RAMBERT SCHOOL OF BALLET AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE

PROGRAMME HANDBOOK

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance
YEAR ONE
2007 - 2008

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented in this handbook at the time of going to print. However, the Rambert School reserves the right to make changes as necessary to ensure the smooth running of learning, teaching and assessment.

BA (HONS) IN BALLET AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Programme Handbook 2007-2008

INTRODUCTION

The focus of this handbook is on teaching, learning and assessment in relation to your programme of study. It includes information and advice related to both practical and theoretical work. The Handbook is divided into several sections for ease of reference.

Section 1 includes information about your course and a Module Study Guide for each module of your programme for this academic year. The guides set out the context for the area of study and include the learning outcomes, module content, assessment tasks, assessment criteria, assessment/study guidelines and reading lists. Please read these thoroughly and use them as a continual point of reference during the year.

Section 2 focuses on academic conventions related to the presentation of written work. It is vitally important that you take account of what is written in this section and that you check your work carefully. Failure to adhere to academic conventions will affect your mark.

Section 3 focuses on study skills and academic writing. It includes general guidelines and advice for approaching both practical and theoretical areas of study. The Assessment Guidelines section of each of the Module Study Guides includes specific advice regarding the assessment tasks for the module. Your tutors will give further advice during class and in tutorials.

As you progress through your programme of study, you are expected to demonstrate an increased self-reliance in managing, organising and initiating your own learning although tutorial support is available throughout. It is expected that you refine your study skills and that you deepen your practical and theoretical understanding of the work undertaken to help you successfully meet the demands of the course and to prepare for the demands of the dance profession.

You are advised therefore to use the Programme Handbook as a constant point of reference throughout the academic year.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION			5

SECTION 1:
PROGRAMME INFORMATION AND STUDY GUIDES
	Programme Specifications		6
	Modules Specifications
		RA 3001	22
		RA 3002	29
		RA 3003	36
		RA 3004	43
		RA 3005	51

SECTION 2:
ACADEMIC CONVENTIONS			58
	Introduction		60
	Academic Offences		60
	How to Reference		63
	How to Present a Bibliography and Other Sources		72
	Presentation of Written Work		77
	Some Examples
		Referencing : Some Examples	80
		Presenting Work : An Example	83
		Presenting A Bibliography : an Example	85

SECTION 3:
STUDY SKILLS AND ACADEMIC WRITING		87
	Introduction	88
	Locating and Using Resources	88
	Note Taking	89
	Writing Assignments	90
	Format of Written Assignments	95

University of Kent at Canterbury

Rambert School

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance

Programme Specifications

Degree and Programme Title

1. Awarding Institution/Body University of Kent

2. Teaching Institution Rambert School

3. Teaching Site Rambert School

4. Programme Accredited by:

5. Final Award BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance

6. Programme

7. UCAS code

8. Relevant QAA subject benchmarking Dance, Drama and Performing Arts

9. Date of Production/Revision

10. Applicable Cohort(s)

1. Educational Aims of the Programme

Aims of the programme are consonant with the distinctive features of Foundation Degrees. They thus reflect that the programme provides students with the knowledge, understanding and skills that employers need. The aims listed below and the degree itself have been formulated through employer involvement. It is delivered and monitored through employer involvement and partnership. It is also characterised accessibility, articulation and progression, and flexibility.

The Programme aims to:

1. To provide an education and training in the technical execution of Ballet and Contemporary Dance to the level of professional excellence. [1]

It shall be characteristic of such excellence that, not only is a professional level of dance technical accomplishment reached within it, but that such technique itself shall provide, and be, a manifest vehicle of expressivity.[2]

2. To enable students to realise their individual potential as professional performers to the level of professional excellence through the development of their capacity for experience and expression in dance. This they will do through the exploitation of dance technique, musicality and expressivity in communication with an audience.

3. To enable students to find, to the level of professional excellence, their individual choreographic voices and/or the capacity to contribute to choreography through improvisation or building product out of material provided by a choreographer and/or the capacity to productively inform their work as dance performers through knowledge and understanding of choreographic structures, styles and methods.

4. To provide students with the opportunity to reflect upon and critically evaluate subject knowledge concerning the technical and stylistic development of Ballet and Contemporary Dance as genres such that this contributes to their capacity as dance artists.

5. To enable students to engage creatively and critically with, and contribute to the advancement of the genres of Ballet and Contemporary Dance during their subsequent careers.

6. To provide students with a systematic body of knowledge and understanding concerning their subject categories including the key aspects of these and further including a coherent, detailed and sensitive knowledge of some of their specialised aspects.

7. To equip students with the capacity to use established academic analytical techniques, as these provide for creative and critical engagement with abstract data and concepts and as these further provide for the identification and solution of problems. This capacity will be exercised and evident through the use of critical thinking, discussion and debate, reflection, writing, presentation, analysis.

8. To enable students to develop as reflective practitioners and/or to continue and advance in learning and research through further and higher educational opportunities and/or with significant responsibility within organisations.

9. To cause or allow a holistic educational experience through the provision of an attitude, environment and methodology, as regards teaching and learning, that supports students in their development such that they may achieve their unique potential as people and as artists. Through this to provide students with the opportunity to move forward in their vision, awareness, knowledge and insight into their world and their selves.

2. Programme Outcomes

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas. The programme outcomes have references to the subject benchmarking statement for

Knowledge and Understanding

Knowledge and Understanding

1. Comprehension of, and intelligent engagement with, the key aspects, components and processes by which, Ballet and Contemporary Dance performance are created and realised including detailed knowledge of some specialised aspects of these genres.

2. Comprehension of, and creative, critical, sensitive and intelligent engagement with, group and collective processes as these relate to the production and performance of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.

3. Critical and creative comprehension of the potential of the use of movement quality, musicality, presence, commitment, empathy and co-operation, and dance technical ability towards allowing dance to become a vehicle of expressivity.

4. Comprehension of the creative use, and the potential of the interplay between the performer's conscious and subconscious resources in the act of dance itself, in dance-making and in the realisation of performance.

5. An understanding of the limits of the knowledge possessed by the student and of the limits of knowledge itself.

6. Creative and critical comprehension of, and intelligent engagement with, the interplay between practice and theory within the fields of Ballet, Contemporary Dance and dance- making.

Teaching and learning strategies and methods

Teaching and learning as concerns knowledge and understanding, intellectual skills, subject specific skills and transferable skills are interwoven. There are three principal categories of study. Dance Technical Studies and Choreographic Studies are most obviously taught in sessions associated with dance studios and performance spaces. Critical Studies are most obviously taught in sessions associated with class and seminar rooms. Nonetheless, it is a tenet of the programme that the teaching and learning of these three categories of study should be deeply integrated.

The following methods are deployed as regards all areas of knowledge, understanding and skills and for all categories of teaching and learning;

- dance technical classes,

- group learning and individual learning in workshop situations,

- performances,

- lectures,

- tutorials,

- seminar presentations,

- project work including that conducted through student leadership,

- resource based learning,

Assessment

Assessment specific to each of the three principal categories of learning of the programme are given in the modules. The integrated assessment processes of the programme include;

- regular dance technical classes,

- test dance technical classes,

- rehearsals,

- performances (public and internal),

- showings of solos,

- assessed course work; seminar and discussion,

- written work,

- project reports,

- presentations.

Skills and Other Attributes

Intellectual Skills

Assessment specific to each of the three principal categories of learning of the programme are given in the modules. The integrated assessment processes of the programme include;

- regular dance technical classes,

- test dance technical classes,

- rehearsals,

- performances (public and internal),

- showings of solos,

- assessed course work; seminar and discussion,

- written work,

- project reports,

- presentations.

Teaching and learning strategies and methods

The programme depends on an integrated system of Teaching and learning. Intellectual work involves coming to understand how to apply conscious cognitive or intellectual skills in critical thinking, discussion and debate, reflection, writing, presentation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation. These processes are employed in pursuance of the traditional academic method as well as in the practical or technical study of dancing and making dance.

C. Subject-specific Skills

Performance of Ballet at the level of professional excellence. It shall be characteristic of such excellence that, not only is a professional level of dance technical accomplishment reached within it, but that such technique itself has come to provide, and be, a manifest vehicle of expressivity

Performance of Contemporary Dance at a level of professional excellence.

The application of critical and independent research to the deployment of a professional level of choreographic skill and/or the deployment of the related skills of improvisation and/or building movement based on material or tasks provided by a choreographer or director.

The ability to deploy established cognitive analytical academic skills, accurately and in synthesis and to deploy theoretical subject knowledge within the practical skills of Ballet, Contemporary Dance and dance-making.

The skills to engage creatively and critically in the processes of rehearsal and performance in order to enhance performance.

The skills sufficient to engage creatively and critically with the possibilities presented by choreographic material in order to increase the potential of performance.

The skills to engage creatively and critically with the creation and/or production of performance through an understanding of appropriate performance vocabularies, techniques and working methods.

The ability to engage, independently or within a team, through appropriate independent research as part of the process of creating new performance.

D. Transferable Skills

The following outcomes are consonant with, and integrated within, the teaching of the programme's learning outcomes.

critical, analytical and physical skills in relation to theoretical and practical applications;

creative and imaginative skills as shown through the realisation of independent subject specific skill and knowledge based tasks and through projects practical research projects;

communication in a variety of oral, written, visual and performance media;

reflexive, critical and independent thinking;

sustaining concentration and focus, in various categories of application, for extended periods;

awareness of inter-disciplinary approaches to study;

developing ideas and constructing arguments and the capacity to present them in appropriate ways;

understanding of group dynamics and an ability to implement them in practical contexts;

handling creative, personal and interpersonal issues;

negotiation and pursuing goals; dealing with success and failure with others;

managing personal workloads; the staging of timing within projects; meeting deadlines;

producing written work with appropriate scholarly conventions;

information retrieval skills, involving the ability to gather, sift, synthesises and organise material independently and critically evaluate its significance;

information technology skills including word processing, and electronic mail.

Teaching and learning strategies and methods

Transferable skills are developed throughout the programme.

Assessment

Assessment of Transferable Skills is not direct but is integrated into all assessment processes.

3 .Programme Structures and Requirements, Levels, Modules, Credits and Awards

Structure

This BA (Hons) degree is a one-year, full-time course of 36 weeks. It is divided into two semesters. The year is divided into a number of study modules of 20 or 40 credits where the accumulated credit value is equal to 120 credits. The Rambert School FDA degree in Ballet and Contemporary Dance will normally be the prerequisite of this BA (Hons) course.

Modules delivered are designated at Honours Level [H].

Categories of Study

There are three principal categories of study. They are highly integrated.

Dance Technical Studies

The centre of this degree programme is the process of coming to possess and apply a progressively sophisticated body of knowledge, understanding, cognitive and other skills such that the student is able to dance Ballet and Contemporary Dance to the level of, and in many cases well beyond, professional competence. Other aspects of the programme either derive from or support this central process in a number of senses.

At this BA (Hons) level accomplishment advances most obviously and significantly over the level attained within the associated FDA in that dance technical expertise, beyond being an end in itself, develops into a manifest vehicle of expressivity. (See footnote 3.)

Choreographic Studies

Students may exercise a degree of choice in their approach to Choreographic Studies. Focus can be directed towards learning to make dance works as a choreographer and/or how to contribute to the process of making dances through improvisation and/or through the development of movement material introduced by a choreographer or director. Finally work can focus upon discovering and developing expressive capacity in the more traditional role of the dance artist who brings finished movement material to life in performance.

