B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography
The major in Dance Performance and Choreography leads to the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Overall Goals for BFA Performance and Choreography
The Towson University Department of Dance advocates Dancing for a Lifetime by challenging students to examine and refine their approaches to the arts of dancing, choreography, and dance education. The B.F.A. Dance Performance major prepares students for entry into the professional world of dance as skilled technicians, creative artists, and independent thinkers. The dance performance courses offer students the option of refining skills for the stage acquired in technique classes.
Towson University Dance students will:
- Synthesize expressive range, stylistic versatility, and rigorous standards within healthy technical achievement and somatic understanding;
- Analyze, intuit, deliver and evaluate the creative process for original dance choreography;
- Demonstrate oral and written skills, critical thinking in aesthetic language and historical/world view perspectives;
- Recognize, choose and demonstrate leadership skills.
Towson University Dance students are encouraged to:
- Develop an ability to creatively respond, both divergently and convergently, to changing environments;
- Transition from thinking of dance as a hobby to preparation for a lifetime in professional work;
- Develop a unique artistic voice through dreaming, risking, envisioning, and creating dance work with rigor;
- Maintain a healthy and agile physique, with a somatic approach that supports dynamic alignment, reducing risk, increasing health and longevity of the dancer;
- Study dance history with a world view for understanding and appreciation of all people;
- Regularly engage in physical, artistic, and intellectual strategies that facilitate an appreciation of dance as an expressive, scholarly, and progressive art form;
- Engage in a thoughtful class practice with skills and ways of thinking that encourages health, balance, and a long-term approach to dancing;
- Cultivate themselves as intelligent audience members who respect the art form and become lifetime arts advocates;
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Practicing consistently the disposition of educators which include caring, commitment, and collaboration;
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Define what being a facilitator of learning is and practice this definition.
Towson University Dance students are asked to engage and deliver by:
- Demonstrating kinesthetic understanding of dynamic alignment;
- Exploring dancing as dynamic movers through a variety of somatic practices;
- Describing and assessing one’s creative process to promote creativity, innovation, imagination, and collaboration;
- Implementing choreographic tools (e.g. movement invention, use of metaphor, collaboration, use of time, space, shape…);
- Demonstrating disciplined, diligent work ethic, with an open mind, and mutual respect in the classroom;
- Developing personal strategies for motivation, confidence, teamwork, creative problem solving, and other life skills that transfer to other disciplines and future ambitions;
- Receiving and providing critical feedback (oral, and written) with respect and curiosity to reflect embodied cognition.
Requirements for Admission to the B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography
Prospective Dance Performance and Choreography majors enter the university as Pre-Dance majors.
The Department of Dance accepts into the BFA pre-Dance majors who have:
- passed one of the auditions in October, November, or February, and
- completed all Foundational First-Year Dance Experience courses with a minimum 3.00 GPA.
Applications for an audition can be accessed via the Department of Dance. Students may only audition twice for the major. Students who miss the auditions, choose not to audition, or do not pass the audition by May 1 will be encouraged to take non-major classes and audition or re-audition in their first year. If students pass the audition and are accepted into the Dance Performance and Choreography major, but do not enroll the following fall semester, they must petition the faculty for later acceptance. If students pass the audition and are accepted into the Dance Performance and Choreography major, and do not enroll the following academic year, they must expect to re-audition for acceptance into the B.F.A. program.
The Foundational First-Year Dance Experience courses encompass knowledge in dance technique, performance, history, music, anatomy/kinesiology, and production. For a list of the Foundation courses, see the Requirements section. After the Foundational First Year, Dance majors must maintain a 2.50 GPA in dance courses to be eligible for graduation with a major in Dance.
This is a screened program. See the Admission section for information.
The B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography requires a total of 80 units. All majors are required to successfully complete audition and jury as well as complete the performance requirements outlined below. Students in the major must complete 65 units of required DANC courses, 3 units of THEA, and 12 units of electives.
