Aesthetics
Ms. Tomalonis
Course syllabus – 2008-2009
Goals of the course:
• Form a personal Aesthetic
• Understand these terms: Aesthetic, aesthetics, art, beauty and the different ways that people judge them.
• Be able to answer the following questions: What is art? What is the difference between taste and judgment? What is good art/bad art? Who gets to decide? What is the prevailing aesthetic today? How do you expect it to change during your lifetime? What would you like it to be, if you could set the rules? What is the Art Work of the Future? How would you answer those who feel that classical ballet is not relevant to their lives?
• Understand the concerns of today’s dancers, artistic directors, coaches and choreographers
• Articulate your opinions clearly
9/9 Introduction. Discuss what the course is about
What is art? What is beauty? What is ballet? What is good ballet dancing? What is good ballet choreography? What is a personal aesthetic, and what is the examined life?
A great artist reflects on his training, career, and the state of ballet today
9/11 Baryshnikov on Charlie Rose
9/12 Baryshnikov on Charlie Rose
Definitions: What is beauty? What is aesthetics? What is art?
9/15 What is beauty? What is aesthetics? What is art?
Different theories, and a few words: imitative, transformational, modernism and postmodernism
Introduction to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
9/16 Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
9/18 Film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
9/19 Discuss the lessons of Crouching Tiger
Discuss the concepts of: Aesthetic, aesthetics: different ways the word is used; aesthetic problems artists face
How do different people view and value art? What is the role of art in American society? Discussion of Edith Wharton’s False Dawn
9/22 Gardner museum film; pages 9-26
9/23 Pages 27-45
9/25 Pages 46-59
9/26 Pages 60-80
Readings from What is Dance?
9/29 Edgar Degas and the Dance, pp. 217 – 223
9/30 Lincoln Kirstein: pp. 238-243
10/2 Volinsky: pp. 255-256 + handout
10/3 Jack Anderson: Idealists, Realists, and the 32 Fouettés (pp. 410-419)
Readings from Grace Under Pressure
10/6 Helgi Tomasson (163-177)
10/7 continued
10/9 David Bintley (179-194)
10/10 continued
10/13 Francia Russell (197-208)
10/14 Mark Morris (233-246)
10/16 In Revival (247-263)
10/17 continued
10/20 – 24 Film: Amadeus and the question of genius
10/27 Jean-Pierre Frohlich (265-279)
10/28 continued
10/30 Yuri Fateyev (301-313)
10/31 continued
11/03 - 4 Film: How is a ballet staged and coached? Giselle: Of Dreams and Discipline
11/06-07 In the Details (314-331)
11/10 Sorella Englund (333-345)
11/11 Violette Verdy (347-355)
11/13 Irina Kolpakova (357-366)
11/14 Margaret Mercier (387-397)
11/17 Rosalie O’Connor and Michael Bjerknes interviews (handout)
11/18 Alina Cojocaru and Patrice Bart interviews (handout)
11/20 Larissa Lezhnina interview (handout)
11/21 Alexei Ratmansky interview (handout)
11/24 THANKSGIVING BREAK
Readings from What is Dance?
12/02 Selma Jeanne Cohen: Next Week, Swan Lake (pp. 339 – 353)
12/04 - 05 R.P. Blackmur: The Swan in Zurich (pp. 354-361)
12/08 DVD: the choreography of Leonid Lavrovsky
12/09 DVD: Cynthia Gregory and Fernando Bujones
12/11 PAPER DUE**: discuss papers
12/12 discussion
** Choose one artist from “In the Details” and write a 5-page essay that includes: What is the general point of view of the artist? What are at least five statements that explain the artist’s point of view? What is your reaction to each of these statements — why are they meaningful to you? A summary of what you learned from this artist.
Syllabus – Second Semester
1/12 - 16 Film: The Age of Innocence (considered one of the most beautiful films ever made.) Questions for discussion: What is beauty? How does beauty affect a life?
1/19 - 23 Film: Broken Blossoms (one of the great early silent films. How the other half lived 100 years ago; a consideration of mime)
Introduction to modern dance
1/26 What is modern dance? How did it begin?
Film: Trailblazers of modern dance
1/27 Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis and Mary Wigman (readings in What is dance?)
Include Levinson
2/2 – 3 Film: Nijinsky
2/5 Film: Le Sacre de Printemps
2/6
Readings in What is Dance?
2/9 Andre Levinson: The Idea of the Dance from Aristotle to Mallarmé (pp. 47 – 54)
2/10 Paul Valery: Philosophy of the Dance (pp. 55 – 65)
2/12 Shaw: From Music in London (1890-91) pp. 15-17
Carl Van Vechten: Anna Pavlowa (p. 445)
2/13 Edwin Denby: Three Sides of Agon (pp. 446 - 453)
A Balanchine Masterpiece (Concerto Barocco) (pp. 454 – 55)
2/16 – 2/17 Film: The Ballets Russes
2/19 – 2/20 Film: That’s Entertainment!
2/23 Ashton: Enigma Variations and Monotones
2/24 – 26 MacMillan: Romeo and Juliet
3/2 – 3 European dance: blending modern dance and ballet: Jiri Kylian, Pina Bausch
3/5 - 6 DVDs and discussion: Maurice Béjart and Hans Van Manen
3/9 – 10 Bujones at Varna DVD
3/12 – 13 Class at the Vaganova Academy DVD
3/17 - 19 Ballet Exams
3/23 - 24 Spring Break
3/30 – 3/31 MacMillan: Manon
4/2 – 4/3 Cranko: Onegin
4/6 – 4/10 Maximova and Vasiliev DVD
Film of Ulanova, Plisetskaya, et al.
4/13 Paul Taylor
4/14 Merce Cunningham
4/16 Post-modern dance (readings in What is dance?)
4/17 Twyla Tharp and Mark Morris (readings and DVD)
4/20 – 4/21 Prejocaj: Le Parc
4/23 – 4/24
Readings in What is Dance?
4/27 Suzanne Langer, from “Feeling and Form”; Virtual Powers (pp. 28-35)
4/28 The Magic Circle (pp. 36-46)
4/30 Richard Wagner, “From the Art Work of the Future”, pp. 191 – 196
5/1 The Art and Meaning of Isadora Duncan (pp. 438- 444)
5/4-5/5 Genre and Style. Pp. 225-237
5/7 – 8 Discussion. What is art? What is the difference between taste and judgment? What is good art/bad art? Who gets to decide? What is the prevailing aesthetic today? How do you expect it to change during your lifetime? What would you like it to be, if you could set the rules? What is the Art Work of the Future? How would you answer those who feel that classical ballet is not relevant to their lives?
There will be no final examination in this course.
FINAL PROJECT: Write a 5 to 7 page essay on My Aesthetic. It will be due on the day of the final examination.
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