At this BA (Hons) level accomplishment advances most obviously and significantly over the level attained within the associated FDA in that choreographic expertise, beyond being an end in itself, develops into a manifest vehicle of expressivity. (See footnote 3.)

Critical Studies

Within Critical Studies students acquire a body of knowledge, understanding and skills through which they may deploy established and traditional academic methodologies with sophistication.

It is stated above that Critical Studies focuses upon the processes of the act of dance and the making of dances. However, Critical Studies also focuses upon the academic method itself. In this way the structure and content of the programme assure its integration. Thus the need to develop knowledge, understanding and skills as regards the academic method particularly in respect of critical thinking, writing, presentation, analysis, interpretation, evaluation and research is emphasised within each module under 'Synopsis of the Curriculum'. It is also highlighted within the Statement of Assessment Criteria.

In Critical Studies, on completion of the BA (Hons) programme, indicative elements of advancement, over the level attained on completion of the associated FDA, include the following:[3]

1. The body of subject knowledge acquired is increased while both previously and newly acquired knowledge become the subject of reflection, deeper analysis and critical evaluation.

2. The contribution the dancer is in a position to make within the profession is no longer largely dependent on simple professional competence but becomes, also and beyond this, the result of reflective, creative and critical engagement.

3. A secure body of knowledge, understanding and skills, as concerns the academic method, expands into a systematic capacity to deal, coherently, sensitively and in a detailed manner with key and specialised aspects of Dance Technical Studies, Choreography and Performance.

4. The capacity to develop lines of argument and solve problems through different approaches and the consideration of qualitative and quantitative data is enhanced such that it develops into the ability to use ideas and techniques, some of which are at the forefront of the discipline, and the ability to engage creatively and critically with abstract data and concepts while these further provide for the identification and solution of more complex problems.

5. The ability to undertake further training and develop new skills dependent on a structured and managed environment develops into the capacity to advance in learning and research through further and higher educational opportunities and/or with significant responsibilities within organisations.

Teaching, Learning and the Spiral Curriculum

Within all three subject categories, each semester, the student both acquires new subject knowledge and revisits previously considered material. Thus within each category of study an important portion of the work is characterised by a spiral curriculum and a phased approach.

As concerns revisited material, on completion of each semester attainment advances over the phase reached in previous semesters.

The level of advancement required is articulated in subject specific criteria set out in the Rambert School Statement of Assessment Criteria. The subject specific criteria are there given under identical main headings for all semesters. However, under these main headings are articulated the characteristics through which the student demonstrates that new achievement, which is unique and appropriate to the new semester, has taken place

It should be clear that this subject specific criteria name substantive content within each module.

Required Modules level credits semester
RA 3002	PROFESSIONAL BALLET		H		20	ONE
RA 3003	PROFESSIONAL CONTEMPORARY DANCE		H		20	ONE
RA 3004	ACCOMPLISHED PROFESSIONAL BALLET		H		20	TWO
RA 3005	ACCOMPLISHED PROFESSIONAL CONTEMPORARY DANCE		H		20	TWO
Special Project (also Required)
RA 3001	SPECIAL PROJECT	H		40		ONE AND TWO

The Special Project involves the culmination and completion of the Reflective Professional Progress Portfolio. This is built up over the three years of the programme.

Support for Students and their Learning

Academic support

Overall academic and artistic leadership is in the hands of the Principal of the School.

Additionally Academic Leadership is in the hands of The Teaching Steering Committee, the Head of Learning and Teaching (responsible for oversight of quality assurance and implementation of quality assurance requirements) and the Director of Studies (responsible for oversight of the delivery of the programmes).[4]

Student academic support is implemented through collaboration between students and staff and through a system of committees. These include;

- The Academic Board/Board of Studies (meets termly),

- The Administrative Committee (all administrative staff) (meets weekly),

- The Teaching Steering Committee (three full time members of teaching staff) (meets weekly),

- The Staff/Student Consultative Committee (meets termly).

General pastoral care and academic guidance

Rambert School has worked with many foreign students. It deals with a wide age range (from sixteen to the mid-twenties and occasionally older). Processes of pastoral care have become efficient and effective in taking into account the differing ages, characters and needs of students.

A caring culture is cultivated. Each group (male and female) within each year group has a personal tutor who has pastoral and academic responsibilities towards each student in their care. The personal tutor is usually the student's principal Ballet teacher who, through teaching each student every day during the first year and often during the second and third, knows them well and can keep track of them. The personal tutor interviews each student of their tutorial group formally once a term on academic and pastoral grounds. Informal interviews may take place much more often.

In addition to the school's system of personal tutors it provides an open door policy which makes pastoral care as well as academic monitoring easier. At induction students are encouraged to seek advice and general help with problems from any member of staff with whom they feel comfortable. They can speak to the Principal at any time an appointment not being necessary.

IT support

IT learning support is provided in the first year through optional tutorial seminars as well as in RA 1003 and RA 1007. Groups are of no more than ten students. These meet weekly.

Language support

Support for students in cases in which English is not the first language and this is, or is likely to become, a hindrance to learning, is provided on a one to one basis through private tutorials. Such help is given on the basis of need.

Care of younger students

All students of the school must phone in on any day on which they do not attend classes. Calls are logged on the main staff notice board in the staff common room. (Classes, of course, take place for all student five days a week.) In addition on returning to school a student who has been absent must fill out and hand in an absence form before any more classes can be taken. The form specifies the reason for absence and what classes have been missed. These forms are kept in the student's file which is held in the school office and can be consulted by any member of staff. These methods of monitoring are particularly useful in keeping track, and understanding the situation of, younger students.[5]

Since registers are taken of all classes, in effect the student 'clocks in' for each class of every day. The attendance requirement is 100%. Thus absence is noticed immediately.

Specialist consultancy

The school employs two consultants: one dealing with nutrition and the other with physiotherapy and injury prevention. These consultants give at least one lecture/workshop to each group each year during each term. Students with specific problems are referred to these consultants by their teachers, personal tutors or the Principal.

Equal Opportunities and Student with Disabilities

Rambert School is committed to providing equal opportunities and to support all its students with disabilities and/or specific learning needs.

5. Entry Profile

Entry Route

Entry into the course normally requires successful completion of the Rambert School Foundation Degree or completion of a closely comparable course.

Non-English speaking students normally need English language qualifications. Qualifications accepted include TOEFL, IELTS, WELT or the Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English. The scores required are:

TOEFL: at least 580 (paper based), 237 (computer based)
IELTS: average 6.5 with a minimum 6.0 in both Reading and Writing modules
WELT: BBC/BCC
Cambridge Advanced Certificate in English: A
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English: B
JMB/NEAB Test in English for Overseas Students: pass overall, with a minimum of B in Writing, Reading and Speaking modules.

What does this programme have to offer?

Professionalism

In this BA (Hons) year, (which will normally be the third year the student spends at Rambert School) participation in the act of performance, understood as a powerhouse for artistic advancement for the student is increased. The student's performance work becomes more intense and of more acute focus. This facilitates the process through which the student's dance technical ability becomes a developed and sophisticated vehicle of individual expressivity.

Students continue to have the opportunity to take part in public performance through three seasons of student works (two seasons of a week each and one season of two evenings), two seasons of student and professional work (both a week each), one or two show case performances at the Linbury Theatre (in the Royal Opera House), and three performances of solos in the Rambert School Theatre. Some students (five to twenty each year) also take part in a professionally based Research Project involving summer performances in cathedrals for a two to three-week period and performances in churches during the rest of the year. It is unlikely that so much performance is matched by any professional school in the world.

Given this performance schedule all students work with visiting and resident professional artists in both classes and the production of performance material.

The teaching staff of the School have all performed professionally at a high level.

There is weekly teaching and choreographic input from a senior dancer of Rambert Dance Company. The Director of Rambert Dance Company sometimes choreographs on the School. The School's Artistic Director does so every year.

Dance companies give residencies and workshops at the School. Examples are; Scottish Dance Theatre, DV8, Mark Morris, Rambert Dance Company, Fin Walker and Union Dance Company.

Some students undertake work placements as, for example, with Diversions Dance Company, Vienna Festival Ballet, English National Ballet and Gelebe Dance Company and the Martial Dance Company.

Seminars are conducted towards finding a job and the process of auditioning.

Contacts

A special relationship at board and artistic levels with Rambert Dance Company.

Contacts with professional practitioners in the UK and internationally.

Contacts with dance companies in the UK and internationally.

Access and a relationship with venues in London.

Research Profile

The School has built up a research culture, within a university environment, over recent national Research Assessment Exercises. This includes research outcomes and PhD supervision.

Job Destination Record

A modest calculation of successful job destination rates place this at 90% of graduating students.

The School's graduates have gone on to enter the profession, usually at a high level. Graduates dance with Ballet companies like Dutch National Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Scottish Ballet, the Seoul Ballet and the Cape Town Ballet; and with Contemporary Dance companies like Rambert Dance Company, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Richard Alston Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Company, the Munich Dance Company and Netherlands Dance Theatre. These are among the most respected companies.

Personal Profile

On entry the student will be able to demonstrate:

Mental and physical stamina combined with a high level of motivation towards entry into the dance profession as a dancer or choreographer or both;

The potential to engage in Ballet and or Contemporary Dance at a level of professional excellence. The student will be able to demonstrate dance movement quality, musicality, dance physicality, stage presence and dance technical ability at a level of professional competence.

The potential to develop the academic skills of critical thinking, discussion and debate, reflection, presentation, analysis, interpretation and evaluation at a graduate level.

Signs of the potential to engage constructively, creatively and critically within group or corporate artistic work.

Methods for Evaluating and Enhancing the Quality and Standards of Teaching and Learning

Mechanisms for review and evaluation of teaching, learning, assessment, the curriculum and outcome standards

- Annual Review of the programme and course modules attended by staff and student representatives. This considered by the Academic Board and the Board of Trustees.

- Academic Board/Board of Studies (meets monthly).

- Participation in examining process by External Examiners and response to their reports.

- Weekly meetings of the Administrative Committee and and Teaching Steering Committee.

- Meetings of entire staff (meets termly).

- Process of double marking.

- Peer observation of teaching.

- Staff appraisals.

- Performances before the general public, critics and dance professionals (at least five seasons each year).

- Reports and evaluations by visiting professionals and artistic advisors.

- Student programme evaluation questionnaires.

- A clearly articulated course rationale and assessment process.

- University periodic programme review.

- QAA Institutional audits.

Committees with responsibility for monitoring and evaluating quality and standards

- Board of Trustees (meets monthly)

- Audit Committee (meets as necessary)

- Finance Committee (meets as necessary)

- Premises/Building Committee (meets and necessary)

- Remuneration and Nominations Committee (meets as necessary)

- Academic Board/Board of Studies (meets monthly)

- Administrative Committee (meets weekly)

- Teaching Steering Committee (meets weekly)

- Staff Student Consultative Committee (meets termly)

- Learning and Teaching Committee of the Faculty of Humanities

- University of Kent Learning and Teaching Board

- Board of Examiners (including External Examiners)

Mechanisms for gaining student feedback on the quality of teaching and their learning experience

- Student feedback is monitored through;

- meeting between students and the Director (termly),

- meetings between students and between any member of staff with which they feel comfortable,

- tutorials,

- questionnaires,

- the Staff/Student Consultative Committee (meets termly),

- the Reflective Professional Portfolio and other written work,

- student representation on the Academic Board.

Staff Development priorities include:

Individual development as teachers;

- through support in teaching experiences with other internationally recognised centre of excellence inside and outside the UK,

- through support in attending conferences, international competitions and symposiums and long and short courses.

