The Body Acoustic: Toward a Sense of Place (DAN2112.01)

Dana Reitz

How do we physically understand the spaces we are in? How is each of us affected by them? How do we develop a deeper sense of place? The Body Acoustic aims to heighten awareness of the reciprocal relationship between the built environment and our senses. Light and sound, distances, height, volume, surfaces, angles/curves and a/symmetries all affect one’s movement through interior and exterior spaces; one’s movement, in turn, affects the perception of these spaces.

Using methodologies from visual and movement-based art forms, The Body Acoustic provides an opportunity for students of any discipline to engage in trans-disciplinary research and practice. All students will be contributing their own unique perspectives and working toward their own understanding of the work at hand. Throughout the course, students will graphically articulate their experiences inhabiting multiple spaces (i.e. drawing, photo collage), design and make simple situations/spaces to move through and will determine short scenes/movement studies to influence our sense of place. Students will form teams to complete short on-site exercises and will share results of other assigned exercises through discussion and presentation.


Learning Outcomes:
Learn to notice the influence and interaction of multiple elements (space, time and motion).
Learn to shift points of view continuously and actively change experience.
Learn to consider multiple ways to interpret what is noticed and what is made.
Find new ways to make work and rearrange openly and swiftly.
Find new ways to collaborate.
Work toward open-ended, un-codified experience.



Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Course Level: 2000-level
Credits: 2
W 2:10PM - 4:00PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 20
Course Frequency: Once a year

Categories: All courses , Dance , Drama , Fully In-Person , Visual Arts
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