Balanchine George Balanchine is an important figure in the history of ballet as he was a major exponent of ballet in the US. He established the first school of American ballet in NYC with Lincoln Kirstein in 1934. Balanchine’s style has been called Neoclassical and the success of his NYC Ballet has spawned many regional companies in the US, including Miami City Ballet, keeping his repertory alive. Balanchine brought a new aesthetic to ballet, stripping away its sentimentality and bringing attention to the movement rather than the spectacle. He brought quick footwork, precision and musicality to classical ballet technique. He collaborated extensively with the composer Stravinsky. His work with the Ballet Russe in the early 20th century exposed Balanchine to the most prominent musical composers and visual artists of the period (i.e. Picasso, Matisse, etc.) which influenced his experimentation with abstraction in the form. Ballet continues to evolve today. Traditional classical ballets such as Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake are still performed today with the addition of more contemporary interpretations of the form. Some examples of contemporary ballet: Modern Dance Modern dance began as a departure from the restrictions of ballet and a desire to express a wider palette of the human experience. It emphasized the expression of emotion, the exploration of dynamics in the body and presented narratives in a more abstract manner. Some modern dance pioneers eventually developed their own codification and/or process for working. The postmodern dancers rejected codification of any kind as well as known methods for composition. They valued personal movement, innovative forms of performance and preferred abstraction over story telling. Pioneers of Modern Dance Isadora Duncan 1877-1927, believed movement should be drawn from nature and was inspired by Ancient Greece, wearing long toga-like robes in her performances. The Duncan technique was comprised of movements such as hopping, swinging, running, skipping and leaping; her desire was to free the body from the confines of ballet. Ruth St Denis 1878-1968, was inspired by the dances of Asia, in addition to other culturally based forms. She is well known for her grand spectacles, creating a formal school/company. Her husband Ted Shawn was also a pioneer in modern dance who created an all male dance company in addition to performing with Ruth. Martha Graham was a student Ruth St. Denis and later became a member of her company. Mary Wigman 1886-1973, was a German dancer/choreographer inspired by Expressionism, an artistic movement that emphasized raw emotions. She was a student of Rudolf Laban. In her famous Witch Dance, she went against traditional norms of female beauty in dance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtLSSuFlJ5c Rudolf Laban 1879-1958, is sometimes referred to as the father of German modern dance; he developed a system for notating dance called Labanotation in addition to developin.

1. Balanchine
George Balanchine is an important figure in the history of ballet
as he was a major exponent of ballet in the US. He established
the first school of American ballet in NYC with Lincoln
Kirstein in 1934. Balanchine’s style has been called
Neoclassical and the success of his NYC Ballet has spawned
many regional companies in the US, including Miami City
Ballet, keeping his repertory alive. Balanchine brought a new
aesthetic to ballet, stripping away its sentimentality and
bringing attention to the movement rather than the spectacle.
He brought quick footwork, precision and musicality to
classical ballet technique. He collaborated extensively with the
composer Stravinsky. His work with the Ballet Russe in the
early 20th century exposed Balanchine to the most prominent
musical composers and visual artists of the period (i.e. Picasso,
Matisse, etc.) which influenced his experimentation with
abstraction in the form.
Ballet continues to evolve today. Traditional classical ballets
such as Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake are still performed
today with the addition of more contemporary interpretations of
the form. Some examples of contemporary ballet:
Modern Dance
Modern dance began as a departure from the restrictions of
ballet and a desire to express a wider palette of the human
experience. It emphasized the expression of emotion, the
exploration of dynamics in the body and presented narratives in
a more abstract manner. Some modern dance pioneers
eventually developed their own codification and/or process for
working. The postmodern dancers rejected codification of any
kind as well as known methods for composition. They valued
personal movement, innovative forms of performance and
preferred abstraction over story telling.
Pioneers of Modern Dance

2. Isadora Duncan 1877-1927, believed movement should be drawn
from nature and was inspired by Ancient Greece, wearing long
toga-like robes in her performances. The Duncan technique was
comprised of movements such as hopping, swinging, running,
skipping and leaping; her desire was to free the body from the
confines of ballet.
Ruth St Denis 1878-1968, was inspired by the dances of Asia, in
addition to other culturally based forms. She is well known for
her grand spectacles, creating a formal school/company. Her
husband Ted Shawn was also a pioneer in modern dance who
created an all male dance company in addition to performing
with Ruth. Martha Graham was a student Ruth St. Denis and
later became a member of her company.
Mary Wigman 1886-1973, was a German dancer/choreographer
inspired by Expressionism, an artistic movement that
emphasized raw emotions. She was a student of Rudolf Laban.
In her famous Witch Dance, she went against traditional norms
of female beauty in dance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtLSSuFlJ5c
Rudolf Laban 1879-1958, is sometimes referred to as the father
of German modern dance; he developed a system for notating
dance called Labanotation in addition to developing
methodology for analyzing movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbnSY3RVTr0
Martha Graham, 1894-1990, is well known for developing a
technique based on the contraction and release of the center of
the body. Inspired by Ruth St Denis, she left the company to
create her own methodology, exploring raw emotion and
narratives based on Greek mythology and the American
experience.
Second Wave of Pioneers
Jose Limon, 1908-1972, was a Mexican American whose work
was influenced by his culture. He developed a technique
influenced by his teacher/mentor Doris Humphrey, based on fall
and recovery in addition to principles of weight. In The Moor’s

