Discover Dance at ºìÌÒÊÓƵ
Have you danced for as long as you can remember? Have you never danced before? Somewhere in between? Then ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Dance is for you. Our courses offer a unique opportunity to connect the body and mind within ºìÌÒÊÓƵ’s rich intellectual community. Explore studio and conference-based classes that build a range of skills widely applicable to your studies in the liberal arts: critical reasoning (in embodied and written formats), creativity, analytical approaches, and collaboration, among many others. Come experience dance as a way to understand—and change—the world.
Curriculum
All classes are open to majors and nonmajors. The department offers students at all levels of experience opportunities to choreograph, perform, undertake research, participate in residencies with visiting artists and scholars, and interact closely with faculty members. Our wide-ranging curriculum includes courses in contemporary dance, ballet, choreography, improvisation, critical dance studies, cultural studies, Latin American dance, and dances of the African diaspora.
Dance Major & Minor
In addition to the dance major, the department also offers interdisciplinary majors in Comparative Race and Ethnicity Studies–Dance, Dance–Theatre, as well as a minor in dance. Interested students may also pursue an ad hoc interdisciplinary major that includes dance, such as dance–art, dance–music, dance–Spanish, dance–psychology, dance–sociology, dance–literature, or dance–history.
Performing Opportunities
ºìÌÒÊÓƵ dancers are invited to perform at the end of each semester in our biannual concert which also includes works created in dance courses. ºìÌÒÊÓƵ dancers regularly perform in ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Arts Week, in dance thesis productions, and with the student-run ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Dance Troupe and the ºìÌÒÊÓƵ Independent Performance independent projects. Guest choreographers and dance faculty create work for choreograph for the Contemporary Performance Ensemble.
Visiting Artists and Scholars
ºìÌÒÊÓƵ brings well-known performing artists and scholars to campus each year, and ºìÌÒÊÓƵ dance students frequently attend off-campus performances, talks, and master classes in conjunction with their coursework. Recent visiting artists, companies, and scholars have included , , , , , Michael Cusumano/Madame Olga, Meshi Chavez, , Yoshito Sakuraba/Abarukas, and Gamelan Çudamani. ºìÌÒÊÓƵ dancers have attended recent off-campus performances by , , , , , and .
Exchange Programs
ºìÌÒÊÓƵ dancers have the opportunity to participate in established dance-intensive exchange programs in New York, Paris, Jerusalem, and Havana. ºìÌÒÊÓƵ students may also register for dance courses at nearby Lewis and Clark College.
Graduates
The department successfully prepares students—both majors and nonmajors—for specialized work in dance in graduate school and in the profession. ºìÌÒÊÓƵ alumni pursue graduate degrees in dance, teach, choreograph, perform, write about dance professionally, work in dance outreach and arts administration, and establish their own dance companies and schools. Honors given to ºìÌÒÊÓƵ dance students have included the Watson Fellowship, grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and awards from the Dance Studies Association.