Adjunct Instructor, Multiple Areas

The Department of Theatre and Dance at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (UB), seeks adjunct instructor(s) to teach in our Dance, Theatre Performance, Music Theatre, Design and Technology, and Theatre Studies programs.   

The rate of pay is $3,750 per 3-credit course for an adjunct instructor. Review of applicants for spring semester will begin weekly, until November 18, 2022.

More information about the responsibilities of an adjunct instructor can be found on the “Adjunct Instructor, College of Arts and Sciences” position on UB Job: https://www.ubjobs.buffalo.edu/postings/38259. All candidates must apply through the UB Jobs portal to be considered for the position. Please be advised that on the UB Jobs application, answer question 3 to specify the department area/program(s).  This is to ensure that your application is pulled in a pooled posting.

• Re: Question 3. Please indicate your discipline(s)/subject area(s) of expertise: all areas/programs you may be able to teach.”  Please respond to the question with all areas/programs you are able to teach in the College of Arts and Sciences.
  • Example: Dance – Ballet, Jazz, Social Dance, Appreciating Dance, Theatre Performance- Basic Acting, Directing, Mime/Movement for Actors, THD Design and Technology, Theatre Studies, Music Theatre- Music Theatre Workshop, etc.’

For more information about the Department of Theatre and Dance courses, please see the UB Catalog: https://catalog.buffalo.edu/courses/

DAC- Dance, MTR- Music Theatre, and TH- Theatre Performance, Design and Technology, and Theatre Studies.

If you have any questions, contact the Department Administrator, Veronica Sedota by email: valaskay@buffalo.edu. 

Possible courses that may need adjunct coverage in the spring 2023 semester and/or future semesters.

DAC 104LEC Appreciating Dance (online, asynchronous)
Dance is an intangible art, one cannot head to a museum and pick up a print as one might do at the Louvre with the Mona Lisa. This course will provide an overview of the role that dance plays in a globally integrated world. The course content will lead the student through modules including: Dance and Society, Dance and Culture, Dance History, Specific Idioms of Ballet, Modern and Jazz Dance, as well as Controversial Issues in Dance. It will pose various questions including: What makes dance art? What makes it entertainment? It will look at the historical context of the three major idioms as they relate to the roles of government, institutions, transnational production, corporate responsibility, technical knowledge and personal ethics in fostering national economic development. The course will also discuss the socio-political ramifications of cultural appropriation as it relates to dance and culture, and the personal ethics of the demands of choreographers against their dancers.

DAC 214LEC Ballet 2 (MW 9:00 am – 10:20 am)
Teaches the fundamentals of ballet technique, including correct body alignment, basic barre and center work, and combinations at the elementary level.
Requisites: Pre-Requisite: DAC 213.

DAC 250SEM Global Dance Studies
This course introduces students to various approaches to studying dance in a humanities context. We will explore how people create meaning through dance and how dance, in turn, shapes social norms, political institutions, and cultural practices across time and space. The course's structure challenges the Western/non-Western binary that still pervades many academic disciplines by comparing dance forms across the globe on the basis of functional similarities. At the same time, we will keep in mind the unequal power hierarchies shaping our modern world, and therefore we will examine how and why certain forms have become delineated as "Western" and others as world or "ethnic", despite similarities in movement, meaning, or purpose. The first part of the course introduces students to different methodological approaches to studying dance. The second part explores religious, social, artistic, and political dance practices. The final third of the course will look at dance as an expression of identity. Throughout the course, we will investigate issues of race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, tradition/innovation, authenticity/creativity, agency/resistance, borrowing/appropriation, and cultural hierarchies (low/high, vernacular/artistic, primitive/modern), among other topics.

DAC 378SEM Partnering MW 10:40 am – 12:00 pm)
Studies partnering through classical and contemporary pas de deux. Emphasizes technical and dramatic aspects of partnering, rhythm, breathing, correct placement, timing, projection, counterbalancing the movements of a partner, and developing dramatic content through movement using gesturing and line.
Requisites: Pre-Requisite: DAC 342.

MTR 305SEM Music Theatre Workshop (MW 12:30 pm – 1:50 pm)
Develops audition and performance techniques. Includes vocal coaching, resume writing, musical theatre scene study, and mock auditions. Uses videotape for critical analysis of student progress.
Requisites: Pre-Requisites: MTR 210 and Music Theatre BFA.

TH 109LEC Basic Acting II
Introduces scene study: how to break down a script; how to prepare an actor's score; primary terms; a precise and exacting rehearsal method; how to make fundamental character choices; how to uncover the character's dramatic intentions. Emphasizes working together, sharing space, and playing objectives. Students must be willing to explore their emotional life as a means to living truthfully on stage.
Requisites: Pre-Requisite: TH 101, TH 106, and TH 108 or permission of instructor.

TH 401SEM Directing I
A practical course in directing. Provides students with the consciousness of theatre and creative directing: basic techniques in preparing the script for rehearsals, creating the space, collaborating with a designer, using tempo/rhythm, working with actors, preparing and conducting rehearsals.

TH 409LEC Mime/Movement for Actors
Involves the actor's use of specific techniques as a tool to add awareness, flexibility, and suppleness to body movement so that the actor becomes free to concentrate on creating a role. This intensive training leads to a more elaborate physical building of the character, which unites the actor's body and mind with the script.
Requisites: Pre-Requisite: TH 308.