Syllabus – M.

Saba
DANC 3332 501 Intermediate Modern Dance
Monday/Wednesday 5:00-6:15

Office Hours – Monday 2:15-3:15pm, Tuesday 1:00-1:45pm, and by appointment

Office – JO4.906 Phone – 972-883-2083 Email – msaba@utdallas.edu

Grade Value

60% Class participation and attendance

20% Performance attendance and written critiques
10% Skills and Vocabulary
10% Final Project

Course Requirements

Attendance and Participation

ATTENDANCE You will be given 2 absences that will not count against your grade, any thereafter
will be 3 points off starting at 100 for each class missed. Please be on time, a ½ point will be deducted from
your daily participation points for each late arrival and an additional ½ point for each 15 minutes thereafter.
You will be considered late if you arrive after the warm up has begun. If you arrive more than 20 minutes late
please check with the instructor for permission to participate in the class. If you arrive after roll has been taken
it is our responsibility to remind the instructor you attended class. Failure to do so could result in an absence
recorded and applied for that day. Classes can be made up, please speak to the instructor for various options.
A total of 4 excused absences may be made up with the instructor’s approval. Students making up absences
in other approved dance classes must turn in documentation that is dated and signed by the instructor teaching
the class.
Participation is graded by learning material given, effort, preparedness for class (including proper attire),
proper etiquette, and your own personal growth. Each class has a value of 3 points that are awarded daily by
fulfilling the preceding requirements

Critiques You are required to see two live dance productions approved by the instructor and write a critique for
each. Critiques are due on March 1 and April 24. Critiques are a based on your own opinions and must be written i
your own words. Critiques must include detailed descriptions of no more than 2 dance pieces in the performance.
you do not choose the first or last piece of the program to describe, you must include a brief summary of those
pieces also. Three points will be deducted for the omission each.
When writing your critique consider these points:
1. Did it tell a story, show a particular emotion, make you feel a certain way and describe if any of these apply.
2. Did the choreography go with the music? How?
3. Did you like it? What made you like or dislike it?
4. What was the movement like? What did the dancers do through movement to help you come to the conclusions
from the previous questions?
5. How did the sets, costuming, and lighting affect the piece?
Write the critique assuming I did not see the dance and would understand what it was about from your description.

Grading for Critiques A check mark means you have fulfilled requirements and averages as 95%. Exceptiona
paper will be awarded a higher percentage. Papers on average will be no more than two pages typewritten or three
handwritten. Handwritten papers must be printed and doubled spaced and typewritten papers must be double spac
There will be five points counted off if not handwritten as such. An automatic 3 points will be deducted if the critique
late. 5 points will be deducted for each week the critique is late.
.
Skills and Vocabulary Students will be expected to know the class warm up and execute it at an
intermediate level. Students will be expected to know and execute frequently used vocabulary and movements. W
assignments may be given if necessary.
Final Project The final project will be choreography set on the class. You will be expected to know your part i
piece and execute it at a performance level.

Extra Credit
Extra credit may be received by attending other dance performances. You may receive 5 points by just turning in a
and program or 10 if accompanied by a critique. The credit will be added to the final total of points accrued for the
course at the end of the semester, not a specific category. The grade of A+ will be awarded through work on regula
assignments only. The highest grade that can be achieved through extra credit is an A.

General Class Etiquette and Attire Minimum jewelry, hair away from face, no chewing gum, closed lid cont
(water only), no sitting down during class, no talking while dancing or during demonstrations of exercises.
Attire You are required to wear dance or work out clothes. Loose fitting street clothes are not appropriate.
Acceptable attire would be tights, leotards, bike shorts, crop tops, sweat pants and sweat shorts, T-shirts, leggings,
sweatshirts. If you have a question about any other clothing, please check with the instructor first. Points may be
deducted from your daily grade for inappropriate attire.

