(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 III, Ballet III, Modern/Contemporary Dance III, Jazz III, Tap III, World Dance Forms III, Dance Composition/Improvisation III, Dance Theory III, Dance Performance/Ensemble III, Dance Production III, Dance Wellness III, Dance History I, and International Baccalaureate (IB) Dance I (one credit per course). The prerequisite for each Dance, Level III course is one credit of Dance, Level II in the corresponding discipline, excluding Dance History I and IB Dance I courses.
(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) analyze kinesthetic and spatial awareness individually and in groups;
    (B) distinguish a comprehensive understanding of health, safety, and wellness for dancers;
    (C) compare knowledge and skills of dance genres, styles, and vocabulary; and
    (D) differentiate designs and images in natural and constructed environments.
  (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) create dance studies using original movement based on theme and variation;
    (B) experiment, improvise, and perform original movement during the creative process;
    (C) compare and contrast the expression of ideas and emotions through movement; and
    (D) differentiate compositional forms using intermediate 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 and examine memorized complex 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) execute a wide range of dynamics in quality movement;
    (C) perform with projection, confidence, and expression when executing dance movements; and
    (D) distinguish an effective warm-up and cool-down, implementing the 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) compare similarities and differences in steps, styles, and traditions from various cultures or historical periods;
    (B) recognize and evaluate dances as they relate to various historical periods and social contexts;
    (C) create and experiment with dances in various media and content areas; and
    (D) research historical and cultural dance forms using technology.
  (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) compare characteristics and qualities of a variety of dances;
    (B) analyze dance from a variety of perspectives such as those of dance critic, performer, choreographer, and audience member;
    (C) understand the relationship of dance performance skills and other content areas; and
    (D) experiment with knowledge and skills of technology through a dance portfolio.

Source Note: The provisions of this §117.308 adopted to be effective July 28, 2013, 38 TexReg 4575