What will I learn?
As a performing arts major with a concentration in dance, you will take studio courses, performance courses, history courses, and seminars. As choreographers, dancers, and movement actors, you will develop the skills to become a well-rounded performer, artist, advocate, employer, and potential graduate student.In performance courses, you will learn from faculty and Guest Choreographers from around the country, experiencing different choreographic processes, styles, and approaches. These courses emphasize collaborative skills and ensemble performance. In-studio courses, you will study techniques of ballet, modern and contemporary, commercial dance, tap, and improvisation in-depth to become confident in each area. In history courses, you will explore how artistic creation is influenced by society and how society is reflected in and changed by art. Students can also experience dance from around the world through our Global Dance course. These courses will increase your knowledge and appreciation of dance and its relationship to other significant components of human history, culture, and experience. Finally, seminar courses give students the theoretical foundation for their craft. You will study mind and body awareness, composition, and teaching methods used in dance, which will support total growth as an artist and potential entrepreneur. In addition, you will undertake three internships, including a semester-long, full-time professional experience relevant to performing arts and dance. You will complete a two-semester senior thesis on a topic relevant to dance, and containing interdisciplinary components. As performing arts majors, you will experience the integration of theory and practice through coursework, experiential learning, and independent field research and/or creative composition in the senior thesis sequence.
