2024-2025 Catalog

Major: Dance, B.A. (1008), 52 Credits

General Education: 30 Credits; Major: 52 Credits; Elective Credits: 38 Credits

Dance Department Programmatic Goals

Upon completing the BFA/BA major in dance, as appropriate to their concentration, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate substantive engagements with diverse dance practices and their intrinsic skill sets.
  • Demonstrate through kinesthetic, written, and/or verbal work, a critical engagement with the histories, theoretical frameworks and cultural contexts of dance.
  • Integrate conceptual and kinesthetic skills across dance practices, performances, theories, and/or histories.
  • Propose and/or employ strategies for arts advocacy through dance.

Required courses: (31 credits)

Ballet (by placement)

3

Modern (by placement)

3

Jazz (by placement)

3

DANC 120Stagecraft for Dance

2

DANC 203Rhythm in Sound and Movement  

2

DANC 222Embodied Africanist Aesthetics

3

DANC 354Dance and Cultural Histories  

3

DANC 364Critical Approaches to Dance

3

DANC 495Senior Seminar

3

Additional Studio Courses (of any genre)

6

Additional Studio Courses includes 6 credits in the dancers choice of techniques:

Tap, Ballet, Jazz, Modern, African, Improvisation, Directed Study (Topic of Special Interest)

 

The remaining 21 credits should be earned by completing one of the following four concentrations

Body, Science and Motion Concentration (w/optional Biology or Psychology Minor) (21 Credits)

Required courses: (21 credits)
BIOL 116Nutrition

3

BIOL 136Anatomy

4

BIOL 234Human Physiology

4

DANC 261Introduction to Movement Analysis and Notation  

3

DANC 369Anatomy II 

3

DANC 371Somatic Awareness  

3

DANC 399Independent Study/Internship

1-6

or

DANC 499Independent Study/Internship

1-6

Dance and Media Concentration (21 Credits)

Required courses: (15 credits)
ART 116Color and Design

3

or

DANC 291Music for Dance

3

COMM 112Storytelling Across Media

3

DANC 216/COMM 216/MUS 216Digital Sound Workshop 

3

DANC 351Dance Composition I

3

DANC 370Movement, Media, Theory

3

Two sequential courses from any one of the following areas: (6 credits)
A. Video
COMM 233Video Field Production

3

COMM 359Directing Video

3

B. Photography
ART 121Photography I: An Introduction to Medium, Content and Context

3

ART 213Photography II: An Intermediate Exploration of Medium, Content and Context

3

C. Digital Imaging and Web-based Media
ART 210Digital Imaging I

3

ART 342
DIGITAL IMAGING II

COMM 225New Media Workshop

3

COMM 325 Interactive Media

3

COMM 326Producing For Creative Media

3

COMM 347Integrated Media

3

D. Audio Design and Production
COMM 349/MUS 349 Projects in Digital Sound

3

THTR 254Audio Technology for Performance I

3

THTR 354Audio Technology for Performance II

3

E. Graphic Design
ART 237Graphic Design I

3

ART 338Graphic Design II: Digital

3

Dance Studies Concentration (21 Credits)

Required courses: (12 Credits)
DANC 261Introduction to Movement Analysis and Notation  

3

DANC 291Music for Dance

3

DANC 351Dance Composition I

3

PHR 101Foundations of Social and Political Inquiry

3

Electives: (9 Credits)
Choose any 3 of the following courses:
DANC 309Ethics/Aesthetics/Gender in the Performing Arts

3

DANC 311Black Dance in America

3

DANC 313Cripping the Arts

3

PHR 342/IS 342/PS 342/SOC 342Social Movement Protest and Conflict

3

PHR 357/IS 357Human Rights in Comparative Perspective

3

THTR 328/ART 328/DANC 328The Arts & Social Change

3

Teaching Dance Arts Concentration (21 Credits)

Required courses: (21 Credits)
DANC 291Music for Dance

3

DANC 303Experiential Anatomy

3

DANC 351Dance Composition I

3

DANC 357Techniques of Teaching Dance I: Creative Dance for Children 

3

DANC 457Techniques of Teaching Dance II 

3

DANC 371Somatic Awareness  

3

DANC
Additional Studio course

3

The student wishing to pursue the Teaching Dance Arts concentration must show proficiency in one of the dance techniques on a 220 level or above at the point of admission to this concentration.