Individual and collective development in Research;

- through the support of individuals in attending conferences, international competitions and symposiums and courses,

- through the support of individual and collective Research projects.

Initiatives towards inter-colligiality with the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama.

7. Indicators of Quality and Standards

External Examiners Reports; (moderation and assessment)

- As appointed through Brunel University 1985 to 2002

- As appointed by Edexcel 2003-2005

- As appointed by Trinity College 2004/2005

CDET Accreditation Report – 1995

OFSTED Report 2003

Annual Monitoring Reports; West London Institute of Higher Education 1985-1996

Annual Monitoring Reports: Brunel University 1997-2005

Highly successful Employment Destinations record.

Regarded as of equal standing by the existing affiliates of the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama.

Highly positive press response to performance activity.

The following reference points were used in creating these specifications:

Employment and the equality and importance of the study of Ballet and Contemporary Dance

The full title of the school is the 'Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance'. This title reflects that Rambert School is unlike, for example, the Royal Ballet School, which is primarily a Ballet School or the London School of Contemporary Dance which is primarily a school of Contemporary Dance. At Rambert School both these major genres of Western Theatrical Dance are treated equally and as major studies. One is not undertaken largely or only to supplement the other. This approach, which is unique in the UK, is adopted because, as the record of former students of the School shows, it provides young dance artists with an education and training through which they can, with great success, enter, enjoy and improve the professional dance job market of today.

Benchmarks - The Subject Benchmark Statement of 2002

This degree has been drafted in close consonance with the Subject Benchmark Statement of 2002 and the most recent National Academic Framework Descriptors. Guidelines adhered to from the Subject Benchmark Statement are given in the School's “Statement of Assessment Criteria (including Benchmark Statement Consonance)”.

University of Kent at Canterbury

Rambert School

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance

RA 3001

1. Title of the Module

Special Project (RA3001)

2. Department responsible for the management of the module

Rambert School

3. Start Date of the Module

September 2007

4. Number of student expected to take the module

5. Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module and the consultation with other relevant Departments and Faculties regarding the withdrawal

none

6. Level of the Module

7. Number of Credits

8. Which term(s) the module is to be taught in

Semesters One and Two

9. Prerequisite and co-requisite modules

Those of the BA programme

10. The programme of study to which the module contributes

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance

11. The intended subject specific learning outcomes and their relationship to programme learning outcomes:

On successful completion of this project the student will be able to demonstrate:

1. reflection, understanding and rigorous practice/theory evaluation of the subject knowledge and skill associated with this degree and acquired through a review of the student's experience of it;

2. reflection, knowledge, understanding and evaluation of practice as research and practice within research. This is conducted working within the forefront of the discipline. It takes account of its arguments, assumptions and abstract concepts from a professional level of sophistication;

3. improvement upon all aspects of the student's ability to dance and/or choreograph such that these practices reach a level of professional excellence and that the skills in question, beyond appearing to be and end in themselves, become a manifest vehicle of creativity.

4. creative, critical and sensitive use of the conventions of academic practice as made evident through essays, logs, reports, portfolios or some combination of these.

12. The intended generic learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their relationship to programme learning outcomes

The following outcomes are all consonant with and integrated within the teaching of the programme learning outcomes:

Students will be able to demonstrate:

critical, analytical and physical skills in relation to practical applications;
creative and imaginative skills as shown through the realisation of independent subject specific skill and knowledge based tasks;
communication in a variety of performance media;
reflexive, critical and independent thinking;
sustaining concentration and focus, in various categories of application, for extended periods;
awareness of inter-disciplinary approaches to study;
understanding of group dynamics and an ability to implement them in practical contexts;
handling creative, personal and interpersonal issues;
negotiation and pursuing goals; dealing with success and failure in working with others;
managing personal workloads; staging of timing within projects; meeting deadlines.

13. A Synopsis of the Curriculum

13.1 Essential Content[6]

Building on Previous Study

This Special Project is ideally the culmination and completion of a Reflective Professional Progress Portfolio. This is a portfolio that is built up over the three years of the programme by all students considering progression from the Rambert School Foundation Degree to its BA (Hons) degree.

13. 1 Essential Content

As concerns the study of academic conventions and skills six main areas of focus to which the student is directed are given in the first list below. These six area are also the subject of Critical Studies modules within the related FDA. In the list that follows this first one are given characteristics specifically of concern within this module.

Critical Studies,

Discussion and debate,

Reflection,

Writing,

Presentation, Analysis,

Interpretation,

Evaluation.

The capacity to make use of the academic method is addressed providing levels of accomplishment such that:

Critical Thinking

Students should demonstrate that their thought about academic, practical/technical and choreographic studies and the practice of the profession, including its forefront work, is at a fully graduate level of academic practice. Such thought should be characterised by an ability to synthesize and evaluate alternative perspectives and to be able to defend personal judgements logically through analysis of appropriate evidence.

Discussion and Debate

In talking about problems and situations, and in defending or questioning positions taken in relation to them, the student should demonstrate knowledge and skills informed by a new dance professional's understanding of the dance profession. It should be clearly demonstrated that the individual can find new knowledge and deepen understanding through dialogue and debate.

Reflection

Students should demonstrate accomplishment in the ability to examine their work, and that of the profession through knowledge and skills informed by a new dance professional's understanding. Such reflection should include a review of the full experience of the degree programme in order that successes, failures and other learning situations can be revisited in retrospect and the student can demonstrate an ability to learn from this process.

Writing

Students should demonstrate knowledge and skills informed by a new dance professional's stage of understanding concerning the profession. It should be demonstrated that writing can be a means through which thought can be clarified.

Presentation

Students should demonstrate knowledge and skills of presentation as informed by a new dance professional's stage of understanding. A personal style of presentation should be evident.

Analysis

Students should demonstrate knowledge and skills informed by a new dance professional's understanding of the profession in breaking down and investigating problems or situations as these concern their work in the school and the work of the profession. Analysis of the various subject areas of concern to the student should show an ability to identify interrelations and their significance for dance practice and/or theory.

Interpretation

Students should demonstrate knowledge and skills informed by a new professional's understanding of the profession. Where appropriate interpretation of, for example, class structures (the structure of tuition processes) the instructor's intentions, artistic orientations and choreographic works made over the three years of the course should be related and compare. This will shed light upon final hypotheses, strategies and conclusions set out in the Special Project.

Evaluation

Students should demonstrate evaluative knowledge and skills as informed by a new professional's stage of understanding as concerns the work of the school, their work within it and the conventional and innovative work of the dance profession. They should demonstrate awareness of the limits of much evaluation within the arts (since such evaluation often deals with personal and non-verifiable experience) displaying an appreciation and respect for “approximate knowledge”, uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge.

13.2 Procedural Content

A Retrospective Review Towards Progression

The project has professional orientation. The student, with the guidance of a supervisor (while demonstrating that all aspects of practice have been informed and enhanced by the application of Critical Studies and academic skills) identifies an element or area of their performance or pre-performance practice which they wish particularly to investigate and so seek to improve. Students undertake an in-depth self-evaluation, examining progress made through the full three-year period spent at the School or in similar education and training. They examine theoretical and practical aspects applying knowledge about dance performance practice, choreography, performance styles and philosophies in relation to the professional demands of the field.

They are encouraged to consider how this examination might contribute to the formulation of strategies that will allow them to plan and document an action plan: a personal way forward within the profession. They are brought to identify weaknesses as well as strengths in order to form an honest and realistic self-evaluation and approach towards their future as professionals. Students are encouraged to analyse, reflect and evaluate work within the profession itself such that they might contribute to its general artistic advancement.

They will finally be encouraged to show that they have thought about and conceived plans for continual learning and professional development looking towards the years that will follow those in which they can normally expect to dance.

Advancement over the FDA Level

This module straddles the border between the three categories of Dance Technical Studies, Choreographic Studies and Critical Studies.

As concerns Dance Technical and Choreographic Studies, work should reach the standard of professional excellence such that technical expertise becomes a manifest vehicle of expressivity.

As concerns Critical Studies indicative elements of advancement, over the level attained on completion of the associated FDA, include the following elements:[7]

1. The body of subject knowledge acquired is to a much increased while both previously and newly acquired knowledge become the subject of reflection, deeper analysis and critical evaluation.

14. Indicative Reading Lists

Reading will be appropriate to the themes of the Project.

15. Teaching and Learning Methods including the nature and number of contact hours and the total study hours which will be expected of students and how these relate to achievement of the intended learning outcomes

Teaching and Learning Hours; (a minimum of)

Tutorials, Lectures and Seminars: 100

Independent Work and Research 300

Total number of student/tutor contact hours: 100

Expected student learning hours: 300

Total contact and learning hours: 400

Processes must vary for individual cases of this Special Project. The focus of it might have been decided upon early in the process of building up the Reflective Professional Progress Portfolio or it may be identified only in the third year of study in which this Project is undertaken. The investigation is conducted through the application of academic methodologies of critical thinking, analysis, reflection, interpretation and evaluation to the student's own performance or pre-performance practice.

In terms of the practical dance performance aspect of what is presented a student could chose to be be assessed on activity that is essentially solitary (the performance of a solo) or as a contributor to, and worker within a group project (as choreographer, director or dancer in a group work etc). In terms of the theoretical aspect of what is presented the student prepares a documentation which includes material arrived at through the largely proforma based work of the first year, selections, with comment, from the more independently formulated work of the second year, other material demonstrating reflection, analysis and evaluation of the student's work over the full three year programme including at least 4,000 words of essay material written by the student. It is particularly in this essay material that the student must demonstrate that the academic knowledge and skills listed and discussed in earlier modules.

16. Assessment methods and how these relate to testing achievement of the intended learning outcomes

All work should demonstrate the examination and improvement of the student's work from the view-point of one possessed of a professional level of knowledge and skills. Knowledge should be demonstrated that is informed by work at the forefront of the professional discipline of dance. Such work/research and its arguments, assumptions and abstract concepts should be critiqued and evaluated.

Overall the approximately 4,000 words of essay material and/or other written work demonstrate that the student's academic skills are at a BA (Hons) level. The practical work demonstrates that dance performance and/or choreographic skills have reached a level of professional excellence. In addition it should be clear that students' academic skills have informed and enhanced their practical ones.

Practical Assessment 40% to 60%[8]

As concerns the practical performance and/or pre-performance aspect of work, assessment addresses whether a level of professional excellence has been the better reached in dancing and/or choreography.

Theoretical Assessment 40% to 60%

University of Kent at Canterbury

Rambert School

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance

RA 3002

1. Title of the Module

Professional Ballet (RA3002)

2. Department responsible for the management of the module

Rambert School

3. Start Date of the Module

September 2007

4. Number of student expected to take the module

5. Modules to be withdrawn on the introduction of this proposed module and the consultation with other relevant Departments and Faculties regarding the withdrawal

none

6. Level of the Module

7. Number of Credits

8. Which term(s) the module is to be taught in

Semester One

9. Prerequisite and co-requisite modules

none

10. The programme of study to which the module contributes

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance

11. The intended subject specific learning outcomes and their relationship to programme learning outcomes:

On successful completion of the module the students will:

1. be able to demonstrate to a professional level (speaking in terms of a professional education and training and the Essential and Procedural Content give below) the intricacies of the ballet technique with ease and style;

2. be equipped to start competing in auditions to secure a job in the dance profession upon graduation;

3. be able to perform. at a level of professional competence, ballet solos and repertoire before the general public.

4. show, in all the above, distinct signs of individual and unique potential particularly in term of movement quality, musicality, presence and dance physicality at the level of professional competence.

