Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon completion of the course students should be able to:
1. Adapt rhythms and musical genres to specific tap styles in order to understand the connection between creativity, movement, and musicality in the world.
2. Learn about history, origin, and precise styling for each dance in order to enhance the understanding of tap dance as an art form.
3. Use basic improvisational skills in order to promote creative problem solving.
4. Learn dance skills to help maintain  fitness and health.

The course is structured to expose the student to a variety of styles  of dancing; develop basic skills for enjoying ballroom, folk and country western dance; develop a repertoire of patterns in each style of dancing; learn leading and following techniques; develop sensitivity and recognition of rhythmic beat; recognize styles of music and appropriate steps and styling for each; appreciate the dance forms for their value socially, recreationally, and as a lifelong fitness and social activity.
 

Grading will be based on attendance, participation, and a practical  test of knowledge of dances, including steps, rhythm, and styling.
 

This course has been designed to meet the following goals and
objectives:
     1. To provide knowledge and skills in steps and styling of basicballroom, folk, and country western dances.
     2. To develop social and interpersonal skills in relation to recreational dance forms.
                    1.0 DANCE ETIQUETTE AND FORMS
Instructional Goal:
To inform students of dance courtesies
Objectives:
     1.1  Acquaint students with making self-introductions
     1.2  Practice frequent rotating of partners to meet many new  friends
     1.3  Student will learn basic dance positions and alignment
     1.4  Student will learn skills of leading and following
                    2.0 SOCIAL/BALLROOM DANCE
Instructional Goal:
To teach student basic ballroom dance forms and patterns in each dance.
Objectives:
Student will learn the following dances and variations:
     2.1  2-step foxtrot
          Variations: Closed, turning, progressing around dance  floor, different rhythms
     2.2  Waltz
          Variations: Traditional, Viennese, closed, turning, lady under, tango cross, banjo, reverse banjo, balance corte                
     2.3  Swing
          Variations: Single, underarm break, continuous underarm break, airplane, man and woman underarm break, man pass  woman behind back
     2.4  Rhumba
          Variations: Bolero, around the world, tango cross, merry-go-round, reverse
     2.5  Samba
          Variations: Slow side close, sideward basic, side by side progressive
     2.6  Disco
          Variations: Step-touch, grapevine, pretzel, back to back, behind neck -- turn lady, double turn
     2.7  Cha-Cha-Cha
          Variations: Crossover, man turn -- lady turn, chase
     2.8 Tango
          Variations: Blue tango with 7 variations
                    3.0 FOLK DANCE
Instructional Goal:
To give instruction in traditional steps and international patterned folk dances.
Objectives:
     3.1  The student will learn the following traditional folk dance steps: waltz, 2-step, schottische, polka, yemenite, balance, grapevine.
     3.2  The student will learn international patterned folk dances such as: Ve David, Allunelul, Bavarian March, Hora Agadotti, Man in the Hay, Doubleska Polka, Manitau, Oslo Waltz, Salty Dog Rag, Erav Ba, Kanafaska, Zemer Atik (partner and  line dance), Troika, Flax Harvest.
                    4.0 COUNTRY WESTERN DANCE
Instructional Goal:
To instruct students in basic country western dance, style, traditional couple dances and specific pattern dances -- couple and line.
Objectives:
     4.1  Students will learn traditional couple dances, country western 2-step, waltz and variations.
     4.2  Students will learn current and favorite line and couple dances, such as Stroll, Cotton-Eyed Joe (Old Fashioned),  Four Corners, Texas Two-Step.