Spring 2026 Course Search

Viewed from the outside, the French-speaking world offers enticing images of beauty, pleasure, and freedom. From the inside, however, it is a complicated, often contradictory world where implicit codes and values shape the most basic aspects of daily life. This course will give you an insiderʹs perspective on a cultural and communicative system whose ideas, customs, and belief systems are surprisingly different from your own.

In this course, films are used as textbooks to learn the French language and explore the French-speaking world. In order to hone their language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), students will listen to selected film dialogues to improve their listening comprehension, read and analyze excerpts from scenarios and reviews to strengthen their understanding of syntax and widen their vocabulary, mimic the pronunciation of actors and write on film to improve their spoken and written French.

This course will examine movement–travel, migration, and transition–in the French-speaking world. We’ll examine the travel tale as philosophical form (Candide), the sonnet, Orientalism, the graphic novels of Marjane Satrapi, films of Josephine Baker, queer movement in the work of Abdellah Taïa, the North Atlantic Triangle (Maboula Soumahoro), and the gender transition of Océan. Students will write a variety of critical and creative texts, make individual and group presentations, and develop their reading skills. Conducted in French. Intermediate-high level.

This course will examine the comic in French theatre, literature, politics, and film in order to answer a deceptively simple question: What makes us laugh? In theoretical readings we will consider whether laughter is a universal, cross-cultural function. Additionally, we will look at special, sub-genres of the comic, such as satire and parody, in order to question the relationship between comic genres and the real world. Does comedy seek to change the world or does it merely want to point to its foibles? Is it a progressive or conservative mode?

The course will be for sustained work on an animation or design project, and should be a space for both experimentation, ambition and a consistent endeavor.  Students will be expected to create a complete animation, a series of experiments, projection or interactive project.  The expectation is that students will be fully engaged in all aspects of the class from critiques, to experimenting with ideas, undertaking research and being present.

Actions In Process: Junior Choreography Workshop positions creative research as a multifaceted practice that includes dancing, reading, writing, drawing, sound-making and theatrical design. The course weaves choreographic practice and group study in a variety of collaborative, experimental and performative configurations. Time in class will be devoted to combinations of lectures, workshops, exercises, readings, discussions, viewings, listening sessions and individual/group choreographic experiments.

PODs offer students the opportunity to make connections through multiple access points, especially in areas of performance. PODs are designed to help students recognize the tools and methodologies used in their own creative work both as performers and as choreographers. Structurally each POD is identified by a unique topic. PODs have required rehearsal times and culminate in a public showing.

The artist will create an original work with BFA students through an intensive research and rehearsal process.

PODs offer students the opportunity to make connections through multiple access points, especially in areas of performance. PODs are designed to help students recognize the tools and methodologies used in their own creative work both as performers and as choreographers. Structurally each POD is identified by a unique topic. PODs have required rehearsal times and culminate in a public showing.

The artist will create an original work with BFA students through an intensive research and rehearsal process.

This course is designed to be the culmination of the BFA program for all dance majors. Each student will propose a thesis project, develop goals and objectives for the semester, and present their work. Modes of practicing, situating and expressing thesis project research will be mobilized and extended through ongoing critical dialogue. We will attend to, in practice, the urgent questions facing our lives and the field of dance and performance. 

This course is designed to be the culmination of the BFA program for all dance majors. Each student will propose a thesis project, develop goals and objectives for the semester, and present their work. Modes of practicing, situating and expressing thesis project research will be mobilized and extended through ongoing critical dialogue. We will attend to, in practice, the urgent questions facing our lives and the field of dance and performance. 

Students will work with their advisor to self-design study through combining and creating new pathways through the curriculum.

Variable Credit, 1-4 Credits

Each Practice + Process course is designed around the research/pedagogic interests of the faculty member leading the class. The overall curricular structure positions studio practice, creative process and critical reading, thinking and languaging as integrated elements within one course, enabling students to move between modes of learning, reflection and making.

Each Practice + Process course is designed around the research/pedagogic interests of the faculty member leading the class. The overall curricular structure positions studio practice, creative process and critical reading, thinking and languaging as integrated elements within one course, enabling students to move between modes of learning, reflection and making.

Each Practice + Process course is designed around the research/pedagogic interests of the faculty member leading the class. The overall curricular structure positions studio practice, creative process and critical reading, thinking and languaging as integrated elements within one course, enabling students to move between modes of learning, reflection and making.

Each Practice + Process course is designed around the research/pedagogic interests of the faculty member leading the class. The overall curricular structure positions studio practice, creative process and critical reading, thinking and languaging as integrated elements within one course, enabling students to move between modes of learning, reflection and making.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

This course aims to experiment with generative and alternative forms of reading that can be thought of as not only a methodology, but as a practice that supports us as we engage in research with, alongside and through study in dance and performance. We will ask ourselves what it means to read and “make sense” of texts and events today…together. 
*For BFA students this course satisfies Critical Studies credit.
 

Fundamentals of 2-D animation principles will be explored through drawing, from basic motion cycles to straight-ahead animation. Students will primarily work with wet/dry mediums on paper, with additional instruction in After Effects compositing workflow, and digital drawing. Weekly exercises will explore a variety of animation techniques to create short projects. While Screenings, critiques and demonstrations parallel regular viewings of student work.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

In 1935, at Bennington College, Martha Graham created the iconic work Panorama. This piece “was Graham’s political call to action and her attempt to awaken social consciousness and is a stunning example of 1930s modernism.” The Martha Graham Dance Company returns to Bennington to celebrate its 100th year by teaching and performing this piece.

Actions in Practice employs Sidra Bell's CONTEMPORARY SYSTEMS, an interior and material approach to movement that encourages provocative thought and an immersive approach to the subject matter of the body. The work demands a high degree of physicality and input from the dancers, encouraging them to execute movement with intention, curiosity, and empathy.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

Studio Practice is designed to offer each student a rigorous and immersive dance study experience. A deep-dive into practices of critical physicality, students will be supported in making direct connections across an abundance of dance forms that rearrange and blur the boundaries between traditional and emerging techniques. Studio Practice courses focus on the relationships between curiosity, desire, strength, effort, force, and presence, all while moving within the lineages and histories that inform the ways in which we create and encounter our dancing futures.

In this course, we will examine French culture’s engagement with questions of sexuality and gender, with a focus on authors, artists, theorists, and others who have questioned ideas of normative sexuality from the Middle Ages through the 21st century. Authors and texts to be studied may include Marie de France, Gabrielle d’Estrées et l'une de ses soeurs, Montaigne, l’Abbé de Choisy, Charles Perrault (La Belle au bois dormant), le Chevalier d’Eon, Virginie Despentes, Paul Preciado, Wendy Delorme, Abdellah Taïa, Edouard Louis, Bambi (Sebastian Lifshitz), and Parole de King (Chriss Lag).

This course introduces students to the basic language of 3D animation and modeling.  Students will be expected to become familiar with the basic principles of the MAYA program. A series of modeled objects placed in locations will be created. The emphasis will be on becoming proficient with modelling forms, texturing using Arnold Renderer, basic animation and utilizing lights and cameras.