Junco, Maria  

I took her Modern dance class and Jazz class when I was a Freshman at Poly. I came from a 15 year background in dance. After taking her dance classes I withdrew from the minor. Her standards of how she evaluated your dancing technique was unclear. It seemed she blindly gave A's to those she favored and who submited to her OWN style. Her teaching and dancing style is very outdated. She does not facilitate a creative enviroment. I now teach dance at a local dance studio and I strive to teach and encourage my students; unlike my dissapointing experience with Professor Junco. Basically, I don't recommend this class to anyone who can dance.. and hope that someday the Cal Poly dance department will wake up and get out of the 80's!

I took Maria's intermediate dance class winter 2000. coming from an intense dance background i was completely disappointed in the class. maria's style is outdated and her music selection is awful. she in no way inspired me as a dancer and was always full of criticism. she picks favorites and expects your 2 unit dance class to become your life for the quarter. she is a very rude person and expects all of her dancers to emulate her style. cal poly really needs to "jazz" up their dance department. i'm sure there are many talented dancers at our school not improving due to Maria Junco.

What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.

effort does not equal the grade you receive...sucking up and dancing as if you were still in the 80s equals "A". does not grade according to her syllabus. i wouldn't recommend taking her if you don't agree with her choreography or if you aren't in orchesis...because if your neitber she doesn't care for you or the fact that you're are trying.

maria is a great dance teacher. her style is unique but if you love dance you will appreciate all sorts of style. she really gets to know each and everyone of her students and is willing to help out those who need it. she is very aware of the people who put effort into her class. intermediate jazz was fun and i would recommend taking it if you are a farely experienced dancer.

One good class is dance history..other than that I took jazz, modern ( I withdrew), and methods of teaching. I feel bad giving her such a low rating. I recommend this to BEGINNERS...never have taken dance in their lifes. If you are an advanced dancer looking for a challenge, do not bother, STAY AWAY. I want to withdraw from my dance minor. I think she is unfair and treats us like little kids at times. So sorry :(

Maria is a sweet woman. However, if you are taking this class for a C4, don't do it because she gives a ton of work. You have to write tons of essays and she likes for you to get them proof read from the writing skills lab, which is fine, but she grades really anal. Her tests are okay, but have a ton of information. Her papers are killer though. She gives pop quizzes so you HAVE to read. You have to go to live observations for this class, do a video observation....and watch a concert..its interesting to do, but just tons of work. Her lecture skills are kind of out of place. She jumps from one subject to another. She does give out lecture notes, but in order for you to understand them you have to do the reading. Dance minor have to take this class, but if you need a C4 and have a heavy load of school work, don't take this class.

I was really excited about taking this class as I love dance...but man, that'll teach me to take a class I think I may like. There is SOO much material covered. There is one midterm and a final. She doesn't give out a study guide at all (which would be useful since there is so much info!) and her essay questions on tests are worth the same as a multiple choice question. Her grading is very nitpicky on essays (which there are a few of). She has about one quiz a week on the reading which aren't too bad. Overall, if you're in Orchesis you'll be fine, she definitely favors those dancers....but if you're a regular student who thinks this will be fun, WRONG take someone else!

Yes, the work load is heavy, and she can play favorites, and be a little snobby. But, Professor Junco rises above most other profs I\'ve had at Poly in presenting the material clearly, and doing what she can to help students. There are a lot of pop quizzes, but if you actually do your work, you\'re golden. She is a bit of a snob and very nit-picky, but the class was fun. A lot of interesting stuff in here. I didn\'t like the fact that she uses a student grader to grade papers considering the exponential amount of details she expected in the paper. For the level of work she threw at us, the least she could do is grade them herself. She made the class fun, and gives as much extra credit as she could. She does care, and she\'s passionate about her field, which is something special. Have you ever taken a class from a prof that just didn\'t care anymore? That\'s not Maria. Don\'t take the class if you cannot write serious college level papers because your grade will suffer dearly, but if you\'re up to the task, take her! Like I said, TONS of interesting material. And you don\'t have to buy a book! All of her readings are posted on BB.

I took this class as a recommendation from my adviser in regards to filling my C4 requirement. I will never listen to them again. I expected this class to be easy or even moderately hard, but it is insane. Shes grades beyond anal, no joke. I\'ve taken three levels of English getting grades of A - A - B and now all of sudden Im getting C\'s on all my papers, ridiculous. Her tests are hard with lots of material covered and the smallest bits of information asked about. This class is way to serious for what it is and she takes it way to seriously, its as if shes trying to prove or validate that dance is indeed a worthy subject. Avoid this class at all cost. I have a 3.69 GPA, but somehow I am struggling to get a B in this class. AVOID!

