Ashland Center for Theatre Studies

Past Elective Course

Choreography for Musical Theatre

A week-long 3-credit graduate level course geared toward high school and community college theatre educators, covering fundamentals of musical theatre dance technique and choreography.

Experience an in-depth warm-up you can use with your students that works on the essential elements of dance technique: alignment and centering, strength and flexibility, coordination, control, rhythm and expression:

• Develop a vocabulary of basic, commonly-used dance steps—the building blocks of choreography
• Explore a variety of dance styles that might be used in a musical
• Investigate choreographic tricks of the trade to maximize the impact of simple movements
• Discover how to analyze a script to determine the role of dance in the production
• Apply technique, vocabulary, analysis and composition to the creation and learning of several musical theatre numbers
• Build skills to work within, as well as expand, the limitations of your students
• Look at resources available for inspiration and instruction
• Learn how to work with professional and student choreographers
• Attend the Oregon Cabaret Theatre (OCT) production of archy & mehitabel and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) production of Comedy of Errors
• Come away with technique and compositional abilities and knowledge to work more effectively with your students and to make better use of dance in your musical productions

Faculty

Jim Giancarlo, Artistic Director of Oregon Cabaret Theatre and musical theatre faculty at SOU

"Jim Giancarlo's choreography—some of his best work—drives the songs, Randall Stuart's direction, and the play's twisted sensibilities along." -Richard Moeschl, Mail Tribune

SOU winter 2008 production of Urinetown, choreographed by Jim Giancarlo     photo by Brian Prechtel

Daily Schedule

Each day will start with a two-hour dance class followed by an hour of lecture and discussion. The afternoon begins with more lecture/discussion and concludes with a two-hour choreography workshop.

Evening Schedule 2008

SOU winter 2008 production of Urinetown, choreographed by Jim Giancarlo     photo by Brian Prechtel