12. The intended generic learning outcomes and, as appropriate, their relationship to programme learning outcomes

The following outcomes are all consonant with and integrated within the teaching of the programme learning outcomes:

Students will be able to demonstrate:

critical, analytical and physical skills in relation to practical applications;
creative and imaginative skills as shown through the realisation of independent subject specific skill and knowledge based tasks;
communication in a variety of performance media;
reflexive, critical and independent thinking;
sustaining concentration and focus, in various categories of application, for extended periods;
awareness of inter-disciplinary approaches to study;
understanding of group dynamics and an ability to implement them in practical contexts;
handling creative, personal and interpersonal issues;
negotiation and pursuing goals; dealing with success and failure in working with others;
managing personal workloads; staging of timing within projects; meeting deadlines.

13. A Synopsis of the Curriculum

13.1 Essential Content[9]

The work of the programme is characterised by a carefully phased approach. The phases, including those associated with the Foundation degree related to, and conceived with, this BA (Hons) programme, are shown in the table below.

Phases

Study is in the following phases;

Phase 1 Introductory (semester one)

Phase 2 Elementary (semester two)

Phase 3 Pre-Advanced (semester three)

Phase 4 Advanced (semester four)

Phase 5 Professional (semester five)

Phase 6 Accomplished Professional

(semester six)

This approach is particularly appropriate in the teaching and learning in Dance Technical Studies (modules dealing with Ballet and Contemporary Dance training) because they are accomplished through a spiral curriculum. This is to say that specific areas, themes and families of movement and individual positions and movements are visited many times and in many cases on every day. Thus, for example, pliés must be studied and practised during every day in the expectation that through this the student will improve. This revisiting of areas of study may involve an increase in difficulty, complexity, diversity and quantity but it need not always do so. A simple plié exercise can be as difficult and trying as a very complex one to the sophisticated dancer because that sophistication is applied to it.

This phase is called here 'Professional' within this programme there being one phase after it called here 'Accomplished Professional'. Within this module (and semester five of the programme) students are working at a professional level of competence. In semester six students will have reached a level beyond that of basic professional competence.

Six main areas of focus, to which the student is directed, accompanied by sub-headings; are given in the first list below. In the list that follows are given characteristics specifically of concern within this module and phase of study.

Movement Quality

- co-ordination

- flow

- line

- dynamics

Musicality

- rhythmic awareness

- musical awareness

- musical dynamics

- musical phrasing

Stage Presence

- eye line

- confidence

- grasp of appropriate style

- dramatic sense

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

- consistency of attendance (100% attendance and punctuality is expected except for bona fide reasons)

- level of concentration

- attitude to the learning of oneself and others

- attitude to the teacher

- attitude to other students

Dance Technical Ability

as concerns the use of

- feet

- legs

- torso

- arms

- head

- the full body in stillness, moving on place and moving across space.

The list below gives indicative characteristics which are the specific focus of teaching and learning within this module and phase.

Professional Stage

(fifth semester)

Movement Quality

an assured individual movement quality,

Musicality

clear command of musical accuracy, phrasing and dynamics,

Presence

manifest power of, and the ability to employ different qualities of, projection,

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

Characteristics indicative of this area of accomplishment to the level given for earlier modules while additionally showing the ability to inspire a teacher or choreographer,

Dance Technical Ability

an accomplished level of proficiency in all areas of the genre.

13.2 Procedural Content

Central to the English tradition of classical ballet, based on purity of line and clarity of movement, with precise footwork and a strong use of epaulement. A lightness and speed of transference of weight with a fluid and lyrical quality in all Ports de Bras and use of the upper body. Influenced over the decades by the Russian (Vaganova); Italian (Cecchetti); French and Danish (Bournonville) schools and constantly developed to suit the English physique and temperament, and to achieve an excellence by the third year to compete in the international dance world.

Work focuses upon:

Approaching class work as a professional.

Developing audition skills within the classroom; e.g. performing class like a performance; picking up at speed; attention to every detail and nuance.

Barre Work:

A further progression with

Correct stance and placing.

Accurate weight placement.

Transference of weight, with exerecises on the demi-pointe and pointe.

Accuracy of the Positions and alignments of Devant, a la Seconde, Derriere a Terre, enL'air and on demi-pointe and pointe.

Stamina and clarity.

Complex and combined exercises, following the traditional running order – i.e.

Warm up

Plies

Battements Tendus

Battements Glisses

Battements Jetes

Ronds de Jambe a Terre

Battements Fondus

Battements Frappes

Ronds de Jambe en L'air

Petits Battements

Adage

Grands Battements

Stretch

Centre work:

Ports de Bras - with pirouette and adage elements, also on demi-pointe and pointe. (often 4 – 8 bar phrases)

Centre Practice - based on the barre work.

Pirouettes – including all grand pirouettes in attitude, arabesque, a la seconde – en dehors, en dedans – single, doubles.

Pirouettes en manege.

Fouettes

(All on demi-pointe and pointe)

Adage – (often 4 – 8 bar phrases) including pirouettes, ballottes, rotations, Promanades, Penchees, rotations on demi- pointe and pointe.

Allegro – Complex enchainements in 32 bar phrases

In petit Allegro, Allegro, Batterie with double beats, e.g. Entrechat Six and entrechat six vole de cote.

Grand Allegro, also en manege, including batterie, Cabrioles, Fouette Battu, Grands Jetes en tournant battu, Sissonnes battu.

Solos and Pas de Deux from the classical Repertoire.

14. Indicative Reading Lists

Essential Reading

Guest, I. The Romantic Ballet in London. London: Pitman, 1972.

Karsavanah. T. Theatre Street. London: Dance Books, 1981.

Movement Quality

- co-ordination

- flow

- line

- dynamics

Musicality

- rhythmic awareness

- musical awareness

- musical dynamics

- musical phrasing

Stage Presence

- eye line

- confidence

- grasp of appropriate style

- dramatic sense

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

- consistency of attendance (100% attendance and punctuality is expected except for bona fide reasons)

- level of concentration

- attitude to the learning of oneself and others

- attitude to the teacher

- attitude to other students

Dance Technical Ability

as concerns the use of

- feet

- legs

- torso

- arms

- head

- the full body in stillness, moving on place and moving across space.

The list below gives indicative characteristics which are the specific focus of teaching and learning within this module and phase.

Professional Phase

(fifth semester)

Movement Quality

an assured individual movement quality,

Musicality

clear command of musical accuracy, phrasing and dynamics,

Presence

manifest power of, and the ability to employ different qualities of, projection,

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

Characteristics indicative of this area of accomplishment to the level given for earlier modules while additionally showing the ability to inspire a teacher or choreographer,

Dance Technical Ability

an accomplished level of proficiency in all areas of the genre.

13.2 Procedural Content

Work goes forward at a Professional level.

A significant degree of work remains primarily concerned the Cohan/Graham style which is the core area of study within the related Foundation Degree. This is delivered through one technique class, one to two technique/solos class each week, preparation and performance of these solos and through other choreographed works, within this style, realised in performance.

All the elements of this style and technique, articulated in the related Rambert School FDA in Ballet and Contemporary Dance, are integrated and combined. The four themes studied, largely in isolation, in that FDA are, in the BA (Hons) programme combined also.

Through the two to three remaining classes in Contemporary Dance given each week, and through other choreographed work that is prepared for performance and performed, other styles are studied at a professional level usually through guests professional teachers and choreographers. Focus, within these classes, rehearsals and performance, is upon the following as explored and exploited in styles and technique presently exploited at the forefront of the profession

Floor Work

Standing Centre Work

Moving Centre Work

Jumps

Falls

Building Movement from given material

Improvisation

The following is an indicative list of solos that are studied. Two will be performed before a panel of staff, students of the school and an invited audience.

Amazing Grace Choreography by Ross McKim

Khamsin Choreography by Robert Cohan

Elihu Choreography by Robert Cohan

Descent Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan

Then Choreography by Ross McKim

John The Baptist Choreography by Ross McKim

Margot's song Choreography by Ross McKim

Nisi Dominus Choreography by Ross McKim

St Johns Passions Choreography by Ross McKim

The Penetcost Choreography by Ross McKim

Lacramosa Choreography by Ross McKim

The Shaman Choreography by Ross McKim

14. Indicative Reading Lists

Essential Reading

Cohen, S. J. The Modern Dance. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. 1965.

Movement Quality

- co-ordination

- flow

- line

- dynamics

Musicality

- rhythmic awareness

- musical awareness

- musical dynamics

- musical phrasing

Stage Presence

- eye line

- confidence

- grasp of appropriate style

- dramatic sense

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

- consistency of attendance (100% attendance and punctuality is expected except for bona fide reasons)

- level of concentration

- attitude to the learning of oneself and others

- attitude to the teacher

- attitude to other students

Dance Technical Ability

as concerns the use of

- feet

- legs

- torso

- arms

- head

- the full body in stillness, moving on place and moving across space.

The list below gives indicative characteristics which are the specific focus of teaching and learning within this module and phase.

Accomplished-Professional Phase

(sixth semester)

Movement Quality

dance movement that is individual and of a quality beyond professional competence,

Musicality

a sophisticated and subtle command of musical accuracy, phrasing and dynamics,

Presence

a manifest power of, and the ability to employ different qualities of, projection with a clear understanding of different situations or roles to which such qualities are appropriate,

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

characteristics indicative of this area of accomplishment to the level given for earlier modules plus the ability to understand and contribute to the artistic processes, as this involves the student, the student's learning group and the school as a whole.

Dance Technical Ability

An above professional level of proficiency in all areas of the genre.

13.2 Procedural Content

Work focuses upon:

Approaching class work as a professional, with further refinement.

Developing audition skills within the classroom with more experience of actual auditioning; e.g. performing class like a performance; picking up at speed; attention to every detail and nuance.

Barre Work:

A further progression with

Correct stance and placing.

Accurate weight placement.

Transference of weight, with exerecises on the demi-pointe and pointe.

Accuracy of the Positions and alignments of Devant, a la Seconde, Derriere a Terre, enL'air and on demi-pointe and pointe.

Stamina, clarity and a strong individuality .

Complex and combined exercises, following the traditional running order – i.e.

Warm up

Plies

Battements Tendus

Battements Glisses

Battements Jetes

Ronds de Jambe a Terre

Battements Fondus

Battements Frappes

Ronds de Jambe en L'air

Petits Battements

Adage

Grands Battements

Stretch

Centre work:

Ports de Bras - with pirouette and adage elements, also on demi-pointe and pointe. (often 4 – 8 bar phrases)

Centre Practice - based on the barre work.

Pirouettes – including all grand pirouettes in attitude, arabesque, a la seconde – en dehors, en dedans – single, doubles.

Pirouettes en manege.

Fouettes

(All on demi-pointe and pointe)

Adage – (often 4 – 8 bar phrases) More complex enchainements including pirouettes, ballottes, rotations, Promanades, Penchees, rotations on demi- pointe and pointe.

Allegro – More complex enchainements in 32 bar phrases

In petit Allegro, Allegro, Batterie with double beats, e.g. Entrechat Six and entrechat six vole de cote.

Grand Allegro, also en manege, including batterie, Cabrioles, Fouette Battu, Grands Jetes en tournant battu, Sissonnes battu.

Solos and Pas de Deux from the classical Repertoire.

14. Indicative Reading Lists

Essential Reading

Vagonova, A. Basic Principles of Ballet. New York: Dover, 1969.

