This is my mock proposal for a self designed honors experience. I decided to do a summer intensive because I'll probably just change things around in this one to make my actual proposal later.

 

Basic Information

 

Full Name: Michael Burke

UC Email: burke2mr@mail.uc.edu

College: College-Conservatory of Music

Major: Ballet

Title of Project: Nashville Ballet Summer Intensive

Thematic Area: Creative Arts

Expected Project Start Date: June 8

Expected Project End Date: July 24

 

 

Project Information

 

• Provide a detailed abstract of your proposed honors experiential learning project.

I will spend five weeks of my summer at the Nashville Ballet Summer Intensive. When I am there I will be with other students from around the country. This program will provide me with an opportunity to learn from the artistic staff of Nashville Ballet as well as take class with some of the company dancers. While there I will be able to strengthen my technique even further as well as learn more about my own creative style and movement quality. From the beginning of the program I will be immersed in a rigorous eight hour day of dancing. Classes that I will be taking include ballet technique, men’s technique, partnering, jazz, contemporary, yoga, pilates, conditioning, variations, and rehearsal. The five weeks of training will culminate into a studio show that will be open to the public.

This project is meaningful to me because it will allow me to not only enhance my ability in the field of dance, but it will also allow me to create connections and relationships within the dance community. My goals while at the intensive are to make myself more marketable as a dancer by improving my technique and establishing connections with other dancers and Nashville Ballet. I hope to learn more ways to self correct myself while I am dancing so that I am able to improve more quickly. I plan to do this by listening to all the corrections that the teachers give and then write all of them down.

 

 

Clearly and thoroughly address how each of the following elements will be exhibited in your work:

 

• Connection to Learning Outcomes within the Honors Thematic Area (identified above)

• Acquires or further develops competencies within a particular creative domain

I will be developing my competencies in ballet. I will be doing this by having a one and forty-five minute ballet class six days a week, an hour male technique class five days a week, an hour partnering class five days a week, and two hour rehearsals five days a week. I am planning that all of this time each week spent on my ballet technique will develop my skills and competencies within the realm of ballet.

 

• Possesses ability to embrace contradictions and integrate alternate, divergent, or contradictory perspectives

There are many styles within the realm of dance and several of these styles do not go directly hand in hand with each other. While at this summer intensive I hope to embrace the different ideas of different styles of dance. I will have classes in ballet, contemporary, hip hop, and afro-caribbean. Very rarely do ideas from ballet bleed over into hip hop and vice versa. During my time at this intensive I hope to incorporate the ideas from each different style and let it help out my other styles by embracing the separate ideas from each style. I hope to be able to embrace both the grounded quality of hip hop with the light quality of ballet.

 

 

• Connection to Goals and Academic Theories

A. I want to do this project because it allows me to do what I love. I have the aspiration to be a professional dancer and there is a chance that I will be able to get a contract after attending this intensive. Even if I am not able to further my career with a contract, I will be cultivating my own skills in a great environment and will be better in my field by the end of this intensive.

 

B. Before I start my intensive I will read 9 Clean Eating Principles for a Ballerina’s Diet. This article is from a blog of a professional dancer. I hope to incorporate what I learn from this article into my daily routine at this intensive to hopefully have a better nourished body so that I will be able to make it through the long days easier with less strain on my body.

I also plan to read two article from Pointe Magazine. The first, Summer Intensive Prep Tips, will help me get ready for the intensive so that I will be prepared. The second one, Summer Intensive Strategies, will help me realize exactly what I need to do in order to get the outcome I am hoping for. Both of these will allow me to do better during my time at Nashville

 

 

• Initiative, Independence, and/or Creativity

I will be very involved with this project as it unfolds. I will have to take the initiative and audition for this program when the opportunity comes and will have to be ready for whatever happens from there on. I bring many experiences with me as well. I have been dancing for over five years now with increase intensity and dedication at the years have progressed. I have also spent the past couple of summers going to other intensives. I understand how most programs are run and can bring those experiences with me so that I am not caught off guard. I will also use my experiences to help others in the program to improve and grow in their technique.

 

 

 

• Reflection

Every night I will think about all the things that happened throughout the day. I will try and remember what corrections I was given as well as what the teachers said to me during class can help me in both my technique and my life in general. I will be doing this is the form of a video diary. I will think about everything first and probably write it down before I start recording. I will ask myself the following questions:

What was different about your class today than other classes?

What thoughts came into your head during the day that need to be addressed?

How can what the teacher said to the class relate to you specifically?

Did you learn anything new?

Did you discover anything that will help you improve as a dancer?

Was there anything specific that you focused on today?

 

 

• Dissemination

I will post my video diaries on youtube and on my learning portfolio. I want to do this because there aren’t many video sources about different summer intensives and it is hard to find out about what each intensive is like unless you know someone that has gone to one or you have gone yourself. I want to make a way for other people to not only learn about the intensive, but to see what someone who has gone to the intensive has taken away from it. Besides just the video diaries of each day, I will do a final recap about my experience as well and post that to youtube.

 

 

• Project Advisor

Andre Megerdichian

Assistant Professor of Dance

3723 Corbett Cntr Perform Arts

513-556-2700

andre.megerdichian@uc.edu

 

I will be using Andre because he has had many years of experience in the dance world. He is also the advisor in the dance department for the first years and I feel confident in working with him.

 

 

 

• Budget

$2,500 - Tuition

$2,500 - Room and Board

$35 - Audition Fee

All costs were established by Nashville Ballet.