This option is for Double Majors or who are completing their W3 requirements elsewhere.

Capstone Portfolio Requirements

Eleven (11) Credits with no thesis credit.

2 creative process

2 cultural context

2 physical practice credits

3 additional dance electives

1 theater credit

1 other art (BDF, Theater and Dance, Music, AVC, and various arts-related options in other departments and programs in consultation with your advisor.)

Evidence of 2 faculty, guest artist, or thesis performance projects or alternative significant performing experience in consultation with your advisor.

The Portfolio consists of:

• Personal Statement Essay (8-10 pages). A comprehensive synthesis of the culmination of your Bates dance education and how that experience relates to other studies or to life philosophy and skills beyond the field of dance.
• Dance CV
• Dance reel including 3-5 performance events.
• Discuss how you encountered and attended to questions of race, white supremacy, colonialism, power, and privilege in the practices and pedagogies of your studies.
• List of all classes related to studies in dance (including those not in major) with annotation of how those classes contribute to knowledge and understanding of dance.
• Bibliography of featured dance and related works read, seen, and participated in

All of these items in your portfolio are delivered on a personal website which can be rudimentary for these purposes but gets you started on having a professional web presence.

Written Thesis Requirements

Eleven (11) credits: 10 credits plus one W3 thesis credit.

2 creative process credits

2 cultural context credits

2 physical practice credits

2 additional dance electives

1 theater production, design, or acting credit

1 other art (BDF, Theater and Dance, Music, AVC, and various arts-related options in other departments and programs in consultation with your advisor.)

1 thesis

Evidence of 2 faculty, guest artist,  or thesis performance projects or alternative significant performing experience in consultation with your advisor.

Written Thesis consists of:

Thesis consists of a semester-long research project culminating in a substantial written document showing a synthesis of the dance curriculum, an excellent understanding of the chosen topic, and demonstration of appropriate academic writing in dance studies. There will be $300 for each thesis project, which can be used for research materials and/or workshops to support your work. Also required is a portfolio that demonstrates evidence of previous creative accomplishments during the four years of Bates study, and a working knowledge of the protocols for making and performing dance.

ACADEMIC PAPER
This paper should have the following components:

1. Title  (and standard thesis title page materials)
2. Introduction. States the research question in its context and how it is approached. 
3. Methodology.  States how the research question is framed.
4. How your research interrogates and attends to questions of race, white supremacy, colonialism, power, and privilege in the field,  how your learning influences your own practices moving forward.
5. Body. Develops themes introduced in the introduction and methods section, provides original ideas and observations in the field in the context of existing evidence of the current scholarship in the field.
6. Conclusion. Draws together ideas and makes suggestions for further development of the research.
7. Bibliography of all works cited.

PORTFOLIO DEMONSTRATING CREATIVE EXPERIENCE

To add praxis contest to the  Capstone, submit a resume of creative activity and research during your time at Bates, including any relevant professional experience outside of Bates. The dance artist/researcher resume should include URL/links to Bates archives and any on-line links to view work and other relevant additions such as photos, interviews, reflections on creative process. Accompanying this resume is a 1-2 page artist/scholar statement contextualizing your creative work and work as a dance scholar.

Guidelines for Thesis Assessment

Academic Paper: 90%
The written thesis in Dance engages in a substantial piece of scholarly writing/research that explores a line of inquiry through any number of lenses: 1. Historical inquiry; 2. Aesthetic, Social, and Cultural Contexts; 3. Embodied Research and Experience. The written work should pose a question, develop an argument, and posit new ideas and action to add to the current discourse of the topic.

Portfolio of Creative Experience: 10%
To be included in the final written thesis document as an appendix.

Performance Thesis Requirements

Twelve (12) credits: 11 credits plus one W3 thesis credit

Normally available only in the Fall semester in conjunction with DANC 253.

3 creative process credits including taking DANC 253 twice

2 cultural context credits

2 physical practice credits

1 Bates Dance Festival credit

1 Dance technique or additional 253 credit in consultation with your advisor

1 theater production, design, or acting credit

1 other art (BDF, Theater and Dance, Music, AVC, and various arts-related options in other departments and programs in consultation with your advisor.)

1 thesis

Evidence of 2 faculty or thesis performance projects or alternative significant performing experience in consultation with your advisor.

Performance Thesis consists of:

PERFORMANCE RESEARCH

During Fall and/or Spring of Senior year you will participate in a substantive performance experience (in consultation with your advisor). This is the core content of the thesis. Video documentation services will be provided by the department, however thesis students are responsible for processing video into the appropriate format for submission in final thesis document. Discussion of venue and format of the performance will be decided in collaboration with the department according to the shifting demands on the department technical support resources. There will be $300 for each thesis project. Requests for additional department funds will need a proposal to the department. Kerry O’Brien in the Dean of Faculty office also has information on other thesis research grants.

ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN PAPER

In conjunction with your performance research, your paper should be a fully developed academic explanation of how you addressed your research questions through embodied and literature-based research.  It should be written for a reader who has not seen the piece, so it should include detailed description where appropriate.  It must included a detailed description of your process as a performer, including research into the sources of those methods, the relationship of those methods to your research questions, and an honest evaluation of the outcomes of those methods. Your paper should also situate your research in the field of performance research: engaging in discussion about your performance project in relation to contemporary discourse in performance. The paper should have the following components in MLA style:

1. Title  (and standard thesis title page)
2. Artists’ statement. A short declaration of your aesthetic values, influences, and directions.
3. Introduction. State your research questions and briefly situate your performance and literature-based research in aesthetic and historical contexts. 
4. Academic context. A display of knowledge and understanding of the situation of your work with the field using standard academic writing practices to provide evidence.
   1. Survey of relevant dance literature. This section should explore how your research questions and methods related to the field of Dance at large. In addition to any major discussions of your topic in dance literature, you must research at least two to three artists/schoalrs who are working in the field of performance research in Dance. 
   2. If your research questions are cross-disciplinary, this section should include discussions of relevant literature from outside the field of dance.
5. Methodology.  Discuss how you explored you research questions. What did you do in the studio to make your piece?
   1. How did you spend your time in the studio, and how did this relate to your research questions?
   2. How did you prepare for studio time, and how did this relate to your research questions including creative stimuli?
   3. How did you/others attend to race, white supremacy, colonialism, power, privilege in rehearsal practices, pedagogies and community culture?
   4. How did you approach answering your cross-disciplinary or theoretical questions, if you had them?
6. Creative Process Reflection. In well supported academic language, give an honest self-evaluation of your creative process in performance.
   1. This section might include a description of the piece, however descriptions might also be distributed throughout the paper where appropriate.
   2. Critical evaluation of your rehearsal and performance process, including collaborative aspects of the creative process.
   3. Critical evaluation of how the process as a whole attended to race, white supremacy, colonialism, power, privilege in rehearsal practices, pedagogies and community culture.
   4. Critical evaluation of your performance product.
   5. Context of your piece in terms of performance intentions, audience relationship
   6. Responses of dancers and audience members, if appropriate.
   7. What would you change or develop if you could do it over again, and why?
7. Conclusion. Draw together ideas and makes suggestions for further research.
8. Bibliography of all works cited including videos and performances

Guidelines for Thesis Assessment

Research Process: 30%-40%
This can take many forms depending on the project but articulates the process of creating/learning/understanding the performance with choreographers and other collaborators.

Performance final product: 30%-40%
A substantial engagement in performance in one or multiple works, as determined by the scope of your performance research.

Written/package: 20%- 40%
A substantial academic paper of approximately 30 – 50 pages depending on the form that your writing takes in relation to your research, assessing process and final product.

Choreographic Thesis Requirements

Twelve (12) credits: 11 credits plus one W3 thesis credit

3 creative process credits including taking DANC 351 or DANC 360 in choreographic process

2 cultural context credits

3 physical practice credits with a minimum of three different forms

1 Bates Dance Festival credit

1 theater production, design, or acting credit

1 other art (BDF, Theater and Dance, Music, AVC, and various arts-related options in other departments and programs in consultation with your advisor.)

1 thesis

Evidence of 4 faculty or thesis performance projects, 253 or alternative with approval by advisor

Choreographic Thesis consists of:

CHOREOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

During Fall and/or Spring of Senior year you will to create and present a substantial piece of original choreography the parameters of which are developed in conversation with your adviser. This is core content of the thesis. Video documentation services will be provided by the department, however thesis students are responsible for processing video into the appropriate format for submission in final thesis document. Discussion of venue and format of the performance will be decided in collaboration with the department according to the shifting demands on the department technical support resources. There will be $300 for each thesis project. Requests for additional department funds will need a proposal to the department. Kerry O’Brien in the Dean of Faculty office also has information on other thesis research grants. Piece lengths can vary but any piece longer than 20 minutes requires continued discussion of presentation format if in a shared concert. 

ACCOMPANYING ACADEMIC PAPER

In conjunction with your choreographic research, your paper should be a fully developed academic explanation of how you addressed your research questions through choreographic and literature-based research.  It should be written for a reader who has not seen the piece, so it should include detailed description where appropriate.  It must include a detailed description of your choreographic methods including research into the sources of those methods, the relationship of those methods to your research questions, and an honest evaluation of the outcomes of those methods. It must demonstrate knowledge of the place of your work in the field of choreography and in the context of the ongoing discourse about the art form within its cultural context. The paper should have the following components in MLA style (or mutually agreed upon format). 15-30 pages recommended plus appendices: 