3. Pavane, Limon looks back at dances of the Middle
Ages/Renaissance, but uses his technique, theatricality and
symbolism to create his own statement.
Alvin Ailey, 1931-1990, created the Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theatre in the 1950’s, an iconic dance company to this
day. He strove to make dance more inclusive, giving
opportunities for African American and other dancers of color.
He choreographed the well known Revelations in 1960.
Dance Theatre in Germany
Kurt Jooss-1901-1979, a German dancer/choreographer who is
known as the father of Tanztheater, (dance theatre). Jooss
preferred themes that addressed moral issues. His most
important choreographic work, The Green Table (1932), won
first prize at an international competition. Made a year before
Adolf Hitler became the chancellor of Germany, The Green
Table had a strong anti-war message.
Pina Bausch, 1940-2009, a German dancer/choreographer who
continued the legacy of her teacher Kurt Jooss in developing the
concept of Tanztheater, which combined elements of dance and
theater. Bausch’s works display both classical and
contemporary techniques with an emphasis on the expression of
raw emotion. Her approaches were considered experimental,
pushing the boundaries of dance.
Postmodern Dance
In postmodern dance, artists are interested in challenging the
established codification of dance and developing new
methodologies for creating work.
Merce Cunningham, 1919-2009, in his seven decade long career
he is well known for pushing the boundaries of dance
performance, collaborating with music, film and visual artists,
most notably his life partner, experimental composer John Cage.
His works display an intense physicality, intellectual rigor and
abstraction. He is known for using chance to choreograph,
throwing dice, flipping coins or consulting the I Ching to
structure his dances.

4. Steve Paxton, 1939- , is well known for creating a system of
making dance called “Contact Improvisation” which uses the
dynamics of the body and partnering with others to investigate
new ways of moving.
Trisha Brown, 1940-2017, created intricate patterns of
movement based on repetition and methodology which sought to
generate the unique personal vocabulary of her dancers. In her
famous work, Set and Reset, she creates a dance that has the
vitality of improvisation, but is a completely set choreography.
Deborah Hay, 1941-, studied and performed with Merce
Cunningham and was part of the experimental collective of
dancers, Judson Dance Theater, based in NYC. She is known
for working with both trained and untrained dancers, moving
beyond the codification of dance and exploring new forms of
dance composition. She continues to create choreography
today. In working with dancers, she poses questions for them to
explore in movement.
Contemporary Dance in the 21st Century
Ohad Naharin, 1952-, is an Israeli dancer/choreographer. He
created “Gaga,” a methodology for exploring new pathways for
movement which uses imagery and body awareness. He was
artistic director for the Bathsheva Dance Company until 2018
(currently he is the head choreographer). Naharin was a
member of the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Rennie Harris, 1964-, is a dancer, choreographer, artistic
director and scholar of hip hop dance. His company Pure
Movement, established in 1992, is notable for bringing hip hop
dance to the concert stage. His touring company RHAW has
performed extensively worldwide. Harris has challenged the
stereotypes and expectations of hip hop in his award winning
works.
Crystal Pite, 1970-, a Canadian dancer/choreographer who
joined Ballet Frankfurt in 1996 under the tutelage of the
innovative William Forsythe. In 2002, she formed her own

5. company Kidd Pivot, creating her award winning own works
and serving as choreographer for many prominent companies.
Her process explores conflict and opposing energies in the
body, creating dance that is rigorous, complex and emotionally
raw.
Choose one name from above , you have a listing of prominent
artists in the history of dance (their names are bolded).
For your research paper, please choose one of these artists and
write a paper which includes the following, in this order, to
organize your paper:
1) Personal/professional background--what are the important
factors in their background that contributed to their
development as artists
2) Talk about their contribution to their genre (ballet, hip hop,
modern, postmodern, contemporary) in the period of time that
they create/created.
3) Discuss a minimum of 3 notable works, describing them in
detail (themes, choreographic approaches, scenographic
elements, etc). Include links to these works in your
bibliography.
4) In your conclusion, discuss their contribution to dance
history. How did/does their work push the art form forward?
Your paper should be 4 complete pages of text, double spaced,
12pt font, 1"margins covering the areas I requested. Please
include a separate title page with your name, course, title of
your paper, etc. Please also include a separate bibliography, in
MLA style, with your sources and also the links to the works of
choreography you discuss in the paper.
You may include photos in your paper, but this does not replace
the required 4 pages of text.

