DNCE 124 A-Z - Special Topics in DanceSemester Hours: 1-3
Seminars on selected aspects of dance and somatic movement practices which could include topics such as an Overview and Introduction to Somatic Practices, Dance and Social Justice, and Cultural Expressions in Dance. Other courses might focus on the in-depth research of individual dance artists and choreographers and their legacy and influence on current dance practices, or on the development of a particular theme throughout time within the area of Historical Dance and/or World Dance.
Current Special Topics:
DNCE 124A - (IS) Embodied Freedom: Reclaiming the Feminine in Movement
Every human, no matter what gender identity, has the Feminine and the Masculine Principle alive within them. Throughout Western culture, the feminine voice has been profoundly suppressed. This course will address the role of the body in our culture, exploring how the inner authority and feminine wisdom of the body have been repressed and devalued throughout time, and how listening to the voice of the body might support us in navigating the changes of our current social upheaval.
This course will be a highly experiential movement class working primarily with the contemplative corporeal practice Continuum. In Continuum, we explore the body as an unfolding process in dynamic relationship and communication with all life forms. The human body is comprised of primarily water, and essential qualities of water are its receptivity and adaptability. Texts for this course will support an inquiry into how culture shapes our bodies and freedom of movement, as well as the historical and ongoing dismissal of the body, and why the embodied feminine so often poses a threat to those in power.
Selections of texts for this course will come from numerous authors and sources such as Creation Myths by Marie-Louise von Franz, Engaging the Movement of Life by Bonnie Gintis, DO, Life on Land by Emilie Conrad, Descent to the Goddess by Sylvia Brinton Perera, Women who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and The Chalice and the Blade by Riane Eisler.
The movement practice Continuum in no way resembles a dance class in which one is asked to learn a prescribed set of movements. No prior movement experience is required for this course. Instead, this course will offer a process of engaging one’s own personal exploration of movement with the goal of becoming more conscious of the sensation of life as it unfolds into our awareness through the communication of movement. (The director of the Hofstra Dance Program has indicated this course may be counted as a Dance elective toward the completion of Dance requirements for majors or minors.)
Crosslisted as WST 150D
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Fall 2025
January 2026
Spring 2026
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