Movement Quality

- co-ordination

- flow

- line

- dynamics

Musicality

- rhythmic awareness

- musical awareness

- musical dynamics

- musical phrasing

Stage Presence

- eye line

- confidence

- grasp of appropriate style

- dramatic sense

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

- consistency of attendance (100% attendance and punctuality is expected except for bona fide reasons)

- level of concentration

- attitude to the learning of oneself and others

- attitude to the teacher

- attitude to other students

Dance Technical Ability

as concerns the use of

- feet

- legs

- torso

- arms

- head

- the full body in stillness, moving on place and moving across space.

The list below gives indicative characteristics which are the specific focus of teaching and learning within this module and phase.

Accomplished-Professional Phase

(sixth semester)

Movement Quality

dance movement that is individual and of a quality beyond professional competence,

Musicality

a sophisticated and subtle command of musical accuracy, phrasing and dynamics,

Presence

a manifest power of, and the ability to employ different qualities of, projection with a clear understanding of different situations or roles to which such qualities are appropriate,

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

Dance Technical Ability

An above professional level of proficiency in all areas of the genre.

13.2 Procedural Content

Work goes forward at a Professional level.

Through the two to three remaining classes in Contemporary Dance given each week, and through choreographed work that is prepared for performance and performed, other styles are studied at a professional level usually through guests professional teachers and choreographers. Focus, within these classes, rehearsals and performance, is upon the following as explored and exploited in styles and technique presently exploited at the forefront of the profession

Floor Work

Standing Centre Work

Moving Centre Work

Falls Jumps

Building Movement from given material

Improvisation

The following is an indicative list of solos that are studied. Two will be performed before a panel of staff, students of the school and an invited audience.

Amazing Grace Choreography by Ross McKim

Khamsin Choreography by Robert Cohan

Elihu Choreography by Robert Cohan

Descent Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan

Then Choreography by Ross McKim

John The Baptist Choreography by Ross McKim

Margot's song Choreography by Ross McKim

Nisi Dominus Choreography by Ross McKim

St Johns Passions Choreography by Ross McKim

The Penetcost Choreography by Ross McKim

Lacramosa Choreography by Ross McKim

The Shaman Choreography by Ross McKim

14. Indicative Reading Lists

Essential Reading

Stodelle, E. The Dance Technique of Doris Humphrey. Princeton:(NY): 1978.

INTRODUCTION

In this section of the Programme Handbook you will find the following information:

Academic Offences

Plagiarism

Collusion

Penalties

How to Reference

How to present a Bibliography

Presentation of Written Work

Some Examples

Referencing

A Bibliography

Presentation of Work

It is essential that you take note of what is written. Failure to adhere to academic conventions regarding referencing, bibliographies and the presentation of written work can affect your mark.

It is essential that the ideas, words and work of others be properly acknowledged. Failure to do so is an academic offence.

ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else's work as your own. Work means any intellectual output, and typically includes text, data, images, sound and performance.

Any essays or dissertations submitted for any of the School's courses must be your own work and any passages quoted must be clearly marked and properly attributed to their authors. Failure to do so may be regarded as plagiarism and this, or copying from another student, will be treated as equivalent to cheating in a written examination and will result in the penalties (displayed on the notice board) being applied. Obviously much of your writing will be inspired by what you have read, but you must not copy or paraphrase whole sentences or paragraphs of someone else's work without proper acknowledgment. If you are in any doubt over how to handle material in this way, make a point of consulting the Critical Studies Coordinator who will be very pleased to advise you how best to proceed. Please note the following:

q You must acknowledge work that draws on the words or ideas of anyone else.

q The source of all direct quotations must be acknowledged and referencing must conform to recognised academic conventions.

q You cannot present someone else's ideas as your own. Again, if used in an assignment in any way, the author and source must be acknowledged.

q You must list all sources of information in your bibliography/videography (e.g. texts, articles, journals, internet sources). If necessary you should add other sections (e.g. live performances, exhibitions).

q Taking or copying the work of others (ideas, movements etc.) and presenting it as your own choreographic work, also constitutes plagiarism.

The following examples are not acceptable without acknowledging the source but sometimes are thought to be:

q Changing some of the words or the order of the sentences (paraphrasing)

q Replacing odd or unusual words

q Adding filler words or phrases

q Changing headings

q Rephrasing sentences

q Removing sections

q Re-ordering sections

Collusion

Collusion occurs when two or more students work together to produce work (in whole or in part) for an assignment and the work is then presented for individual assessment.

This is not the same as when working on a collaborative or group assessment project where the intention is for students to work together.

Penalties

Academic offences are regarded with the utmost seriousness and penalties can be severe, including automatic failure of the work.

In this case you will be required to submit a new piece of work, and your mark will be capped at 40%.

HOW TO REFERENCE

The sources of information referred to in academic writing are becomingly increasingly varied. You need to make note of as much information as possible from sources used as part of your research. Some of the information may be unavailable in which case, make a note to that effect. If you use sources that are not listed here apply the basic principles in the best way you can. If in any doubt about what is written here then ask the Critical Studies Coordinator. The Harvard system should be used.

For direct quotations

(i) the quotation may be preceded in the text by the author's name followed, in brackets, by the year of publication and the page number from the source from which the quotation was taken:

e.g. Smith says: quotation (1976, p.3)

(ii) where appropriate, the quotation may be immediately followed by the author's name, the year of publication, the source and the page number, all in brackets:

e.g. ... it was believed that: quotation (Mazo, 1976, p.52)

(iii) the quotation may be preceded by author, date and page number as follows:

e.g. Adair (1992, p.53) states quotation......

(iv) when the quotation is from a text where it is already included as a quotation, this should be acknowledged as follows:

e.g. Reid (1969, quoted in Smith, 1972, p.11) says ...quotation..

e.g. quotation (Reid, 1969 quoted in Smith, 1972, p.11)

For references that are not direct quotations (paraphrasing)

When referring to someone else's work, ideas, suggestions etc. without the reference being a direct quotation put the author's name followed by the date in brackets. You do not need to include the page number.

e.g. Banes (1977) tries to show how the development of post modern choreography….

For references to a chapter in an edited book

Give the name of the author of the particular chapter together with the editor's name and the date of publication. Again the page number should be quoted if the reference is in the form of a direct quotation:

e.g. Copeland (1983, in Adshead, 1988) suggests ……

e.g. Copeland (1983, in Adshead , 1988, p.3) says that …quotation….

To differentiate between references to the same author in the same year

The suffixes a, b & c etc are added as necessary. The suffixes should also be used in the bibliography in order to distinguish the texts.

e.g. Curl (1986a) and Curl (1986b)

To make further references to sources identified earlier

i) the term ibid indicates a reference to the same source as the previous reference but if for a direct quotation, you must also include the page number:

e.g. Smith (ibid) adds that aesthetic experience would therefore……

e.g. Smith (ibid, p.11) states……..quotation

e.g. Smith further states…….quotation (ibid, p.11)

ii) the term op cit identifies a reference to a source detailed earlier in the discussion but not the last one. It can be used as shown in the ibid examples above. Again, the page number should be cited for direct quotations.

To refer to a text with several authors:

For texts where there are several authors (i.e. more than two, for two authors it is usual to cite both) the term et al may be used:

e.g. Adshead et al (1988) state that in order to fully appreciate ......

For videos, live performances, television programmes, exhibitions, post performance, talks, interviews etc.:

Adapt the above examples to use for sources that are not written sources.

i) video recordings

e.g. Graham (in Dancemakers, 1992) explains her interest in…..

e.g. Swan Song (1989, Summer Dance 1994) demonstrates Bruce's concern for the human…

ii) live performance:

e.g. McGregor's use of technology in his latest work Aeon (Derby Dance Centre, 1999)…..

iii) for an exhibition:

e.g. The striking use of colour by Diaghilev's designers is clearly evident in the original drawings for Petrushka, Le Train Bleu and The Firebird (Barbican Centre, 1997).

iv) for a post performance talk

e.g. Davies (The Crucible, Sheffield, 1996) stated that she often considers…

For information gained in interview, faxes and emails:

Use the same format as for books and other sources:

e.g. quotation (Smith, 1999, Interview)

e.g. quotation (Smith, 1998, fax)

e.g quotation (Smith, 2000, email)

For information from the internet:

Follow the format for written sources as closely as possible. Some information may not be available but you must include the name of the site; the full website address (sometimes referred to as the URL) and the date you accessed the information.

e.g. Le Grand (1991) states:

The quality and variety of professional dance to be seen in this country is outstanding and education work available to schools truly reflects that diversity. (http://www.ndta.org.uk/public/archive/dm.html, 22/08/2003)

When inserting tables/diagrams/figures in the text:

i) Tables, figures and diagrams inserted into the text must be numbered in the order they appear and given a title. If composed from your own research, then only the table and the title (and possibly the date) are required:

e.g. Table 5: Eating Patterns of First Year Students, NSCD, 1985 entry

ii) Where the table, diagram or figure is taken from another source, them full credit must be given to the original author – in the same format as in the bibliography with the addition of the table/ figure/diagram number and title if different:

e.g.Figure 3: Achieving Correct Posture

(from Todd, M. (1968) The Thinking Body, Pennington NJ, Princetown Book Company, Figure 75, p. 212)

iii) If you have adapted or altered a table/figure/diagram then say so:

e.g.Figure 3: Achieving Correct Posture

(adapted from Todd, M. (1968) The Thinking Body, Pennington NJ, Princetown Book Company, Figure 75, p. 212)

iv) When referring to a table/figure/diagram inserted into the text, use the normal referencing system. For a table of your own just include the table number in brackets e.g. (Table 24). From another source then:

e.g.It is shown quite clearly that the normal posture (Figure 3, Todd, 1968) is……

How to reference, paintings, sculptures and photographs in the text:

Each image should have a plate number, numbering up from 1 sequentially through the text.

In the case of paintings the plate number should be followed by the artist's name, the title of the picture (in italics or underlined), the date attributed to it, its medium and finally its dimensions. See the example below:

example: referencing plates

Plate 1 Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2, 1912, oil on canvas, 146 x 89 cm.

In the case of a photograph, the plate number should be followed by the photographer's name, the title of the photograph (in italics or underlined), the date attributed to it and the type of print. See the next example:

example: referencing plates #2

Plate 2 Man Ray, Larmes, c. 1930, silver print

In the case of a sculpture the plate number should be followed by the artist's name, the title of the sculpture (in italics or underlined), the date attributed to it, its medium and finally its dimensions. See the next example:

example: referencing plates #3

Plate 3 Umberto Boccioni, Development of a Bottle in Space, 1912-13, bronze, h. 38 cm.

List of Plates

There should be a list of the plates, in ascending numerical order (i.e. the order that they appear in the text) at the front of the essay, after the title page.

This list should include the information already given with the image as well as the place where the original resides (usually an art gallery or museum) and the source of the image (usually a book or perhaps a website) if you have not referred to the original directly.

The source of your information should be included in your bibliography and so in the list of plates you can simply give the author's name and the date of the publication or, the address of the web site and the date you visited it. See the example below for the images referenced above:

List of Plates

1. Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2, 1912,

oil on canvas, 146 x 89 cm.

Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art: The Louise And Walter Arensberg Collection.

(Gaiger, 2003, p.72)

2. Man Ray, Larmes, c. 1930-1933,

silver print.

Jederman Collection N. A.

(Phillips, 1988, p.204)

2. Umberto Boccioni, Development of a Bottle in Space, 1912-13,

bronze, h. 38 cm.

The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

(Bozzollza and Tisdall, 1977, p.79)

HOW TO PRESENT A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OTHER SOURCES

A bibliography should include all sources consulted whether you have used quotations and/or other material from them or not and should be presented at the end of the assignment. Separate headings should be used for different types of sources, for example:

Text Books

Journals

Newspaper articles

Videography for pre-recorded videos, off-air recordings and television programmes

Electronic sources (Internet/CD Roms etc.)