She knows dance very well, but she doesn\'t know how to teach...DO NOT TAKE! Seriously, try to find another C4. I am typically and A/B student and this class is just ridiculous...the essays are worth more than the midterm. She has a nerve problem so she has an assistant grade all her essays. Pretty much NO ONE got an A on their essays. She let\'s you re-do them if you take it to the writing center for help, but even this does nothing. This is the only class I have taken (besides english) where your grade is not based on the content, but on the grammar and writing. She takes it way too serious, it\'s just dance. After her assistant grades you down far, she re-reads over it and lowers your grade even more. The content of her tests are SO vague, you don\'t know what to study for. There\'s no way you can pass this class with an A, maybe a B if you dedicate your entire life to the class. I know there are plenty of better teachers out there, why does Cal Poly make us waste our time, GPA, and money with teachers like this that can\'t teach.

Worst teacher I have ever had! I DO NOT recommend this class or her as a teacher at all. It was my hardest class of the quarter, and it\'s my C4 elective! I spent more time working on this class than my major courses. I ended up with a C and I deserved a B with the amount of time and effort I put into it. The essays are ridiculously graded by a masters student who is so rude and blunt. There is sooooo much reading. She grades so hard and is not very understanding. She does not help you very much - my friend and I asked to come into her office hours before the final and she basically said no! Don\'t take this class!

This is somewhat in response to the students\' comments below. Yes, Professor Junco\'s Dance 321 class is tough, but it\'s really not that bad if you are willing to put in the effort. I found a lot of people in my class complained about how hard she is, but those students didn\'t do all of the reading and procrastinated on the assignments. She always has a positive attitude and is dedicated to her craft of dance and she gave me a whole new appreication for the subject. I felt badly that she had to deal with such a dull class, students looking at her with blank stares. I wish she could have reviewed the material more, not just have us split up in small groups and discuss questions we need help with. That was a total waste of time and a few of the students in my group didn\'t do the reading, so it was pretty pointless. Yes, there is a lot of reading (all on blackboard), which varies between 20-80 pages a class. It may seem like a lot, but it is very interesting reading. If you hve a heavy schedule, I would maybe pass on taking this class because it is pretty intense; however, if you are willing to put in the effort by reading all of the materials and showing up to each class, you will most likely do well. She also shows videos of all types of dance, which was interesting and fun. I agree that she is an extrememly tough grader. I didn\'t ever go to the writing lab and got at least a B+ on my papers. My main grievance is that there is no study guide and her tests are cummulative. Basically, if you review the handouts and keep up on your reading, you should be fine.

I was very unhappy with Maria Junco as a teacher. The structure of her class was boring, tedious and made learning difficult. There was no book for this course so in place of one she had an extensive list of readings to do each week. Each article was at least 30 pages. Her quizzes would be questions about specific details in the reading. Tests were difficult and tricky, they consisted of multiple choice, true/false and short answer. She was very particular about the written answers and looked for points to take away. We had to write numerous papers in which she had a grader grade for us. The grader was rude in her comments and was harsh in grading. There was no room for creative writing. If the grader didn\'t like the way you worded something she would take points off. I felt that Maria wasn\'t understanding and both her and her grader were unfair. Don\'t take this class!!

I absolutely despised this class... I thought it would be semi-interesting as being a dancer and having taken dance my whole life. but M. Junco tries to make this class way more relevant than a G.E. and as difficult as she possibly can. She seemed to have picked favorites, especially if you are a dancer of hers, and seemed to have a personal vendetta out for people who came late occasionally, although she would start the class a few minutes early occasionally. Her tests were very detailed and nit-picky and she would aske questions about a side note she "mentioned" wasn't important or even included in her powerpoints. I've always been a good writer in the past yet received C's on her papers and then she blames her "graders" when something was graded incorrectly. I am also aware that she reported for people for "plagairism" to the dean for not citing extra credit papers correctly. I found this class to be an outright mess and wished I could have avoided her completely. There are much better professors to take that coould enhance your interest of dance history, not resent it.

Avoid at all costs. I took this course pass fail and it was still the most ridiculous class I have ever experienced. I am not a dancer, which i felt placed me at a disadvantage in the eyes of this professor. this should not be a GE class for anyone not in a Dance major or minor. Her midterms are fine and quizzes easy. but her grading on papers is the most outrageous grading I have ever experienced. There is no objective grading, only opinion of whether she likes your writing style. Even if you cover all the correct points and prove your points well, she will slap you with a D or C. I know of 3 ENGLISH majors that received C or lower on their papers. I have been on the deans list at CP since my freshman year, received As in all english classes and am struggling to pass this class. what a joke. Junco is a nice lady but damn she does not know what she is doing as a grader or teacher that is trying to have a passing class. Very disappointed in Cal Poly for not dealing with an blatantly unfair professor.

