Degree Requirements for M.A. in Community Dance
Core (16 credits):
- DANC 6460: Community Dance Theory & Practice
- DANC 6260: Leading Community Dance
- DANC 6620: Seminar in Dance Studies Research
- DANC 6405: Contemporary Methods and Issues in Dance Pedagogy
- DANC 5600: Dance Colloquium
- FAR 5100: Introduction to Arts Administration
Dance Studies (3 credits):
Complete one of the following:
- DANC 5550: Dance Ethnography
- DANC 5710: Histories of Modern & Postmodern Dance
- DANC 5711: Dance, Sexuality, & Gender
- DANC 5750: Dance in Non-Western Expressive Cultures
Studio Practice (minimum 1 credit):
Complete at least one of the following:
- DANC 5210: Graduate Modern Dance Technique
- DANC 5250: African Dance Technique III
Electives (7 credits):
- Complete at least 3 credits in another relevant discipline, e.g. Art, Education, Sociology,
- Health, Women’s Studies
- Additional Dance courses, e.g. Movement Analysis, Composition, Kinesiology, Teaching
- Practicum
Capstone Project (3 credits):
- DANC 6960: MA Capstone Project
Students generate new knowledge through research, implementation, and analysis of a community dance project. Through this project, students learn about informed consent in human research, and how to conduct a literature review. They hone their communication and advocacy skills, and apply their knowledge of dance artistry, composition, pedagogy and theories of diversity and inclusion in a community setting.
Required Courses
DANC 6460: Community Dance Theory and Practice
Introduction to community dance, its purpose, and core values; analysis of the literature on community dance; integrates theoretical studies of artistry, civic engagement, diversity, inclusion, and dance content with pedagogical considerations in implementing a community dance project.
DANC 6260: Leading Community Dance
Studio-based course that synthesizes and applies community dance theory to sessions with people of varying ages and abilities; topics include identifying community partners and resources, and engaging and supporting diversity.
DANC 6405: Contemporary Issues & Methods in Dance Pedagogy
Consideration of best practices in dance pedagogy; emphasis on creating, responding, and connecting as ways to meet learners on a continuum of knowledge; how to apply and evaluate various teaching methods, assessment, and evaluation practices; analysis of current literature in dance pedagogy with emphasis on community dance contexts.
DANC 6620: Seminar in Dance Studies Research
Introduction to scholarship in dance studies with emphasis on topics relevant to community dance; research methodologies for considering dance in cultural, social, aesthetic, and educational contexts; key research concepts; considers the relationships among performance, teaching, activism, and scholarship in dance.
DANC 5600: Dance Colloquium
Provides models of artistic and scholarly work in the field of dance through a visiting artist and scholars speakers series as well as faculty and student presentations of research and creative activity.
DANC 6960: MA Capstone Project
Students put their studies of dance artistry, civic engagement, dance content knowledge, and pedagogical theory into practice with a group of community members; students identify a researchable question or problem, write a review of literature, then implement and analyze the community dance project.
FAR 5100: Introduction to Arts Administration
Overview of non-profit organization structures, mission, strategy, programming, fundraising, marketing, arts law and ethics; explores career opportunities for arts administrators; emphasis on the role of arts organizations in the community.