UGA Bulletin

Course Description

This service-learning course combines dance, group discussion, and lecture to immerse students in embodied practices of cultural diversity. Students will come to understand and experience dance as a vehicle for building human connection through kinesthetic empathy as they collaborate with community partner organizations and/or schools, engaging in dance throughout the semester to apply and reflect on course learning and community outreach.

Athena Title

Diversity Through Dance

Non-Traditional Format

Once a week, students will have a dance class (on Fridays during class time) either taught by the instructor of records (Salsa, bachata Merengue), or by guest instructors, ballet, hip-hop, ballroom dancing. Outside of class time students must commit to: • The UGA Friday Night Dance (ballroom dance class [from 7-8] + dancing [from 8-10:30pm]) every other Friday. Students must attend from 7 to 9pm. • Ballroom Magic event, in which the UGA Ballroom Performance Group presents their annual Ballroom Magic showcase, on a Thursday night from 8 to 10pm, usually the first week of February. • Milonga Tropical, an event open to the community at the Hotel Indigo, Rialto Club, from 6:30-9:30pm, in which students will not only perform (showcasing what they learned all semester long) but will also dance socially and enjoy professional performances.

Prerequisite

(SPAN 3010 or SPAN 3010H or SPAN 3011) and (SPAN 3020 or SPAN 3020H or SPAN 3021)

Semester Course Offered

Offered spring

Grading System

A - F (Traditional)

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of the semester, students should be able to examine and experience the richness of Latin-American cultures, in the arts in general, and in dance in particular (through lectures, country presentations, and weekly dance classes).
By the end of the semester, students should be able to predict and apply the cultural practices of Hispanic countries that contribute to successful intercultural communication.
By the end of the semester, students should be able to produce written reports and oral presentations that demonstrate Advanced High-level Spanish proficiency as described by the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines.
By the end of the semester, students should have built a community of learners, empathy, and a sense of belonging through deep and meaningful connections with their fellow classmates and the community through: • weekly group dance classes in which students dance with each other; • a dance fair (group project) in which students teach passersby the dance (basic steps) and about the origin of the dance; • a final group dance performance at our Milonga Tropical event; • a community project in which students will reflect about the role of dance in the betterment of our society and specifically our community, as it effectively supports social relationships and improves the integral health (physical and mental) of those who practice it. Our community members include older adults/council on aging and K-12 students.
By the end of the semester, students should have committed to diversity and the betterment of society and community, through music and dance, as students write reflections and make the case for using music and dance as a vehicle for either: a) conflict resolution or empathy promotion (such as in the documentary “Dancing in Jaffa” in which they use dance to promote interactions between Jews and Arabs); b) second language acquisition (such as the use of music to facilitate immigrant children learning German in German kindergarten); c) promotion of values of collectivistic societies such as interdependence, belonging, harmony, and group success, in addition to students’ own values of their individualistic society (the U.S.) such as independence, competition, and individual success; d) promotion of Latin American culture and intercultural understanding, developing empathy and meaningful connections with community members and groups (older adults, K-12 students).

Topical Outline

Students will come to understand and experience the ancient art of dance for what it is at its deepest roots – a vehicle for building human connection through kinesthetic empathy. When “we move in sync, we feel in sync.”
As a service-learning course, students will collaborate with one or more community partner organizations and/or schools to engage with community members through dance, share Latin American culture, and learn about and reflect on the benefits of dance for particular segments of the community (e.g., empathy, cognition, cross-cultural awareness).
Students in this course will read the literature on cultural psychology and prejudice reduction related to dance education, as well as study the origins and cultural contexts of Latin dance. Specifically, students will experience a repertoire of Latin dance moves such as Merengue, Bachata, Salsa, and Tango as they engage in joyful and rhythmic forms of building cultural awareness.
As we move our feet to the Latin beat, we will question preconceived notions of dance as a talent reserved for the gifted, highlighting it instead as a means of universal connection.
We will help each other step out of our often-deceptive cultural comfort zones into a new, open space of experiential connection, collective empowerment, and democratic understanding. No dancing experience required. For more information check out: http://diversitythroughdance.franklinresearch.uga.edu.

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