Undergraduate courses

An introduction to south Asian dance. Designed for non-Dance majors.
 

As this is a movement-based class, students are required to wear non-restrictive or athletic style clothing allowing full freedom of movement to classes. Indoor, closed toe shoes with good grip are also required for the course.

This course will introduce writers at any levels to the essentials of writing for the stage, screen or radio. Students will explore character, dramatic action, dialogue and structure. Students will support each other from initial idea to finding the structure that best suits their chosen form. 

This course is an expedition through the imaginative worlds and landscapes through practice of clown and mask. Designed to lead participants on a journey into their creative potential, this course will focus on accessing impulse, cultivating play, and failing with pleasure. Learn strategies for escorting ideas out of the ether and into the realm of the actual. Voyage into a space of deep listening to self and others. An exploration into the possibilities of physical comedy.

A multimedia survey course exploring the music of Led Zeppelin, including an examination of the band’s history from their pre-Zeppelin beginnings through their rise to superstardom. Discussions will center on an album-by-album survey of the band’s music and will include detailed analyses of significant works.

Description coming soon... 

The performance of contemporary popular choral music.

An introduction to ballroom dance. Designed for non-Dance majors.

An introduction to musical theatre dance. Designed for non-Dance majors.

50 Years of Rock Music is a multimedia survey course exploring the history of rock music from its pre-1950s predecessors through to present day. Discussions will cover a wide range of artists, styles, periods and genres, including detailed analyses of significant works. In addition to providing students with an in-depth look at many of rock music’s significant musical milestones, this course will assist students in developing a greater appreciation of popular music in general and position significant artists and works within their socio-historic context.

The history of funk music from its roots in rhythm and blues through its classic formulation in the 1970s to its urban transformation and revival, with an examination of its cultural and social milieu, as well as its evolving musical characteristics. This course does not require previous training in music.

An examination of the ways in which individual artists have promoted their music via social media. The use of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. for marketing purposes will be considered, as well as selected prominent musicians.

Detailed ethno-musicological examination of non-Western traditions. This course is designed to investigate the music of several of the world’s cultures. Students will develop an understanding of musical structure, style, the differing cultures’ aesthetic viewpoints, and the music's function and context within those diverse societies. Students will encounter new musical expressions as well as the corresponding world-views and philosophies that accompany them.

This course is designed to investigate the popular music of several of the world’s cultures. Students will develop an understanding of musical style, the differing cultures’ aesthetic viewpoints, and the music's function and context within those diverse societies. Students will also engage in the critical examination of the music industry in various countries, as well as the socio-political context of popular music in those societies. 

Detailed ethno-musicological examination of non-Western traditions. This course is designed to investigate the music of several of the world’s cultures. Students will develop an understanding of musical structure, style, the differing cultures’ aesthetic viewpoints, and the music's function and context within those diverse societies. Students will encounter new musical expressions as well as the corresponding world-views and philosophies that accompany them.

This course is designed to investigate the popular music of several of the world’s cultures. Students will develop an understanding of musical style, the differing cultures’ aesthetic viewpoints, and the music's function and context within those diverse societies. Students will also engage in the critical examination of the music industry in various countries, as well as the socio-political context of popular music in those societies.

This course offers an introduction to Indigenous dance forms from around the world. The course will examine various Indigenous forms from Africa, Asia, North America, South America and/or Oceania and, through an embodied experience, will help students gain a deeper understanding of the role of Indigenous dance in cultures around the world.

Basic scenography including set, props, lighting and costume design theory,
process and technique for a variety of theatre forms and performance styles

The emergence of modernism in theatre, drama, and performance both reflected and contributed to the transformation of gender roles and the emergence of modern sexual identities in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This “advanced topics” seminar will investigate the intersection of gender, sexuality, modernism, and performance.

The examination of select problems in scenic design

The examination of select problems in lighting design

A theoretical and applied study of computer-assisted methods for composition and sound design as well as a survey of current uses of Artificial Intelligence for music creation.

This new topic course will provide an insight into rapidly changing artificial intelligence technologies for music creation, analysis and appreciation and provide advanced students with an opportunity to explore practical applications of these tools.

This course offers an introduction to partnered dance forms that typically occur in social settings. Through an analysis of various social partnered forms, such as Latin Dance, Ballroom, contact improvisation and others, students will gain an embodied understanding of how partnered social dance forms contribute to notions of community within different cultures.

This Advanced Topics seminar will focus on playwriting by women from the 1990s to the present, identifying key concerns and theatrical/dramaturgical strategies that distinguish their work, as well as critical perspectives that illuminate their plays.

Detailed ethno-musicological examination of non-Western traditions. This course is designed to investigate the drumming traditions of several of the
world’s cultures. Students will develop an understanding of musical structure, style, the differing cultures’ aesthetic viewpoints, and the music's function and context within those diverse societies. By playing various rhythms students will develop drumming skills and will become familiar with the rhythms and techniques of selected drumming traditions including African, Arabic, Brazilian, Cuban, Indian, Japanese and Middle Eastern traditions

Alexander Technique is an educational approach to mind-body awareness. Students will learn to notice habits of tension that might be impeding their best performance and will learn a process for changing those habits. Students will develop skills of attention, and of sensory and spatial awareness, applicable to any activity. Alexander Technique can be particularly useful for those interested in injury prevention, performance anxiety, and improving performance presence. 

Survey of music in Canada from pre-European contact to the present, with an emphasis on the effect of geography and culture upon creation, performance, and reception.