Certificate in Dance

Program Total Credits: 55

The School of Dance includes a population of approximately 300 talented, wide-open, self-expressive students and a faculty of individuals whose abilities and experiences are diverse and far-reaching. The Dance curriculum is designed to balance a great range of experiences and small learning communities.  It is divided into two parts: Foundation Series (freshman and sophomore years) and Research Series (junior and senior).  The Certificate program consists of 55 credits from the Foundation Seres of the Bachelor’s degree program.

Foundation Series

All Studio Practice courses within the Foundation Series provide anatomically sound models for technical training in dance that consistently weave and reference both the historical and the emerging techniques, forms and styles through informed somatic practices.  The Studio Practice courses and the Thinking Making Doing (TMD) courses weave together to form the educational “spine” of the major.   Tending to the need for dancers to be able to not only express themselves physically but also to nurture and to develop their artistry as creative and imaginative selves, the TMD courses focus on honing the thinking and making aspects of a young artist.   These courses begin for dance majors in their first year of the Foundation Series of the program and continue through to the end of their third year of the Research Series.  Also included in the Foundation Series is the Body Pathways area where a dancer will engage in the following: conditioning and assessment; awareness for alignment, body placement and strength; experiential anatomy; and varying somatic practices for sustaining the body in dance. The Foundation Series culminates in the Sophomore Performance and Coaching Project.