The rooms of the Body Arts Department of the Unicamp Arts Institute (IA) have been receiving candidates since Monday (22) for the specific skills tests of the Unicamp Vestibular dance course. More than 70 students classified for the 2nd phase participate in the exam, which is evaluated by an examining board made up of professors from different research areas of the department.
The objective of the specific skills exam is not to select the competitors who give the best presentation in each test, but to choose the candidates who present the best conditions to work the techniques that are developed throughout the course.
The evaluation criteria for the performances presented include technique and creativity, improvisation, posture and diversity of language presented on stage. Perception and memory of movement in the body, as well as body control in presentation, will also be assessed. The final grade ends up being the average of all tests, meaning that a candidate who doesn't do well in one criterion can make up for it in the others.
“It is important that the candidate has prior body work, so that he can follow the course classes, which have a very strong practical base", explains Graziela Estela Fonseca Rodrigues, professor at the Department of Body Arts and coordinator of the exam. "We are looking for develop the test so that we can extract as much as possible about the candidate's conditions for dancing".
Professor Graziela explains that the profile of the desired student on the course is that they not only enjoy the art, but also already have familiarity and practice with some type of dance, and may have already taken a technical course, free or be self-taught. Divided into four groups, the candidates present an improvised choreography inspired by images by photographer Sebastião Salgado, as a way of showing their potential.
Another part of the exam includes the presentation of a choreography developed by the candidate himself, with the right to choose a song. "In the test we bring what the candidate will encounter in the course, such as dance from Brazil and references to body techniques arising from Brazilian cultural manifestations, as well as other American and European techniques. We seek a balance as an area of knowledge", reports professor Graziela .
Classified for the test, Jenniffer Aquino dos Santos, 17, from São Paulo, came with her family to take the exam. A public school student, Jenniffer passed to the second phase without having previously completed a preparatory course. “I've been dancing since I was six years old. I trained at the São Paulo School of Dance and there I got to know Unicamp and other colleges that offer dance courses. Some teachers came from here, so I identified with the course and chose Unicamp”, says Jenniffer.
Another candidate taking the Unicamp entrance exam for the first time is Bruna de Oliveira, 17 years old. A resident of Santa Barbara d'Oeste, Bruna has also taken ballet classes since she was three years old. More recently she became interested in jazz and street dance. "My interest in the course arose because dancing is one of the things I like to do most. Being part of Unicamp would make me grow a lot as a professional and make many dreams come true. I want to become a professional and in the future work and make a living from dancing.”
Architecture and urbanism
Another course that tests specific skills is Architecture and Urbanism. The single-day exam was held this Wednesday (24), with those approved for the second phase competing for the 30 places on the course.
As the Unicamp course prepares the architect to understand the needs of projects and constructions for individuals, social groups and communities, this year's test had as its theme the collapse of the Fundão mining tailings dam and the destruction of the Bento Rodrigues district, in the municipality of Mariana, Minas Gerais, which occurred in November 2015. The rupture is considered the biggest industrial disaster in Brazil, causing 18 deaths, destroying the homes of hundreds of families, and affecting the environment and the lives of the population of almost 230 municipalities along the Rio Doce basin, in the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.
According to professor Rafael Augusto Urano de Carvalho Frajndlich, coordinator of the specific architecture selection, the test was prepared over four months, with the aim of evaluating candidates on their drawing ability, the ability to design a city and the creation of a new space for the population. "We brought a problem to the whole race, which was the case of Bento Rodrigues, a city erased by mud, the sudden transformation of the accident, and what could be done as repairs."
The criteria for evaluating candidates will be the clarity with which the candidate can present their ideas, with a full understanding of the proposals and what the drawing reveals about the student's thinking. "None of this involves prior knowledge of what he will learn here. The type of student we want to select is someone who can express themselves through drawing. All they need is a capacity for expression and they will be well evaluated, an ability to express themselves graphically", explains the Professor Rafael.
The first call for the Unicamp Entrance Exam will be announced on February 8th. Non-face-to-face registration must be carried out the following day on the Comvest.