Live performances

Exhibitions

Interviews

Post Performance Talks

Sources listed in your bibliography should be presented alphabetically of the author/choreographer/directors surname. You should state if the information is not available – for example, for a missing date put (date unknown)

Please note:

Where there are choices about the style of presentation, be consistent and do not change from one method of presentation to the other. There is no choice about the order in which information should be presented.

For books:

Author, (date of publication) title (in bold print or underlined), place of publication, publisher

e.g. Adair, C. (1992) Women and Dance: Sylphs and Sirens

London, The Macmillan Press Ltd.

For journals:

Author (date of publication) title of article (in italics or plain text and inverted commas) journal title (in bold print or underlined), volume and edition, page numbers

e.g. Anthony, W (1995) David Bintley in Stuttgart, The Dancing Times

Vol. LXXXV, No. 1017, June 1995 pp. 891-893.

e.g. Daly, A. (1987) 'At Issue: Gender in Dance', TDR, 31,2, Spring, pp 22-24

Please note the abbreviation p. should be used when referring to a single page and pp. when referring to a number of pages i.e. pp.1-34.

For a chapter in an edited book:

Author, (date) title of chapter, editor's surname and initials (ed), title (in bold print or underlined), place of publication, publisher

e.g. Phelan, P. (1996) Dance and the History of Hysteria, Foster, S.L. (ed) Corporealities: Dancing Knowledge, Culture and Power

London, Routledge

For articles in newspapers:

Author of article, (date of publication), title of article, title of newspaper (bold print or underlined), page numbers.

e.g. Eichenbaum, L. (1986) The Friendship Forum, The Guardian, p.8

& Orbach, S.

For a thesis or dissertation:

Author, (date of submission), title, level of degree, institution

e.g. Gonzalez-Hall, A, (1998) Political Changes in Southern Spain with Particular Reference to Contemporary Choreographers

BPA (Dance) dissertation, Northern School of Contemporary Dance

For pre-recorded videos:

Choreographer/Producer (date) title (bold print or underlined), production company

e.g. Caplan, E & (1989) Changing Steps

Cunningham, M Cunningham Dance Foundation & La SEPT

For television programmes and/or off-air recordings:

If the title of the dance is different to the title of the programme, you should cite both titles as in the format for journal titles i.e.

Choreographer, (date of transmission), dance title (in italics or plain text and inverted commas), programme title (in bold print or underlined), transmitting company.

e.g. Houston, W. (1995) Touched in Dance For The Camera 2, BBC2, 8/2/95

If something is recorded (e.g. a dance, film etc) prior to the making of a programme and then included as part of it, then put that date in brackets and include the date of transmission of the programme at the end i.e.

Choreographer, (date of work), title, dance title (in italics or plain text and inverted commas) programme title (in bold print or underlined) programme producer/director, transmitting company, date of transmission

e.g. MacMillan, K. (1978) Mayerling in Summer Dance, Derek Bailey (director

and editor),

BBC2, 226/08/1995

For videos from the Learning Resource Centre:

Follow the above format as far as possible but if the full details are not available than add

NSCD video collection and the catalogue number.

For live performances:

Choreographer (date of performance) title (in bold print or underlined), company/artists, venue

e.g. Jeyasingh, S (10/2/98) Intimacies of the First Order,

Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company

Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick.

For performances viewed as part of an event or festival, include the festival/event name

e.g. Newson, L (26/10/95) Enter Achilles, Dance Umbrella

DV8 Physical Theatre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

For exhibitions/interviews/post performance talks and other sources:

Include as much information as you can using the Harvard style as a guide.

e.g. Hepworth, B. (1988) Barbara Hepworth Museum

St. Ives, Cornwall.

e.g. Lightfoot, P. (1999) Nederlands Dans Theater

Post Performance Talk, Sadlers Wells Theatre, London, 16/6/99

e.g. Davies, S. (1995) Sarah Rubidge in conversation with Siobhan Davies

Pre- Performance Talk, Sadler's Wells, London, 26/10/95

For interviews

i) For interviews conducted by you face to face or by phone:

e.g. Butcher, R. (1998) Taped Interview

British Library, London, 10/12/98

e.g. Butcher, R (1998) Telephone Interview, 22/12/98

For interviews conducted by someone else and observed by you:

Name of interviewee, (date), title, interviewer, place, date

e.g. Butcher, R (1998) In Interview with Carol Mitchell, British Library,

London, 10/12/98

For Personal Communications – letters, faxes, emails etc.

Name of person communicated with, (date), type of communication

e.g. Alston, R. (1996) fax

Alston, R. (1996) email

Alston, R. (1996) letter

For Audio tapes /Compact Discs

Composer, name of artist, band, date of composition, title (bold print or underlined, album number, production details, date of recording.

e.g. Amon, D. (1973) Vive La Tranche, UAS 29504, United Artists Records,

(1973)

For Electronic Sources:

There is no commonly agreed way of citing electronic sources but for electronic journals, you should use the Harvard system adding the complete address (URL) of the site. For other sources use the Harvard system as a guideline including the author (if possible), the date of publication/date the site was last updated and the date you visited the site. Include the address of the source. i.e.

Author, (date of publication/last update) name of site, exact address (complete URL/address of site) and date visited.

Example 1:

To refer to an article from Dance Matters found on the National Dance Teachers Association web site your bibliography should read:

Le Grand, C. (1991) Working Together? Dance Artists and Teachers in Collaboration: Professional Dance Companies at Work in Schools, Dance Matters No. 1 Spring 1991, p.10,

http://www.ndta.org.uk/public/archive/dm.html, 9th July 2001

Example 2:

To refer to a source without a specified author, as in the following example, where information about National Dance Agencies has been found at the web site of the Arts Council of England but without last update information available, your bibliography should read:

National Dance Agencies, The Arts Council of England Dance Page, http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/arts/index.html, 9th July 2001

PRESENTATION OF WRITTEN WORK

General Information

Layout

q Write on one side of the page only using 1.5 line spacing.

q Press the return key twice between paragraphs.

q Leave a 4 cms margin on the left hand side of the page and leave a margin at the top, bottom and right hand side of the page (normally 2.5cms).

q All essays should be word processed.

q Include the full title on a separate sheet.

q Pages must be numbered (in the centre at the bottom is recommended).

q Quotations of more than one line in length should be indented and single spaced. You may prefer to put quotations in bold print or italics - you do not then need to use quotation marks.

q Justify your work (line up the work on both sides of the page)

q 2 copies of essays and similar assignments should be submitted in a presentation folder with a clear cover. Do not put each sheet of paper in a separate plastic cover.

Order of Material in Assignment:

q Title page

q List of plates (if relevant)

q Essay/project/assignment

q Bibliography/videography/exhibitions etc.

Points to Note

q Poorly presented work will affect the overall impression of your work. Work that fails to adhere to recognised academic conventions in referencing and presentation of the bibliography will be penalised, as will poor spelling, poor grammar and poorly structured discussions. However, for students with dyslexia, allowances are made for spelling, grammar and structure.

q You must keep within 10% of the specified word limit, you will be penalised for over or under writing beyond 10% of the word limit. Quotations count as part of the wordage. Do not use footnotes.

q You should not use personal pronouns in academic writing (I, my, we, our etc.) nor should you use 'one'. It is conventional to write in the third person.

q Avoid things like 'I believe' and 'In my opinion ....', even when writing about your own working processes or experience. It is assumed ideas/views expressed in your essay, which have not been attributed to another, are in fact your own.

q However familiar you are with Isadora, Martha, Merce, Richard, Matthew etc. it is inappropriate to use first names. The first time you mention someone it is usual to use first name and surname (e.g. Isadora Duncan....) and thereafter, surname only (e.g. Duncan...). It is also inappropriate to use the names of fellow students, staff etc. in formal assignments.

q Make sure that you include accents on words that should have them.

q Titles of dance works, books, films etc. should be in, italics or underlined each time you use them but be consistent – do not change from one style of presentation to the other! Do not use quotation marks. The first time you cite a dance work you should include the year it was first performed in parentheses.

e.g. In Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (1995) the strength of the work lies in its……

e.g. In Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake (1995) the strength of the work lies in its…

q Numbers other than dates should be written in full.

q Generally, you should not use abbreviations such as e.g. or etc., however it is acceptable to use recognised abbreviations for companies, organisations etc. The first time the name should be written in full with the accepted abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter, the abbreviation can be used.

e.g. London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT)

Foundation for Community Dance (FCD)

q If you are using tables or diagrams as part of your submission, remember to title them if they are your own, or title and reference them if they are taken from another source. If taken from another source, they are in effect visual quotes - and the same referencing conventions apply.

q The source of quotations, references, videos, illustration materials, live performances, exhibitions and electronic sources etc. must be acknowledged using recognised academic conventions. You should use the Harvard system. Plagiarism is an academic offence. You must acknowledge the work of others. See the relevant section in this booklet for further information

SECTION B: SOME EXAMPLES

REFERENCING: SOME EXAMPLES

Embedded quotes/References

q In academic writing direct or indirect references should be woven into your discussion. They should not be used to make a statement without any comment of your own. The purpose for the inclusion of direct and indirect quotations should be clear. Make them an integral part of your writing

q They are an indication to your reader (assessor) that you have:

a) thoroughly researched your area of study

b) absorbed, understood and internalised the information

c) the ability to support your views by reference to the work of 'experts' in the field

d) developed an informed opinion (developed your own ideas/thinking within the context of what is already known, understood, believed etc.).

Short quotations

Short quotations (less than a line) can be included as part of the normal sentence

Example 1

As part of the discussion of Kinaesthetic Intelligence, it was stated that 'in dance, even the tiniest quiver of a finger may assume importance'. (Gardner, 1984, p209)

Example 2

Jowitt (1981, p.27) describes their dancing as distinctive and says it's a long time since I've seen woman dancers so luxuriantly at ease.(p27). By drawing attention to ….

Longer quotations

Longer quotations should be indented with a space before and after the quotation.

Example 3

In her most famous statement denying theatricality, Yvonne Rainer said:

No to spectacle, no to virtuosity, no to transformations and magic and make-believe, no to the glamour and transcendency of the star image, no to the heroic, no to the anti-heroic ...(quoted in Banes, 1980, p43)

thus exemplifying some of the key elements at the forefront of much of early post modern work seen in New York……….

Indirect quotes/Paraphrasing

When you are using a particular author's ideas/work but not directly quoting from the source material, you must reference this in a similar way but you do not need to include the page numbers. Please note that it is inappropriate to paraphrase large sections of text with nothing of your own and to merely put references at the end of a paragraph.

Example 1:

In 1950 Guildford highlighted a lack of research into creativity but suggested that we all have the capacity for being creative although some have more talent than others. Since then there has been considerable research into notions of creativity (fuelled initially by the arms race and space race) but more recently by the recognised need for creative people in the workforce to fuel economic growth and prosperity in the 21st Century). During the 1960s this permeated into educational thinking in that those working in schools should try to develop each individual's capacity for creativity to the full. Although ……..

Example 2

Alston says (in Soda Lake, NRCD, 1980) that Hall's sculpture looks like a gate and that it reminds him of Martha Graham's Frontier and the collaboration between Graham and Nogouchi where the simple, sculptural set gave a sense of enormous territory. He talks about the sense of balance apparent in the sculpture and the way in which the elliptical shape seems to draw the space upwards. He comments on the way it hangs off the floor, hovers and moves. It is apparent that all these elements became an important feature of the movement vocabulary ………..

