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Program Description

COURSE WORK

DAN 4935-01 Special Topics:  Studio and Related Studies (3 credit hours)

This course is designed to provide technique classes in classical ballet and contemporary dance at various conservatoires and académies in Paris as the course progresses. There may be opportunities to explore other dance genres throughout the course as well. Additionally, there will be two master classes (2 hours each) that will also complement the DAN 4935-02 Dance History course.

Course Objectives:

  • Introduce students to various styles of dance training in Paris.
  • Develop an awareness of the educational/conservatoire system in France.
  • Explore the professional dance scene in Paris through participation in classes, performances, master classes and informal showings.
  • Encourage cultural exchange.

Students will take 1-2 classes per day for four days each week at the Académie Américaine de Danse de Paris, Studio Harmonic, Peter Goss and/or Ménagerie de Verre. Classes typically last 1½ to 2 hours. Students will be asked to keep a journal of their experiences in classes including reflections about French teaching styles, taking classes with French students, and a daily log of their experiences and progression. Students will have additional writing assignments including critical responses of performances and informal showings viewed during the four week summer session.

Note: This course will also be offered at the graduate level: DAN 5930-01 (3 credit hours)

COURSE DAN 4935-02 Special Topics: Dance History in Paris (3 credit hours)

This course will focus on four different areas in dance history: 1) development of 17thCentury classical ballet in France/Paris Opera Ballet, 2) the Impressionists period with emphasis on Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec, 3) Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes  (1909 -1929) and his collaborators, and 4) the study of American dancers in Paris, namely, Josephine Baker and Isadora Duncan, as well as 20thcentury American writers.  This course will also incorporate site visits, guided and self-guided walking tours, student designed walking tours, and guest lecturers.

Course Objectives:

  • Give students an in-depth look at influential developments in dance history in France from the 17thCentury to the present.      
  • Raise the student’s awareness of some of the historical connections between dance and other arts in Paris.
  • Provide opportunities for students to articulate their observations of dance and other artists through critical analysis.
  • Develop an awareness of both historical and cultural events related to the dance history topics.
  • Explore and navigate Paris through historical related assignments.

Note: This course complements dance history course DAN 3145.

With the exception of the master classes, class meetings will take place at the FIAP Jean Monnet or Accent in the Bastille area as well as non-traditional places such as parks, cafes, and museums.

This course will be offered at the graduate level: DAN 5930-02 (3 credit hours). This course complements dance history course DAN 5191.

Eligibility

FSU School of Dance undergraduate and graduate dance majors – This program is currently open to all undergraduate and graduate dance majors approved by the FSU School of Dance Assessment Committee.  FSU dance majors receive priority acceptance. Non-dance majors and majors from other universities may also apply.

Non-dance majors and majors from other universities may also apply.  Please contact Joyce Fausone for additional information at jfausone@fsu.edu or call 850.645-2449.

HIGHLIGHTS – Based on 2015 Dance in Paris Program

Week I

MAIN TOPIC: 17THCENTURY BALLET AND THE PARIS OPERA BALLET

  • Walk down the Champs-Elysées and historical sites in the area
  • Walking tour of Ile de Cité and visit Notre Dame and Shakespeare & Company
  • Master Class in Court Dances with Beatrice Massin or company member
  • All day visit to Versailles
  • Back stage tour of the Palais Garnier
  • Museum visit of the Musée d’Orsay with guide
  • Performance of Paquitaby the Paris Opera Ballet at the Palais Garnier
  • Optional trip to Monet’s Gardens at Giverny

Week II

MAIN TOPIC: THE IMPRESSIONST (Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas & Lautrec)

  • Visit to the Musée de l’Orangerié
  • Museum visit to Musée d’Orsay with guide
  • Lecture on Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec with Christophe Boicës
  • Franco/American class at the Opera Bastille with Yannick Stephant
  • Special Dinner at the FIAP with other Study Abroad programs

Week III

MAIN TOPIC: DIAGHILEV & BALLET RUSSES

  • Visit to the Musée Picasso
  • Guided walking tour of Montmartre
  • Student designed walking tour of the Marais
  • Paris Fashion Lecture at the home of Anne Campbell-Crawford
  • Dress rehearsal of Les Enfants du Paradisat the Palais Garnier

Week IV

MAIN TOPIC: AMERICANS IN PARIS (Duncan, Baker & American writers)

  • Student designed walking tour of Père Lachaise Cemetery
  • Master class with Barbara Kane in Isadora Duncan technique
  • Josephine Baker Walking Tour
  • Visit to Musée Rodin
  • Backstage tour of the Moulin Rouge
  • Creative projects (grads only) at the Studio du Regard du Cygne
  • Final Projects/Photo Essays presented at the FIAP
  • Closing Dinner at L’Afuberge du Louvre

Technique Classes

Académie Américanine de Danse de Paris

  • Jenny Sanders (Ballet)
  • Brooke Desnoës (Ballet)
  • Christele Venet (Ballet & Repertory)

Mika Danse

  • Peter Goss (Contemporary/Somatic work)

Studio Harmonique

  • Wayne Byars (Ballet)
  • Nathalie Pubellier (Contemporary)
  • Corinne Lansell (Contemporary)

Menagerie de Verre

  • Nina Dipla (Contemporary)
  • Stephanie Fratti

Examples of Assignments:

  • Reflection Paper
  • Journals
  • Artist/Writer Report
  • Museums – critique of visual artists
  • Hypothetical Choreographic Project
  • Weekly Blogs
  • Student Designed Walking Tour of the Marais area
  • Final Project (Photo &/or Creative Essay)