Maria is a very kind and caring woman as well as an enthusiastic instructor who is passionately involved in the subject matter. She was always available to provide assistance during office hours and I found the readings to be very appropriate and interesting! I did not find the material difficult and thought that the grading was fair. I went to speak with her about my paper, as I did not realize how much emphasis would be placed on grammar and writing style, as much as on content, but once I understood her expectations, and that she only had my best interests at heart, I was able to adjust my papers accordingly. At this stage of our lives, I think we are fortunate to have someone like Maria who is willing to take the time and make the effort to help guide and direct us to be the best that we can be! I would just like to say "Thank You, Maria! I really appreciate the time and effort you gave me."

Maria Junco is a great professor! She clearly cares about her students and works hard to provide feedback and assistance on all assignments. She read drafts of all my papers and helped me perfect them in her office hours, which not only helped me get a good grade but also helped me write better papers. Maria is also very knowledgeable about the history behind all kinds of dance, and her passion for dancing clearly shows in her lectures. In addition to handouts and interesting reading assignments, she provided little in-class dancing activities that engaged everyone in the experience of dancing. She also showed video examples of all the different kinds of dancing we learned about. Her tests were very fair and reflected the information she emphasized in class. On top of that, Maria is just a sweet person who I enjoyed talking to! I'm so glad I got to take a class with her while at Cal Poly!

This woman is crazy. Dance is her passion and she takes it to the extreme. Take meticulous notes in this class because she will test you on the most trivial things. There are pop quizzes that she says are easy, if you read, but they aren't She is tricky. Oh and the readings are on Bb and are super LONG. 10-15 pages of boring information on dance. Ridiculous. you will have two essays in this class. she doesn't even grade the essays!! She has a grader and when you ask her about the comments, she doesn't know beause she didn't grade them. Its so stupid. The grader--who ever they are --is really tough. I would consider myself a strong writer. I got a 6 on the GWR and As in any english class that I have taken--but somehow got Cs on essays. You will also have a group observation project where your participation will be rated by your group and she makes you rank people--so be careful. as long as you are enthusiastic when you are presenting and make sure to elaborate you answers at the end of the presentation --you should do okay. Like I said, she will test you on the trivial material. Tests are scan tron ans short answer. Junco is crazy --a super hard grader--for what ever she doesn't run through the scan tron machine or pass off to another person. Her lecture is all over the place. avoid her if you can.

I took Maria's Modern Dance Repritory. The only reason I took it was because I wanted to be in Orchesis later but right now I am too busy. I hoped that it would give me an idea of what I can expect in Orchesis. I was very disapointed! After taking this class, I now want nothing to do with Cal Poly dance. I have been studying all types of dance for 8 years. The class was not challangeing technically, choreographically, or athleticly. The only challange I had in the class was keeping myself from yelling at the professor because she was so rude and disorganized. She changed the counts every time we came to rehersal. And would tell me I was off. But I knew that last week, we did a move on "3" and this week she wanted it on "5". Most of the time, we did not rehearse with the music. She would simply count while we danced and it would not be the same counts when we turned on the music. Also, she plays favorites. She favors the people who are in Orchesis. If you are new to the dance department and she does not know you, you will be the least of her worries. I found myself going to this two hour class and not learning a single new step! She would focus on her favorites and expand their solos while I had to lay there as a place-holder. The piece she choreographed was very beautiful. We performed it for the winter festival and for the faculty. They said it was great! And we were offered a chance to be in orchesis. However, we were hesitant to commit our time to Maria and rehearsals because she made us feel so inferior by saying that she doesn't think we can pull it off. This was a most unpleasant experience.

I took Dance 340 with Maria Junco in the Spring of 2010. I was looking through PolyRatings for some of my favorite Cal Poly professors and wanted to add a rating for her because I think some of the others on the page do not do her justice. Although I have never had her in a lecture setting, I can guarantee that in the studio she is a fantastic professor and person. Dance 340 is a dance composition (choreography) class that involves a lab and lecture. Maria came prepared each day and had us do a variety of challenging and out of the box activities. She offered specific directives and critiques to students, and created a safe setting for us to share our ideas and movement. Outside of the classroom, Maria has been a wonderful mentor to me throughout my college experience, and encouraged me to push boundaries and pursue my artistic vision. Because of her positive influence, I auditioned, and choreographed for Orchesis Dance Company three times, and directed and choreographed for the Spring Dance Show. I believe that professors who push us the most and expect us to produce our best work are the ones who truly care, if you ever have the opportunity to take a course with Maria or work with her outside of Cal Poly, I highly recommend it.