Dance Performance and Choreography Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Courses | ||
| DANC 126 | MUSICAL CONCEPTS FOR DANCERS 1 | 3 |
| DANC 216 | SOPHOMORE CREW 1 | 1 |
| DANC 223 | LEVEL I BALLET 1 | 2 |
| DANC 224 | LEVEL I BALLET 1 | 2 |
| DANC 227 | LEVEL I MODERN 1 | 2 |
| DANC 228 | LEVEL I MODERN 1 | 2 |
| DANC 235 | DANCE COMPOSITION I (Core 4) 1 | 3 |
| DANC 245 | SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR MOVEMENT I 1 | 3 |
| DANC 345 | SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR MOVEMENT II 1 | 2 |
| Dance Major Course Sequence | ||
| DANC 250 | METHODS OF TEACHING DANCE: TECHNIQUE | 2 |
| DANC 263 | DANCE DESIGN AND PRODUCTION | 3 |
| DANC 316 | JUNIOR CREW | 1 |
| DANC 321 | RESPONDING TO DANCE (Core 9) | 3 |
| DANC 335 | DANCE COMPOSITION II | 2 |
| DANC 336 | DANCE COMPOSITION III | 2 |
| DANC 346 | SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF ANALYSES OF MOVEMENT III | 1 |
| DANC 436 | DANCE COMPOSITION IV: FOR THE PROSCENIUM | 2 |
| DANC 437 | DANCE COMPOSITION V: FOR THE CAMERA | 3 |
| DANC 480 | SENIOR PROJECT: SEMINAR | 2 |
| DANC 491 | SENIOR PROJECT: CONCERT/LECTURE DEMONSTRATION | 3 |
| THEA 101 | ACTING I | 3 |
| Level II Technique Courses | ||
| DANC 323 & DANC 324 | LEVEL II BALLET and LEVEL II BALLET | 6 |
| DANC 327 & DANC 328 | LEVEL II MODERN and LEVEL II MODERN | 6 |
| Total Units | 59 | |
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These courses are taken by Pre-Dance Performance & Choreography majors who have successfully passed the audition. An overall GPA of 3.00 is required for the foundation courses.
Additional Dance Performance and Choreography Major Requirements
Dance Performance/Choreography majors who do not select the Pre-K-12 Dance Education Concentration must take the following required courses:
| Code | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Level III Technique Courses | ||
| A total of 9 units must be taken in Level III courses. | 9 | |
| LEVEL III BALLET | ||
| LEVEL III BALLET | ||
| LEVEL III MODERN | ||
| LEVEL III MODERN | ||
| Electives | 12 | |
| Of the 12 total units of electives required, all must be from DANC. | ||
| At least 6 of the 12 units must be in Modern Repertory, Ballet Repertory or Dance Company. | ||
| THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE | ||
| YOGA | ||
| AERIAL DANCE TECHNIQUE | ||
| MOVEMENT SKILLS ENHANCEMENT FOR MEN | ||
| PILATES TECHNIQUE | ||
| JAZZ DANCE I | ||
| TAP DANCE I | ||
| METHODS OF TEACHING DANCE: DEVELOPMENTAL MOVEMENT | ||
| JAZZ DANCE II | ||
| TAP II | ||
| JAZZ DANCE III | ||
| POINTE TECHNIQUE I | ||
| MEN'S BALLET TECHNIQUE | ||
| METHODS OF TEACHING DANCE: PREK-12 SETTING | ||
DANC 37x | SPECIAL TOPICS | |
| MODERN DANCE REPERTORY | ||
| BALLET REPERTORY | ||
| METHODS OF TEACHING DANCE: POLICY AND ADVOCACY | ||
| DANCE COMPANY | ||
| PRACTICUM IN DANCE TECHNIQUE | ||
| INDEPENDENT STUDY IN DANCE | ||
Performance Requirements for Majors
All Dance Performance and Choreography majors must audition for the elective TU Dance Company course (DANC 481) a minimum of two times during their tenure at Towson University and complete the following:
- 9 performance points in extracurricular activities:
6 points must be earned by participating in student dance projects for a class in which you are not enrolled. Approved courses are Composition III, IV, V, and Senior Seminar Projects.
