Dance Department

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Dance major, students will have demonstrated that they are able to:

1. Engage in close analysis of dance practices. Students will be able to describe movement effectively; address the conceptual, thematic, and formal concerns of dance practices; connect dance practices to broader historical/cultural contexts; and analyze intersections with issues of nation, interculturalism, race, gender, class, politics, sexuality, and ability.
2. Develop and deepen practice and creation methods in more than one dance form. Students will be able to execute complex movement phrases; demonstrate technical and stylistic accuracy; communicate ideas or themes in original work; move in coherent, complex and inventive ways; and clearly conceive, articulate, develop, and carry out choreographic processes.
3. Execute and present sustained creative or scholarly research projects. Students will be able to:
   • Identify and clearly articulate the research question and central argument in written formats and practice/performance-based formats;
   • Select and execute creative and/or scholarly methodologies to answer the central research question;
   • Identify and analyze the creative and/or scholarly production with which the project engages;
   • Effectively organize/design the research and/or creative process;
   • Successfully incorporate feedback and revisions;
   • Present, discuss and defend work orally.

The primary assessment tool for learning in the major at Reed and the level of student achievement in the major area is the senior thesis. The Junior Qualifying Examination, which assesses a student's readiness for thesis, provides a second assessment tool. For more information on the Thesis and the Junior Qualifying Exam, see the section on each in About the Major.