(a) General requirements. Students may fulfill fine arts and elective requirements for graduation by successfully completing one or more of the following dance courses: Principles of Dance I, Ballet I, Modern/Contemporary Dance I, Jazz I, Tap I, World Dance Forms I, Dance Composition/Improvisation I, Dance Theory I, Dance Performance/Ensemble I, Dance and Media Communication I, Dance Production I, and Dance Wellness I (one credit per course). The prerequisite for Dance and Media Communication I is Dance, Middle School 1, 2, or 3.
(b) Introduction.
  (1) The fine arts incorporate the study of dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts to offer unique experiences and empower students to explore realities, relationships, and ideas. These disciplines engage and motivate all students through active learning, critical thinking, and innovative problem solving. The fine arts develop cognitive functioning and increase student academic achievement, higher-order thinking, communication, and collaboration skills, making the fine arts applicable to college readiness, career opportunities, workplace environments, social skills, and everyday life. Students develop aesthetic and cultural awareness through exploration, leading to creative expression. Creativity, encouraged through the study of the fine arts, is essential to nurture and develop the whole child.
  (2) Four basic strands--foundations: perception; creative expression; historical and cultural relevance; and critical evaluation and response--provide broad, unifying structures for organizing the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire. Dance students develop perceptual thinking and movement abilities in daily life, promoting an understanding of themselves and others. Students develop movement principles and technical skills and explore choreographic and performance qualities. Students develop self-discipline and healthy bodies that move expressively, efficiently, and safely through space and time with a sensitive kinesthetic awareness. Students recognize dance as a vehicle for understanding historical and cultural relevance, increasing an awareness of heritage and traditions of their own and others, and enabling them to participate in a diverse society. Evaluating and analyzing dance allows students to strengthen decision-making skills, develop critical and creative thinking, and develop artistic and creative processes. Students continue to explore technology and its application to dance and movement, enabling them to make informed decisions about dance.
  (3) Statements that contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative examples.
(c) Knowledge and skills.
  (1) Foundations: perception. The student develops an awareness of the body's movement using sensory information while dancing. The student is expected to:
    (A) define basic kinesthetic and spatial awareness individually and in groups;
    (B) identify a comprehensive understanding of health, safety, and wellness for dancers;
    (C) recognize knowledge of dance genres, styles, and vocabulary; and
    (D) identify images found in the environment through movement.
  (2) Creative expression: artistic process. The student develops knowledge and skills of dance elements, choreographic processes, and forms in a variety of dance genres and styles. The student is expected to:
    (A) explain basic principles of proper body alignment;
    (B) explore, improvise, and demonstrate original movement during the creative process;
    (C) express ideas and emotions through movement; and
    (D) create basic compositional forms using fundamental dance elements for choreographic processes.
  (3) Creative expression: performance. The student demonstrates knowledge and execution of technical dance skills in a variety of dance genres and styles through performing. The student is expected to:
    (A) perform memorized movement sequences with rhythmical accuracy in dance genres and styles such as ballet, modern dance, tap, jazz, musical theatre dance, and world dance forms;
    (B) identify the effective use of dance elements in practice and performance;
    (C) perform basic compositional forms using fundamental choreographic processes; and
    (D) understand the principles of an effective warm-up and cool-down, implementing elements of proper conditioning for performing skills.
  (4) Historical and cultural relevance. The student demonstrates an understanding of cultural, historical, and artistic diversity. The student is expected to:
    (A) perform the characteristics of dances from several diverse cultures or historical periods;
    (B) perform dance phrases or dances from several time periods with an understanding of historical and social contexts;
    (C) identify historical figures in dance history and their significance; and
    (D) identify dance in various media and content areas.
  (5) Critical evaluation and response. The student makes informed personal judgments about dance and the meaning and role of dance in society. The student is expected to:
    (A) incorporate appropriate movement vocabulary when identifying qualities and discussing meaning of performance or production in dance;
    (B) demonstrate appropriate audience behavior and etiquette in the classroom and at performances;
    (C) identify relationships between dance and other content areas; and
    (D) identify knowledge and skills of technology in dance.

Source Note: The provisions of this §117.306 adopted to be effective July 28, 2013, 38 TexReg 4575