3 points may be earned by additional composition work, from the above list, for a class in which you are not enrolled, or from a performance in Inertia Dance Concert, Dance Major Performance Project Concert, American College Dance Association Mid-Atlantic Conference, or an individual work approved by a Towson University Faculty Member.
Exceptions by the approval of the Department Chairperson or Adviser.
Juries
As a mechanism for assessing progress toward the degree, all Dance Performance and Choreography majors will be evaluated by a jury of faculty members in late August prior to the Junior year. The jury will consider completed essays, a video portfolio, and a verbal presentation from each student. Written and verbal assessments will be given to each student with consideration for career planning.
Special note: All majors are required to be enrolled in a ballet and modern technique class each term prior to their scheduled jury. Students must continue to take advanced level technique courses up to 9 units in fulfillment of their requirements during their Junior and Senior year.
Sample Four-Year Plan
The selected course sequence below is an example of the simplest path to degree completion. Based on course schedules, student needs, and student choice, individual plans may vary. Students should consult with their adviser to make the most appropriate elective choices and to ensure that they have completed the required number of units (120) to graduate.
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| DANC 223 | 2 | DANC 126 | 3-4 |
| DANC 227 | 2 | OR | |
| DANC 245 | 3 | ||
| Core 1 | 3 | DANC 224 | 2 |
| Core 3 (or Core 2) | 3 | DANC 228 | 2 |
| Elective / Repertory | 3 | DANC 235 (Core 4) | 3 |
| DANC 345 | 2 | ||
| Core 2 (or Core 3) | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15-16 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| DANC 263 & DANC 216 | 3-4 | DANC 316 | 1 |
OR | DANC 324 or 323 | 3 | |
| DANC 328 or 327 | 3 | ||
| DANC 323 or 324 | 3 | DANC 336 | 2 |
| DANC 327 or 328 | 3 | Core 10 | 3 |
| DANC 335 | 2 | Elective / Company / Repertory | 3 |
| Core 5 | 3 | ||
| 14-15 | 15 | ||
| Junior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| DANC 250 | 2 | DANC 424 or 428 | 3 |
| DANC 321 (Core 9) | 3 | DANC 437 | 3 |
| DANC 346 | 1 | Core 8 | 3-4 |
| DANC 436 | 2 | Core 14 | 3 |
| DANC 423 or 427 | 3 | Elective / Company / Repertory | 3 |
| Core 7 | 4 | ||
| 15 | 15-16 | ||
| Senior | |||
| Term 1 | Units | Term 2 | Units |
| DANC 423 or 427 | 3 | DANC 424 or 428 | 3 |
| DANC 480 | 2 | DANC 491 | 3 |
| THEA 101 | 3 | Core 6 | 3 |
| Core 11 | 3 | Core 12 | 3 |
| Core 13 | 3 | Elective / Company / Repertory | 3 |
| Elective / Company / Repertory | 3 | ||
| 17 | 15 | ||
| Total Units 122-125 | |||
- The students will synthesize expressive range, stylistic versatility, and high standard of rigor within healthy technical achievement and somatic understanding.
- The students analyze, intuit, produce, deliver and evaluate the creative process for original dance choreography.
- The students will demonstrate oral and written skills, critical thinking in aesthetic language and historical/worldview perspectives.
- Recognize, choose, and demonstrate leadership skills.
Faculty
Professors: Catherine Horta-Hayden (Chairperson), Mary Susan Kirchner, Jaye Knutson (Graduate Program Director), Susan Mann, Vincent Thomas
Assistant Professors: Robert Kleinendorst, Caroline Rocher Barnes, Alison Seidenstricker (PreK-12 Education Program Director)
Lecturers: Runqiao Du, Nancy Wanich-Romita