Our Mission
The UMass Amherst Dance Program aims to be at the forefront of educating the contemporary dance major through physical, creative, and theoretical scholarship. The program supports this by creating an environment that embraces inquiry, rigor, and risk; providing a robust and relevant curriculum; engaging the wider, diverse regional community; and supporting a faculty that brings to the classroom/studio the benefits of national and international creative and scholarly research.
Consequently, goals for the Dance Program include providing majors with a comprehensive academic and technical course of study that will facilitate their work as artists or prepare them for further graduate study. Other goals include providing opportunities for diverse performance and choreography, exploring connections to disciplines outside the field of dance, and developing the skills that can help support the often tenuous life of a professional dance artist.
We are committed to:
- The highest aesthetic standards
- Being of service to our diverse campus and local community
- Excellence in creative and scholarly research
- Exemplary, experientially based teaching
We strive to:
- Offer a diverse range of movement techniques
- Instill a deep and factual understanding of anatomical information in order to be more articulate in the body
- Engage our students in artistic traditions and current trends in dance-making
- Foster critical thinking and emphasize the ability to express oneself through language and movement
- Raise social and cultural awareness
- Provide a methodology for creation, editing, and presentation of one’s work in order to move from conceptual idea to performance
- Facilitate a high level of craft alongside a distinctive artistic voice
Director's Welcome
As a high school senior considering college dance programs or as a current UMass student, you are at an exciting juncture as you consider dance studies that meet your career aspirations. The Dance faculty are ready to provide you with the insights, experiences, and mentorship that you need to determine your own path to a rewarding and fulfilling life in the arts.