Abbreviated quotations

When you are using part of a quotation or omitting a word/ several words from the same quote, it is customary to insert THREE full stops to show where they have been omitted.

Example 1

The Yorkshire Post gave the performance a glowing review, stating that it was:

…danced with energy, vitality and skill, showing why the Northern School ranks alongside the London School of Contemporary Dance for talent and training… (Northern News, October 1997)

Example 2

In focusing on the dynamic vitality of Morris's L'Allegro, il Penserosa ed il Moderato (1988), Mackrell draws attention to:

the tide of energy…the movement made gorgeous by the reckless speed…the split second timing …the dancers…spinning tirelessly (1997, p.102)

Additional words

This tells the reader that you have omitted part of the original quote. If it becomes necessary to introduce a word in order for the quote to make sense, it is customary to put the additional word in square brackets. This tells the reader that you have inserted a word not in the original quote. In the following example from Smith Autard's book The Art of Dance in Education (1994) the author has inserted the word students into a quotation she has cited from a text by Agnes De Mille so that it makes more sense within the context of her own discussion.

Each exercise is a fragment of movement exquisitely devised …[students]…learn phrasing, dynamics and form whilst working on tendons and breath.

PRESENTING WORK: AN EXAMPLE

This example shows how to:

q lay work out on the page (margins, paragraphs, quotations, page numbers)

q use different but recognised methods to cite the work of others

q use the term ibid

It was North's reluctance to continue the Rambert tradition of encouraging new choreographers together with other policies which seemed to have moved away from the company's former ideals, that led to a disagreement with the Board of Directors and Alston's subsequent appointment as Artistic Director in 1986. Shortly after his appointment Alston issued the following statement:

Ballet Rambert seeks to do much more than merely entertain. Whilst recognising the importance of being generous to audiences, it cannot sit back and rely on perennial box office favourites.

(Alston in Kane, 1992, p.38)

During the next few years Kane (ibid) suggests that his adventurous policies, discussed earlier in this paper, characterised his directorship and Macauley says that he moved Rambert from its expressionist traditions back to the:

More essential dance-about-dancing traditions that Ashton had begun there in pre-Tudor days.

(1991, p.335)

However, his approach was questioned by some, for example, Brinson (1991) queries the notion of dancing for dancing's sake and the practice of leaving the audience to draw its own conclusions. He suggests that choreographers and companies have an artistic responsibility to the audience. He asks what might happen if:

the range of aesthetic experience on offer is so special that the 'discerning public', which Richard Alston identifies for Rambert, becomes too small for box-office viability?

(1991, P.42)

Nevertheless, although it is true that Rambert had been losing audiences, Alston's dismissal in 1993 came as a shock. Whatever individual preferences might be, Alston undoubtedly has been one of the most prolific, influential and important choreographers in the last thirty years, during which time he has developed a very clear choreographic style. Macauley (op cit) recognised Alston's contribution with his accolade that with Alston's work at the Rambert, British modern dance finally reached its maturity.

After a year of freelance work, Alston became Artistic Director of The Place, formerly home of……..

PRESENTING A BIBLIOGRAPHY: AN EXAMPLE

Books

Anderson, J (1997) Art Without Boundaries

London, Dance Books Ltd.

Fokine, M. (1914) Letter to the Times, Copeland, R. & Cohen, M. (eds),

What is Dance? (1983) Oxford, Oxford University Press

Jowitt, D. (1994) Expression and Expressionism, Adshead-Lansdale, J. & Layson, J. (eds) Dance History: An Introduction, London, Routledge

Kraus, R (1969) History of Dance in Art and Education

New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc.

Lawson, J (1973) A History of Ballet and Its Makers

London, Dance Books

Thomas, H (ed.) (1993) Dance, Gender and Culture

Basingstoke & London, Macmillan Press Ltd.

Journals

Jackson, P. (1996) Radical Graham, Dance Now,

Vol. 5, No. 3, Autumn 1996, pp.15-18

Macauley A (1995) Richard Alston-Back At The Place, The Dancing Times,

Vol. LXXXV, no 1012; January 1995. pp 333 - 339

Videography

Cunningham, M (4/8/97) CRWDSPCR, Summer Dance, BBC2,

Grimm, T (1985) Lonely Street, Lonely Town, (choreography: North, R.),

An Evening with Rambert Dance Company

Danmark Radio & RM Arts with Channel 4

Ha Van, F. (26/12/95) Smoke (choreography, Ek, M.) in Sylvie Guillem :Evidentia,

& Ek, M Programme 1, BBC2

Jeyasingh, S (04/01/94) Duets with Automobiles, Dance for the Camera, BBC 2.

McGregor, W (1995) Anarkos, London, The Video Place

You will see titles presented differently in terms of the layout in different texts and journals and may chose to follow one of these styles of presentation. However, you must present the same information and in the same order as shown here.

Section 3

STUDY SKILLS AND ACADEMIC WRITING

INTRODUCTION

During each year of the course you experience a variety of methods of teaching, learning and assessment. Different learning experiences help to develop a range of skills and although there are no right or wrong ways to approach your studies there are certain key skills that underpin undergraduate and graduate study. It is expected that your study skills improve as you progress through your course. Many of them are transferable skills that are cited as being valued by employers in all fields of work. In addition to the more obvious study skills such as:

q note taking

q writing skills

q integration of practical and theoretical study

q practical and non practical research skills

Other key skills which support your study and progress through the course include:

q time management

q organisational skills

q people management and self management

q the ability to initiate ideas

q the ability to communicate clearly verbally and in writing

q the ability to work alone (self motivation)

q the ability to be open to and work with criticism and feedback

q the ability to be self critical and reflective

The following guidelines are intended to help you develop and refine your study skills throughout the duration of your course. It is worth reading them from time to time so that they become embedded in your approach to your work. Remember, that in each year of the course, the demands on your time increase and although heavily timetabled, you are still expected to work outside of your classes - practicing, rehearsing, preparing for class, researching information, writing assignments and so on.

Each of the module study guides (see Section 1) includes full details of assessment tasks, the criteria for assessment and assessment guidelines.

LOCATING AND USING RESOURCES

The Library has limited copies of the books and videos identified on the reading lists and there are times when resources are in short supply. Start work early in the module and identify essential resources as soon as you can.

q Check the introduction, back cover, fly leaf and contents pages of books to see if they are of any real use to you for a particular assignment before taking them out on loan. For example, if writing an essay which is primarily concerned with the influence of Louis Horst on the development of Graham Technique, books with a biographical focus for example, whilst they may be interesting, are likely to be of little use for the essay. The following text sounds relevant (and is) but you should still check. It could just contain biographical material.

MADDEN, D (1996) Call me Louis, not Mr Horst , Harwood Academic Publishers, Switzerland.

q Before you begin reading or viewing make a note of all the details needed for a bibliography.

q Make a record of the information that is of particular interest in relation to your studies and/or an assignment. It helps you to:

Ø remember what you have read

Ø re-order and re-organise material in a more useful way.

Ø help your learning , both in understanding and in specific detail.

Ø provide a future source of reference.

There are several ways of doing this. Notes are just one of them. You will also need to take notes in seminars and tutorials. (See below for further information).

q As you take notes keep a record of the pages from which you take specific information or direct quotations. For videos, zero the time before you start watching and then you can make a note of the time into the recording of anything you might want to look at again. It you make a clear record of where you obtain information, then it will save time if you need to re-visit your sources at any point. Mark your notes clearly to identify direct quotations.

NOTE TAKING

Good notes are easily read, brief, clear, understandable, accurate, organised and relevant.

Standard notes

q These are linear and vertical notes using a sentence by sentence approach in which information is recorded as accurately as possible as it is transmitted. If notes are recorded in this way it is important to re-visit them and to make new notes from them because often, more time is spent in recording the information rather than listening/reading and making sense of the information at the time it is transmitted. It is probably the most common form of note taking but it is not the most efficient way of recording information.

q There is no one way or correct way of making notes, you will need to evolve your own systems, but the following ideas might help:

Bullet points

q You may choose to record information in the form of bullet points. This requires an identification of the key conceptsand ideas. Highlighter pens are useful for linking ideas.

Mind-mapping

q A more visual way of recording information is Mind-mapping (also known as Spidergraphs - think spider plant, rather than spider). In this method the key concept forms the middle (body) of the spiderplant, its off-shoots are the development from this, with sub-clusters where necessary.

q This method is useful both in recording information from books but also for taking notes in seminars etc. Put the topic under discussion in the centre of the paper. As the tutor speaks, record the different areas as 'off shoots', with associated ideas in a cluster around the off shoot.

Both these methods allow you to listen more specifically to what is being said and only write down the key points. When you re-visit the notes, the words / concepts act as an aide-memoir and allow you to recall further information you have retained from the seminar / lecture / discussion

However you choose to record seminars etc, it is important to re-visit your notes within 24 hours. After this time, short term memory decays at an increased rate. By re-reading/ re-working/ re-ordering your notes in a more useful way you will aid the move from short term to long term memory.

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

During the course you will be required to produce a variety of written assignments. The following guidelines refer specifically to essays but the advice applies to all academic writing.

q The essence of good academic writing is planning. For some assignments you will be given a title, for others you will need to identify your own area of research and title. In both cases it is important that you identify key elements of the title and essential resources as early as you can. Remember:

Ø it is a mistake to start writing too soon and equally to start too late

Ø that one of the most common mistakes is to write an excellent assignment that fails to answer the question, and which therefore, does not receive a good mark.

Planning and Organising Your Time

q Make a study plan working backwards from the submission date. Allow time for life and your other studies to disrupt your schedule!! Make sure that you include time for identifying resources, reading/ viewing/interviews etc., note-taking, writing a plan, writing a first draft, re-drafting, compiling the bibliography and final proof reading. Identify the times within the schedule that you are likely to need tutorial advice.

q Analyse the question/assessment task title properly and be clear about what you need to do in order to organise your reading/research in a methodical and logical manner. Make sure that you are clear about the key concerns/focus of the assignment. It is important to read the assignment title carefully and be sure you understand it. This is relevant even when you have set the question yourself. The material in your assignment should relate to it!

q Keep a note of all the information you need for your bibliography, videography etc., it helps to prevent last minute panics and makes it easier to locate information if you need to re-visit your sources. Make a note of page numbers.

q Before you start writing think about how you need to organise your discussion and prepare a plan. You should write a first draft and leave time to think about what you have written before re-drafting as necessary and writing your final submission.

Important Points to Remember in Academic Writing

q Whatever the form of a written assignment e.g. essay, dissertation, evaluation, report etc., there are certain conventions that are important in academic writing. You are required to put forward ideas in an objective and unemotional way. It is inappropriate to write in an opinionated way, to make subjective or anecdotal comments.

q At this level of study you are expected to develop an argument/discussion that leads to a conclusion. This should be based on your research (which might be primarily experiential learning/research as in choreography for example) and not just your own opinion without this being placed in an appropriate context.

q Where relevant, points should be supported by appropriate examples/references to reading, performances, video recordings etc. and in some assignments you may need to review the work of others (a common feature of most dissertations for example).

q You should not reproduce the opinions of others without thought. You are expected to critically evaluate what you read – if you do not agree with someone's point of view you need to say so –

q but you must say why and this might be supported by reference to the views/ideas of other authors/choreographers/critics etc. Every one who writes does so from his/her own perspective. You do, and so do others.

q Avoid the use of flat, pedestrian statements (e.g. Dance is an art form.)

q Use words that are meaningful to you. Maintain your linguistic integrity.

