance Company experience into a wider arts context. Assessment Assessment is through a variety of modes which evaluate skills related to performance practice and research, and which prepare students for engagement with the various contexts in which the processes of performance practice and creative dance making are realized; and in which related issues are critically examined and disseminated. Assessment modes include: assessment of performance practice (e.g., technical skills, dance performance); a journal/portfolio demonstrating the student's ability to critically reflect on and contextualize their progress; lecture/demonstrations, presentations and practice-based research projects, which test the student's ability to critically reflect on, synthesize and apply knowledge and understanding across both theory and practice.