Laurel Jenkins
Office
Mahaney Arts Center 203
Tel
(802) 443-5097
Email
laurelj@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Wednesday 9:30-11 & Thursday 11:10-12:40
Additional Programs
Dance

Laurel Jenkins is a native of Vermont and an Assistant Professor of Dance at Middlebury College. Her choreography emerges from rigorous experimentation and interdisciplinary dialogues in the realms of contemporary dance, opera, music and theater. She engages with the choreographic process as a radical space for reimagining our collective human experience.

Her work has been presented by Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, REDCAT, Automata, the Getty Center, Show Box LA, Danspace, Berlin’s Performing Presence Festival, and Tokyo’s Sezane Gallery. She recently choreographed Bernstein’s MASS with the LA Phil and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. In addition, she has choreographed for LA Contemporary Dance Company, The Wooden Floor, California State University, Long Beach, University of Vermont, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Jenkins was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 2007-2012, and developed original roles in Brown’s final works. Jenkins also danced in New York with Vicky Shick and Sara Rudner. She performed the role of Ismene in Peter Sellars’ staging of Oedipus Rex conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. Last spring, she performed solos by Merce Cunningham in Los Angeles as a part of the Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event. Jenkins is the recipient of a Vermont Arts Council Grant, an Asian Cultural Council Grant, holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence, an MFA from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Culture/Dance.

Courses Taught

Course Description

The Creative Process
In this course, students will have the opportunity to dig deeply into their own creativity and explore the processes by which ideas emerge and are given shape in the arts. The experiential nature of this course integrates cognition and action, mind and body. Students will engage a range of modes of discovering, knowing, and communicating, which are designed to push them beyond their present state of awareness and level of confidence in their creative power. Practical work will be closely accompanied by readings and journaling, culminating with the creation and performance of a short project. (First- and second-year students only; Not open to students who have taken FYSE 1364) 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Introduction to Dance
This entry-level dance course introduces movement techniques, improvisation/composition, performance, experiential anatomy, and history of 20th century American modern dance. Students develop flexibility, strength, coordination, rhythm, and vocabulary in the modern idiom. Concepts of time, space, energy, and choreographic form are presented through improvisation and become the basis for a final choreographic project. Readings, research, and reflective and critical writing about dance performance round out the experience. 2 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Writing the Body
In this course we will examine the dialogue between the language of the dancing body and the written word through the mediums of movement, contemplative practice, and creative writing, with a focus on poetry and spoken word. Our principal modalities of somatic investigation, textual analysis, reflective writing prompts, and a final performance project all serve to facilitate the discovery of authentic artistic expression in bridging body and voice. This is an experientially based seminar aimed at building a creative process: connecting the insights that emerge from physical discovery to the artful design of language.

Terms Taught

Winter 2023

Requirements

ART, PE, WTR

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Course Description

Technique & Composition
This is the first course in the studio sequence for students entering Middlebury with significant previous dance experience. It is also the course sequence for those continuing on from DANC 0160 and provides grounding in the craft of modern dance needed to proceed to more advanced levels. Modern dance movement techniques are strengthened to support an emerging individual vocabulary and facility with composition. Students regularly create and revise movement studies that focus on the basic elements of choreography and the relationship of music and dance. Readings, journals, and formal critiques of video and live performance contribute to the exploration of dance aesthetics and develop critical expertise. (DANC 0160 or by approval) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2023, Spring 2024

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Improvisational Practices
In this course students will gain an embodied understanding of the practices and techniques needed to proceed to advanced improvisational work. Research into forms such as partnering, ensemble work, text, musical exercises, compositions, and scores/projects will focus on mapping the moving body in the moment. Readings, journals, and responses to video viewings and live performances contribute to the exploration of historical contexts, aesthetics, and cultural improvisations. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab

