The Bachelor of Arts in Dance is for students seeking a broad and rich background in both theory and practice. The degree is designed to foster the skills, understanding, and discipline of young dance artists. Our faculty, all have established professional and diverse artistic backgrounds. They are united in their dedication to teaching each student as an individual. As we strive to educate, inspire, and motivate, our nurturing, yet rigorous, environment offers our dance majors many opportunities to develop their unique potential. The performance-based curriculum includes an intensive training in Ballet, Modern/Contemporary Dance, and Dance Composition; complemented by Improvisation, Dance History, Kinesiology, Pedagogy, Jazz and diverse performance experiences. Our graduating students leave prepared technically and creatively to pursue work in dance and related areas.
Performance Opportunities
The department offers a fully mounted major main stage concert each semester: Fall and Spring Dance Theatre. These concerts are danced by students and augmented at times by faculty or guest artist performances. The choreography features works by students, faculty and guest artists. The full technical services of the department complement these productions. Original designs, music, sets and costumes are created in collaboration with the choreographers in a highly professional atmosphere. Through these collaborations student choreographers are offered the rare opportunity to expand their creative visions by working with set designers, lighting and costume designers. Dance majors are encouraged to audition for a variety of community and university productions. Opera, musical theatre, university public relations events, community outreach, and campus ethnic celebrations are all open venues offering opportunities for the students to perform.
Our students have been invited to perform on numerous American College Dance Gala Concerts and honors at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The dance professionals who served as adjudicators have spoken highly of our performers saying the following:
"This quartet, set against a spacious and storied relationship to the music, engages the performers’ delicacy, strength and presence in a breathtaking, swirling choreography. They were an amazingly sensitive group able to create huge emotional shifts. The dancing had a complexity and directness giving us a challenging message, both culturally and personally. Exactly what dance can do!”- Elizabeth Johnson, Darrel Jones and Katiti King (2016)
- “The dancers blew my mind! They took the movement beyond the physical edge.” - Zvi Gothenier (2014)
- “Danced so beautifully! The dancers’ ensemble performance came from deep within their own body giving each other focus.” - Bebe Miller (2014)
- “The dancing was achingly beautiful!” - Susan Douglas-Roberts (2014)
- “Phenomenal! The dancers danced through the skin to the belly of the muscle and then through to the bone within.” - Susan Hadley (2012)
- “I loved how the dancers motions would affect the space. Their space seemed to have weight, their space had energy. Really powerful!”
James Sutton (2012) - “Excellent technical, clean and passionate performers.” - Mary Carbonara (2010)
- “Bold, confident, powerful dancing. Powerful classically grounded technique.” - Bill Evans (2010)
- “Mysteriously dramatic and beautifully danced.” - Stephen Koester (2004)
- “Brilliant performing by entire ensemble. They created a poetic resonance on stage.” - Doug Elkins (2004)