Please note the following reminders about referencing:

Quotations

Quotations should be used to support or illustrate the points you are making. Do not use quotes to make the point - that is not their function. Make sure that they are appropriate and weave them into your discussion. In good academic writing there is some comment/ reflection on what the author of the quotation is saying.

Paraphrasing

When you are using a particular author's or authors' ideas, but not directly quoting from the source material, you must reference the source. Use the same format as for quotes but remember that in this instance, a page number is not needed.

Preparing to Write

q Once you have finished your research, think about what you have learned and what you want to say in your written assignment.

q Make notes or a diagram of your initial thoughts (e.g. a spidergraph/ mindmap) of your essay. Use it to identify connections between points and help you get an idea of the order of the points you wish to make.

q Write a detailed plan in which you think carefully about the overall structure and the main points to be made in each section. Consider where you will use quotations. Think about how one thing moves to the next. Include the main points for the introduction and conclusion in your plan. Use bullet points rather than sentences. (See below for further information about structure).

q Look for key words that are your main guide as to what is required. Some examples are listed below – make sure that you take key words into account when structuring your detailed plan. e.g.

Analyse: Consider the various parts of the whole and describe the inter-relationship between them.

Compare: Examine the objects in question with a view to demonstrating their similarities.

Contrast: Examine the objects in question for the purpose of demonstrating differences.

Define: Give a definition or state terms of reference.

Discuss: Present the different aspects of a problem or question and draw a reasoned conclusion

Evaluate: Examine the various sides of a question and try to reach a judgment.

Summarise: Outline the main points briefly.

q Once you have structured a detailed plan you are ready to start writing the assignment. Try and keep to the plan. If this proves to be difficult it could be for one of the following reasons:

Ø you have lost the thread of what you are trying to say

Ø you are not clear about what you are trying to say

Ø some things no longer make sense and you need to read further or to re-visit your

research

Ø the order of the discussion does not seem to work in a logical manner and you need to re-think your approach

Whatever the reason stop writing and try and sort it out before you go any further – the confusion is likely to increase and you may need to re-think your original approach.

q When you have finished leave some time before re-reading your work.

Editing, Correcting and Proof Reading Your Work

When reading your work through:

q In the first instance check that the main thrust of the discussion makes sense. Read the finished work out loud (as though giving a lecture). It will help you to see if it reads well, has a logical structure and is clearly presented.

q Make sure that the introduction is clear and that you have included an outline of the main points to be considered (it helps to focus the reader's attention i.e. the marking tutor and external examiner). Make sure that you have pulled the main points together in the conclusion.

q Make sure that you do not jump from one point to the next without warning. You need to guide the reader through the discussion. There needs to be a connecting thread between sections and ideas.

q Make sure that you have addressed the key concerns of the assignment brief/title. Failure to focus on the essentials of the assignment title/brief will result in a poor mark - however hard you work! Don't attempt to include everything you have read/seen etc. Be selective and make sure you only make use of material that is relevant.

q Make sure that it is clear when you are referring to the work of others rather than your own ideas.

q Check the number of words. One of the skills you are expected to develop is the ability to write succinctly. You may feel at the beginning of an assignment that you will struggle to reach the wordage required. This is not usually the case. If you have researched carefully, you may find yourself needing to reduce your work rather than expand it. Do not use footnotes.

q Edit, correct and re-draft as necessary and when you are satisfied with the content and structure of the discussion carefully check:

Ø spelling, grammar and punctuation

Ø that referencing adheres to the Harvard system

Ø that quotations have been accurately quoted

Ø that your bibliography is correctly presented and that all sources used in your research have been included (whether or not you have referred to them).

Ø that you have taken account of all academic conventions regarding the presentation of written work

See Section 2 in this Handbook: Academic Conventions

Punctuation, Grammar and Spelling

q Remember that you should not use personal pronouns in academic writing (I, my, we, our etc.).

q Make sure that you have used the apostrophe correctly. There are only two reasons for using it:

Ø to denote something that belongs to something/someone:

e.g. the dancer's technique (the technique of one dancer)

e.g. the dancers' technique (the technique of two or more dancers)

however, for plural nouns the apostrophe goes before the 's'

e.g. children's learning (the learning of more than one child)

Ø to denote a shortened form/abbreviation (not to be used in academic writing)

e.g. it's for it is

q Use capital letters for proper nouns only. Words like ballet, dance, art etc. should not begin with a capital letter.

q Paragraphs should consist of several sentences. Avoid very short paragraphs. Equally, avoid very long paragraphs.

q Check syntax and grammar – reading work aloud helps to highlight errors, awkwardly expressed sentences and overlong sentences.

q Spell check your work but also check for yourself. Spell-checking will not pick up words that can be spelt in different ways used in the wrong context. A common example in a dance assignment is:

Complementary for something that 'goes' with something else, e.g.

'.....the costumes complement the set....'.

and not complimentary which is something you are given e.g. a complimentary ticket.

Other common errors include:

spacial instead of spatial

developement instead of development

contempary or contempory instead of contemporary

repitition instead of repetition

cannon (a gun) instead of canon (a choreographic device)

rehersal instead of rehearsal

committment instead of commitment

FORMAT OF WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

There are many different ways of approaching essay/assignment titles each of which may work equally well. The most important thing is to find a way of tackling the discussion that makes for a clear and logical consideration of the title/task. Tune the reader into the way you intend to address the discussion do not leave him/her to make the connections between the various parts of your discussion and make sure you draw everything together at the end.

Your submission should include the following elements:

Introduction

(i) Comment on the subject matter/title (What do you understand by it? How is it important etc?)

(ii) Very briefly summarize the overall theme of your essay, indicating the main points to be made and the order in which they are to be presented.

(iii) In some essays/assignments you may need to state your case/viewpoint/perspective in general terms before you begin.

The Main Body

(i) Develop your own line of argument/discussion through several main ideas but remember that you might need to explain some things first (e.g. ideas, beliefs, values, attitudes, socio/cultural/historical/artistic traditions or contexts, general background information etc.)

(ii) Support your discussion with appropriate references, examples and illustrations drawn from your research (books, articles, videos, performances etc.)

(iii) As you develop your essay, make it clear how your discussion in one place relates to other points you have used or will use.

Conclusion

(i) Summarize the main ideas.

(ii) Make some sort of final comment about the key concerns of the essay/assignment

(iii) If appropriate, project into the future.

Bibliography/List of sources

This is an alphabetical list of all the sources you used in your research, whether you have referred to them directly in the essay or not.

Please note that the above comments relate specifically to essays but written evaluations, dissertations, portfolios and reports should demonstrate the same key essentials although the format might be different.

Further advice regarding different types of written submissions will be given to you by the relevant module tutor as and when necessary.

[1] The term “professional competence” is used in relation to the level of achievement attained on completion of the FDA Programme associated with this BA (Hons) one. The term “professional excellence” is used in relation to the level of achievement attained on completion of this BA (Hons) Programme. These terms are clearly characterised in section 13. of the relevant module specifications (“Synopsis of the Curriculum”) and in the Subject Specific Assessment Criteria as it applies to both degrees. The phases (one to each semester) that lead up to achieving professional competence and professional excellence are also so characterised in the same two locations within documentation.

[2] Thus while dance technical expertise will have increased on completion of this BA (Hons) degree, over the standard reached at the end of the associated FDA degree, it will also have become evident that the purpose and transition of that expertise from an end in itself, to a vehicle of personal expressivity, will have become markedly clear.

[3] These elements are articulated in more detail within the statements of aims and outcomes above. While they are given here under and applying to “Critical Studies” the integrated nature of the Programme determines that they are applied also within Dance Technical and Choreographic Studies.

[4] This is consonant with the requirements of the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama (CDD) within which the School has been granted affiliate status from September 2005.

[5] Where absence is prolonged or frequent medical notes or reports are required. Such documentation and absence forms are kept in the student's personal file held in the school office.

[6] 'Essential Content' is conceived as the most significant and crucial knowledge that the student acquires. Sometimes this knowledge can be learned directly. However, often it is acquired through 'Procedural Content' understood as the means that primarily provides the process through which that knowledge is gained.

[7] These elements are articulated in more detail within the statements of aims and outcomes. While they are given here under and applying to “Critical Studies” the integrated nature of the Programme determines that they are applicable also to Dance Technical and Choreographic Studies.

[8] Normally assessment shall be 50% practical and 50% theoretical. However, other percentage weightings may be agreed in discussion with the students tutor.

[9] 'Essential Content' is conceived as the most significant and crucial knowledge that the student acquires. Sometimes this knowledge can be learned directly. However, often it is acquired through 'Procedural Content' understood as the means that primarily provides the process through which that knowledge is gained.

[10] 'Essential Content' is conceived as the most significant and crucial knowledge that the student acquires. Sometimes this knowledge can be learned directly. However, often it is acquired through 'Procedural Content' understood as the means that primarily provides the process through which that knowledge is gained.

[11] 'Essential Content' is conceived as the most significant and crucial knowledge that the student acquires. Sometimes this knowledge can be learned directly. However, often it is acquired through 'Procedural Content' understood as the means that primarily provides the process through which that knowledge is gained.

[12] 'Essential Content' is conceived as the most significant and crucial knowledge that the student acquires. Sometimes this knowledge can be learned directly. However, often it is acquired through 'Procedural Content' understood as the means that primarily provides the process through which that knowledge is gained.

RAMBERT SCHOOL OF BALLET AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE

PROGRAMME HANDBOOK

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance YEAR ONE 2007 - 2008

Programme Handbook 2007-2008

INTRODUCTION

Section 2 focuses on academic conventions related to the presentation of written work. It is vitally important that you take account of what is written in this section and that you check your work carefully. Failure to adhere to academic conventions will affect your mark.

External Examiners Reports; (moderation and assessment)

Benchmarks - The Subject Benchmark Statement of 2002

Movement Quality

Musicality

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

Dance Technical Ability

Professional Stage

Movement Quality

Musicality

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

Dance Technical Ability

Professional Phase

Movement Quality

Musicality

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

Dance Technical Ability

Accomplished-Professional Phase

Movement Quality

Musicality

Commitment, Empathy and Co-operation

Dance Technical Ability

Accomplished-Professional Phase

INTRODUCTION

In this section of the Programme Handbook you will find the following information:

Referencing

Presentation of Work

It is essential that you take note of what is written. Failure to adhere to academic conventions regarding referencing, bibliographies and the presentation of written work can affect your mark.

It is essential that the ideas, words and work of others be properly acknowledged. Failure to do so is an academic offence.

Penalties

List of Plates

HOW TO PRESENT A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND OTHER SOURCES

Sources listed in your bibliography should be presented alphabetically of the author/choreographer/directors surname. You should state if the information is not available – for example, for a missing date put (date unknown)

PRESENTATION OF WRITTEN WORK

General Information

Layout

q 2 copies of essays and similar assignments should be submitted in a presentation folder with a clear cover. Do not put each sheet of paper in a separate plastic cover.

Order of Material in Assignment:

Points to Note

Short quotations

Longer quotations

Indirect quotes/Paraphrasing

Example 1:

Abbreviated quotations

Additional words

PRESENTING WORK: AN EXAMPLE

INTRODUCTION

LOCATING AND USING RESOURCES

Standard notes

Bullet points

Mind-mapping

WRITING ASSIGNMENTS

Planning and Organising Your Time

Important Points to Remember in Academic Writing

Quotations

Paraphrasing

Editing, Correcting and Proof Reading Your Work

Ø that you have taken account of all academic conventions regarding the presentation of written work

FORMAT OF WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

The Main Body

Bibliography/List of sources

BA (Hons) in Ballet and Contemporary Dance
YEAR ONE
2007 - 2008