Topics for Individual Class Meetings

1/9 Review Syllabus 3/13 Technique Class
1/11 Technique Class 3/15 Technique Class
1/16 Holiday 3/20 Technique Class
1/18 Technique Class 3/22 Technique Class
1/23 Technique Class 3/27 Technique Class
1/25 Technique Class 3/29 Video
1/30 Technique Class 4/3 Technique Class
2/1 Technique Class 4/5 Technique Class
2/6 Video 4/10 Technique Class
2/8 Technique Class 4/12 Technique Class
2/13 Technique Class 4/17 Technique Class
2/15 Technique Class 4/19 Technique Class
2/20 Master Class/4:15-6:15 4/24 Final Critique Due
2/22 Master Class/5:00-6:15
2/27 Technique Class
3/1 video/1st critique due
3/6,8 Spring Break

***All dates and assignments are subject to change at the instructors discretion***

I will send all electronic correspondence only to a student’s UTD email address and require
that all official electronic correspondence between a student and me be transmitted from the
students’ UTD email account. UT Dallas furnishes each student a FREE Network ID (netid)
linked to an email account. To activate or maintain a UTD computer account and/or to set
email forwarding options, go to http://netid.utdallas.edu. NOTE: The UTD Department of
Information Resources provides a method for students to forward their UTD email to other
personal or business email accounts.

The drop dates for the current Full Term Session are as follows:
Last day to drop a class without a “W”...…………………………………Wed., January 25
Undergraduates WP or WF withdraw period begins……………………...Mon., February 13
Undergraduates last day to withdraw with WP/WF………………………Thurs., March 16
Graduates last day to withdraw from a course with an automatic “W”….. Fri., March 24

The following are excerpts of policies and procedures from the University Catalog. For a complete list
of campus policies and procedures go the University Catalog on the UTD website.
Rules, Regulations, and Statutory Requirements
A. Student Conduct and Discipline
The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have rules and regulations
for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It is the responsibility of each student and each
student organization to be knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student
conduct and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is contained in the U.T.
Dallas publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all registered students each academic year.
Academic Dishonesty
The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and academic honesty. Because the value of a
academic degree depends upon the absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is imper
that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his or her scholastic work.
Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or omissions related to applications for
enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or the submission as one’s own work of material that is not one’s own. As
general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating, plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying
academic records. Students suspected of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Incomplete Grade (X)

A grade of Incomplete may be given, at the discretion of the instructor of record for a
course, when a student has completed at least 70% of the required course material
but cannot complete all requirements by the end of the semester. An incomplete
course grade (grade of X) must be completed within the time period specified by the
instructor, not to exceed eight weeks from the first day of the subsequent long
semester. Upon completion of the required work, the symbol X may be converted into
a letter grade (A through F) by the instructor. If the grade of Incomplete is not
removed by the end of the specified period, it will automatically be changed to F.
Extension beyond the specified limit can be made only with the permission of the
instructor and the student’s ADU (or the Undergraduate Dean in the case of students
without declared majors). A student may not re-enroll in a course in which a grade of
X remains.

Students may obtain a petition/documentation form for an Incomplete in the office of

the student’s ADU. The form is to be submitted to the instructor from whom the
Incomplete is sought. Students should be aware that an Incomplete is only
appropriate for work unavoidably missed at semester’s end. Students should contact
their school office for school policies on Incompletes. If a significant fraction of a
semester is missed with cause, see the section on “Withdrawing from and Adding
Courses”.

An instructor assigning an Incomplete must submit the petition/documentation form

containing a description of the work required to complete the course to the ADU of
the school offering the course. Upon approval, a copy of the petition will be forwarded
to the student’s ADU to be retained with the student’s academic record. The
instructor alone will be responsible for determining whether the requirements for
completion are met and for assigning the grade in the course.

However, if the instructor who has signed the Incomplete is no longer associated with
U.T. Dallas and the work is completed within the time allowed before the Incomplete
lapses to an F, the Associate Dean of the instructor’s college may assign a committee
of appropriate faculty to evaluate the material and/or obtain any other information
which may be required to assign the grade in the course.
Disability Services
Disability Services provides accommodations for students with documented
disabilities. Students are urged to make their needs known to Disability Services as
soon as they are admitted to the university. The Office of Disability Services is
located in the Student Union, (972) 883-2070.