Terms Taught

Spring 2021

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Choreography & Performance
This course involves concentrated intermediate-advanced level work in contemporary dance technique and choreography culminating in production. Theoretical issues of importance to the dancer/choreographer are addressed through readings, writings and practice. (DANC 0260) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab

Terms Taught

Fall 2023

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Dance and Design
In this course we will examine the relationship between light, space, costume design, and movement. Through readings, writings, screenings, physical embodiment and acquired technical skills, students will be engaged in a learning process that integrates diverse aspects of dance and design. With hands on projects we will explore the influence of the physical environment, on the generation of ideas, cultivation of movement vocabulary, and the process of fostering choreographic philosophy and aesthetics. This course will culminate in a final performance of works created during the term. 2 hrs. lect./1 hr. labs

Terms Taught

Winter 2020

Requirements

ART

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Course Description

Anatomy and Kinesiology
This course offers an in-depth experiential study of skeletal structure, and includes aspects of the muscular, organ, endocrine, nervous, and fluid systems of the human body. The goal is to enhance efficiency of movement and alignment through laboratory sessions, supported by assigned readings, exams, and written projects. (Not open to first-year students) 3 hrs. lect.

Terms Taught

Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Spring 2024

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Dance Company of Middlebury
Dancers work with the artistic director and guest choreographer as a member of a dance company, learning, interpreting, rehearsing, and performing dances created for performance and tour. Those receiving credit can expect four to six rehearsals weekly. Appropriate written work, concert and film viewing, and attendance in departmental technique classes are required. One credit will be given for two terms of participation. Performances and tour(s) are scheduled in January. (Limited to sophomores through seniors, by audition.) (DANC 0260; Approval required)

Terms Taught

Winter 2021

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Dance Company of Middlebury
Dancers work with the artistic director and guest choreographers as part of a dance company, learning, interpreting, rehearsing, and performing repertory dances. Those receiving credit can expect daily rehearsals plus technique classes, campus performance, and tour. Appropriate written work is required. Auditions are held in the fall semester for the full year; one credit will be given for two semesters of participation. (Approval Required; limited to sophomores through seniors by audition)

Terms Taught

Spring 2021

Requirements

WTR

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Course Description

Performance & Production
In this course we will investigate three aspects of place in relation to dance: where we source movement, the relevance of dance in culture, and the effects of place on the moving dancing body. Material covered will include body systems dance technique at the intermediate/advanced level, improvisation and composition toward choreography and site specific work, readings and reflective writing, and performance viewing. The course culminates in formal and informal showings of performance work. The emergence of a personal philosophy and dance aesthetic will be engaged and formally articulated in writing. (DANC 0260, DANC 0360) 4.5 hrs. lect./2 hrs. lab.

Terms Taught

Fall 2019

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Technique Workshop
This advanced physical and theoretical study of a variety of movement techniques will further prepare dance majors and minors for the rigors of performance, technical craft, and physical research. Exercises and discussions will revolve around increased subtlety, strength, flexibility, musicality, and dynamics with the goal of heightening the communicative range of the moving body. Rotating movement aesthetics taught by dance faculty. (Major/Minor Only) (Approval required)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Spring 2023, Spring 2024

Requirements

ART, PE

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Course Description

Independent Project
(Approval Required)

Terms Taught

Winter 2020, Spring 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024

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Course Description

Independent Project
(Approval Required)

Terms Taught

Winter 2020, Spring 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024

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Course Description

Collaborating Across the Arts
Collaborating Across the Arts invites students to playfully research and practice cooperative methodologies. This course centers on the idea that interdisciplinary dialog sparks original thinking and generates creative material. During the semester, we will participate in live interdisciplinary performance events through workshops, performance viewings, and reflective writing. The semester will culminate in a student performance. By studying and practicing cooperative tools for artistic creation, we engage a sense of enthusiasm and curiosity for what can be discovered when we collaborate. Both experienced artists and beginners are welcome.

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

Requirements

ART, CW

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