This 28-day course is an immersion in Parisian culture from the point of view of the dancer. The course is divided into three major components: technique, composition, and history. Students will take a series of technique classes in modern, ballet, improvisation, world dance forms, and yoga, taught by Barnard/USF and international guest faculty, as well as opportunities to take alternative technique classes in some of Paris’s professional dance studios. Students will be exposed to the rich artistic side of Paris through lectures and performances, as well as assigned readings by major dancers/writers/artists who have drawn on the Parisian landscape as inspiration for their work.
A final choreographic project based on compositional exercises that will take students to various Parisian locales, will be presented during the final week of the course. We will also visit many important locations essential to studying the history of dance in Western culture, including Versailles, Théâtre de la Ville and the Paris Opera.