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Dance
Dance | Courses | Music & Dance Faculty


(A Five College Department)

11 Totman

Degree: Bachelor of Fine Arts , Bachelor of Arts

Contact: Andrea Watkins, Coordinator of Dance

Office: 11 Totman

Phone: 545-2413

Coordinator: Professor Andrea Watkins. Professor Schwartz; Assistant Professor Brown. Lecturer Ascenzo; Visiting Lecturer Lipitz. Adjunct Faculty Devi.

Five College Dance Faculty: Chair: Professor Jim Coleman. Professors Daniel, Freedman, Waltner; Associate Professors Lowell, Nordstrom, Woodson; Assistant Professors Flachs, C., Flachs, R.

The Field

The program is intended to prepare the student in both the technical and theoretical aspects of dance for either performance careers or graduate study in dance. At the same time the dance major provides elective opportunities for study in other subject areas.

The Major

The Dance major, leading to either the B.F.A. or B.A. degree, includes study in ballet, modern dance, and jazz techniques, as well as courses in dance theory. Guest artists visit campus regularly for master classes. In addition, dance majors may spend one semester in New York City (or any major dance city) as a part of the University's Internship Program. Two major concerts are produced each year, and the University Dancers tour annually during January intersession.

Dance Courses Offered:

Technique Courses:

Modern Dance I-VI

Ballet I-VI

Jazz I-VI

Theory Courses:

Dance and Culture

Dance in the 20th Century

Composition I, II, III

Production

Repertory

Scientific Foundations of Dance I, II

Senior Project

Rhythmic Analysis from a Dancer's Perspective

Dance Group I, II

Concert Dance Group

University Dancers

Laban Movement Analysis I

The Five College Dance Department

The educational and artistic mission of the Five College Dance Department is to champion the imaginative, expressive powers of human movement. The curriculum emphasizes in-depth study of a broad spectrum of dance as an art form, including technical, creative, historical, cultural, and scientific perspectives. Students are encouraged to balance performance and creative studies with a comprehensive understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of different dance traditions. They may shape their major studies in either traditional or interdisciplinary waysreflecting the wide range of career options and new directions of the contemporary field.

The Five College Dance Department combines the programs of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts. The faculty operates as a consortium, coordinating curricula, performances, and services. The Five College Dance Department supports a variety of philosophical approaches to dance and provides an opportunity for students to experience a wide spectrum of performance styles and techniques. Course offerings are coordinated among the campuses to facilitate registration, interchange, and student travel; students may take a dance course on any of the five campuses and receive credit at the home institution.

Note: Five College Course lists, specifying times, locations and new course updates, are available two weeks prior to pre-registration at both the Dance Office, 11 Totman, and in the Undergraduate Exchange Programs Office, E-26 Machmer. They are also available at the Five College Dance Department Office, loca-ted in the Music and Dance Building at Hampshire College.

Career Opportunities

The B.F.A. degree program prepares students to seek careers as performing artists. The B.A. degree program provides a liberal arts background, allowing students to combine studies in dance with other fields of interest. Both programs prepare students to seek entrance into graduate school. Graduate school is required for those wishing careers in dance therapy, dance science, dance history/aesthetics, and those wishing to teach at a college or university. Dance criticism and dance journalism may or may not require further graduate study. Those interested in this field need to develop journalistic skills as well as an understanding of dance history, philosophy, technique, and choreography.

Dance | Courses | Music & Dance Faculty

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