6. Critical Thinking (LOGIC): Gregory Bassham
Gregory Bassham on why grades shouldn’t be based on effort: A
recent study
by Professor Ellen Greenberger and fellow researchers at the
University of California, Irvine, found that a third of students
surveyed said that they expected a B just for attending lectures,
and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the
required reading.
Jason Greenwood, a senior kinesiology major at the University
of Maryland, would go even further.
“If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the
point?” Greenwood said.“If someone goes to every class and
reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher
asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like
their effort deserves. . . .What else is there really than the effort
that you put in?” (Quoted in Max Roosevelt,“Student Expec-
tations Seen As Causing Grade Disputes,” New York Times,
Feb. 18, 2009, A15).
What else is there other than effort? What about performance?
As a college professor, I have no problem basing grades partly
on student effort. I regularly reward students who faithfully
attend class, participate actively, and do all the assigned
readings. Sometimes I even give extra credit for extra work.
I do this because I believe that qualities like hard work,
discipline, and determination are critical to success in both
college and in life, and so de- serve to be rewarded. Also, effort
is the one thing students can completely control. Everything
else that factors into academic success—IQ, memory,
college preparedness, health, outside work and family
commitments, etc.—is at least partly a matter of luck.
Nevertheless, most college professors—including myself—base
grades much more on achievement than we do on effort.There
are two good reasons for this.
First, there is no fair or objective way to measure effort in one’s

7. aca- demic work.When I hand a student a test, I have no idea if
they have stud- ied one hour for it or ten. If I gave out grades
based on my perception of how much effort my students have
expended, the grades would be wildly unfair and I would have
to barricade myself in my office to ward off all the plead- ers
and complainers.
In fact, students who say they should get B’s just for attending
class aren’t claiming that grades should be based exclusively on
effort.They’re saying that students who put in a minimum
amount of effort should receive at least a decent grade. But this
is a bad idea too.
It’s a bad idea because it defeats the two main reasons colleges
give
out grades at all. One is to allow students to assess their own
learning—to determine if they are, in fact, learning what their
professors are paid to teach them.The other is to let outside
evaluators—notably employers and graduate admissions
officers—know which graduates are likely to be the top
performers.
This second function is absolutely crucial to our nation’s health
and prosperity. Engineering firms need to know which potential
hires will do good work, and which might design bridges that
fall down. Medical schools need to know which student
applicants are likely to become good doctors, and which might
amputate the wrong limb.
Performance matters. In engineering. In medicine. In life.And
until that changes, professors cannot base their grades on
student effort.
1
News Assignment on the COVID-19 Pandemic

8. PHI 2301 Dr. Claire Stegman
Directions: Write an essay in which you compare and contrast
three news stories on
the COVID-19 pandemic for the same day news cycle.
Due Date: Monday, April 27, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. The
assignment is worth 10% of the
course grade.
Format: 3-4 pages, 11-12 point font, double-spaced with
standard margins (1-1.25 in.)
Step 1. Select your three news stories from the following:
1. A national print news source, using one of these four: The
New York Times
(www.nytimes.com), USA Today (www.usatoday.com), The
Wall Street
Journal (www.wsj.com), or The Washington Post
(www.washingtonpost.com)
2. A local news source such as: The Fort Worth Star-Telegram
or a news
source from your hometown
3. A news source of your choice (You may choose an additional
source from
either the national or local lists above or something else.)

9. Step 2. For each of your three sources:
1. Provide a bibliographical citation: Writer(s) or reporter(s)’
name(s), “Title of
article or report,” Newspaper, Television news program, on-line
publication,
etc., URL, April XX, 2020.
2. Ask three questions for each source (from Gregory Bassham,
et al., Critical
Thinking: A Student’s Introduction, 6th ed. [McGraw-Hill,
2019], p. 428):
a. Regarding “what happened,” what are the facts? “Who was
involved?
When and where did it happen? What are the known causes and
consequences of the event? What precisely was said by those
involved? What precisely did authorities, experts, witnesses,
and
others say about the event?”
b. How is the news information presented? “Who is telling the
story? In
what form? . . . In what tone and style? . . . What has been
emphasized? What in the story reveals the perspective
(assumptions,

10. intuitions, biases, etc.) of the writer or reporter?”
c. If the presentation involves some conclusion from the facts,
are the two
basic criteria of a good argument satisfied: “true premises and
good
reasoning?”
Step 3. Answer the following questions as the basis for your
comparison (from
Bassham, ibid., pp. 429-432):
1. What facts are shared by your sources?
http://www.nytimes.com/
http://www.usatoday.com/
http://www.wsj.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
2
2. Which source does the best job of providing context for
understanding the
public relevance of the facts? Indicate how it accomplishes this
task in
contrast to the other two sources.
3. How does each source’s arrangement of the facts affect the

11. audience’s
response to the news story?
4. Compare and contrast the language used in the three sources.
What is the
impact of any primarily emotive words in each source? Give
examples. Do
one or more of the sources seem to appeal to specific prejudices
of the
anticipated audience? If so, give examples.
Grading rubric:
I. Uses the three news sources as noted in Step 1 (25 points)
II. Describes the content of each of the three sources in Step 2
(25 points)
III. Critically analyzes and compares the content of the three
sources in Step 3
(25 points)
IV. Writes effectively (grammar, spelling, style) (25 points)