1. Title  (and standard thesis title page)
2. Artists’ statement. A short declaration of your aesthetic values, influences, and directions.
3. Introduction. State your research questions and briefly situate your choreographic and literature-based research in aesthetic and historical context. 
4. Academic context. A display of knowledge and understanding of the situation of your work with the field using standard academic writing practices to provide evidence.
   1. Survey of relevant dance literature. This section should explore how your research questions and methods relate to the field of dance at large. In addition to any major discussions of your topic in dance literature, you must research at least two to three artists working in a similar vein to yours.
   2. If your research questions are cross-disciplinary, this section should include discussions of relevant literature from outside the field of dance.
5. Methodology.  Discuss how you explored you research questions and what practices you employed in the studio and out to generate your movement, shape your piece in relation to your central research questions.
   1. How did you spend your time in the studio, and how did this relate to your research questions?
   2. Relationship with cast and how much agency they had in developing material.
   3. How did you/others attend to race, white supremacy, colonialism, power, privilege in rehearsal practices, pedagogies and community culture?
   4. How did you prepare for studio time, and how did this relate to your research questions including creative stimuli?
   5. How did you approach answering your cross-disciplinary or theoretical questions, if you had them?
6. Creative Process Reflection. In well supported academic language, give an honest self-evaluation of your creative process.
   1. This section might include a brief description of the piece, however descriptions might also be distributed throughout the paper where appropriate.
   2. Critical self evaluation of your choreographic process, including collaborative aspects of the creative process. 
   3. Critical evaluation of how the process as a whole attended to race, white supremacy, colonialism, power, privilege in rehearsal practices, pedagogies and community culture.
   4. Critical self evaluation of your choreographic product.
   5. Context of your piece in terms of performance intentions, audience relationship
   6. Responses of dancers and audience members, if appropriate.
   7. What would you change or develop if you could do it over again, and why?
7. Conclusion. Draw together ideas and makes suggestions for further research.
8. Bibliography of all works cited including videos and performances

A FINAL PACKAGE: Documentation of the performance and written paper formally presented as a single document following all protocols of thesis presentation. Video documentation of the performance and the printed program must be included in the final thesis document. Choreographic research notes, photographs and other visual material add a lot to this document. Creating a simple website is an excellent way to feature your visual work that is at the heart of your project.   

Guidelines for Thesis Assessment

Research Process: 30%-40%
This can take many forms depending on the project but interrogates and articulates the process of creating/learning/understanding the performance with choreographers and other collaborators.

Performance final outcome: 30%-40%
A substantial piece of choreography. Approximate length: 12-30 minutes; however, length is not to be decided by the arbitrary measure of minutes, but rather the quality and complexity of thinking in process and final product presentation.

Written/package: 20%-40%
A substantial academic paper of approximately 15-30 pages depending on the form that your writing takes in relation to your research and your own piece, assessing process and final product.

Proposal Process for all Thesis options

3-4 page proposal due Spring of Junior Year. Proposals should include a heading (name, year, thesis type), and take the form of 5 sections, noted below: 

WHAT & WHEN In one-two sentences, note whether you are proposing a portfolio, written research, choreographic, or performance; and when (Fall or Winter).  Skip to 5 for Portfolio Capstone Option. 

WHAT, HOW, WHERE In one to two sentences, provide a brief description that explains what you hope to explore in your research, your research methodology (how), and where you hope to present if doing creative research and why this venue, if proposing an alternative space/venue. For a written thesis, include any other proposed methodologies for your research that are pertinent to your work. (eg surveys/interviews, informal showings or workshops, embodied research). For a choreographic or performance thesis, please include preliminary details of the work or process. One-two sentence examples: 

“I hope to choreograph a small group work using queer and feminist creation and rehearsal practices, to be performed in the Spring Dance Concert;” 

“I hope to make a mediated performance solo installation in blackbox. Thematic material still unknown”

“My written thesis will explore the influence of west African dances on modern dance performance forms in the U.S.  I will make a small piece to be shown in Plavin Studio in conjunction with  research.”

“I propose a performance thesis that explores the intersection of improvisation and set material. I hope to work with a scheduled Rep artist for this research and plan to perform the work in the Fall dance concert.”

NARRATIVE This 2-3 page essay is the body of your proposal.

1. 2-3 substantive creative/scholarly research questions;
2. Methodology: how do you plan to research your topic? Identify the methods you will use in your scholarly or creative research; your projected approach to the rehearsal process and performance; 
3. Explain the historical and contextual context for your research. This might include supporting lines of inquiry, interdisciplinary threads to explore, other artists and scholars, embodied research, etc.
4. Outline the timeline of your proposed research and any resources needed such we cast size, technical theatre and design, interviews, research materials, grant writing, anticipated workshops, travel, etc.;

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT and advisor interaction, including proposed visits to rehearsals, writing, schedule, and your proposed method for advisor response to progress in both the studio and written work.5. ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 5 sources minimum, MLA format.