Dance Performance BA and Minor Program Specifics

Here we provide information on course requirements, course descriptions and an Academic Rhode Map for each program, a semester-by-semester plan to help you toward graduation in four years.

Course Requirements

Course Descriptions

Academic Rhode Map

Upon completion of this program, students will demonstrate:

• substantial facility within a diverse range of dance styles and techniques
• sophistication with, and control of, performance dynamics in a wide range of formal and informal performance events
• facility with improvisational choreography and compositional conventions in the creation of original dance works
• an understanding of, and facility for, historical and theoretical inquiry in dance, including its interrelatedness to various other cultural influences and forms of cultural production
• knowledge and understanding of the interrelatedness of allied disciplines that enhance dance creation and performance
• responsibility for support of ensemble management and ensemble productions

Why or in what ways is writing important to your discipline/field/ profession?

Students pursuing a dance performance major need to write effectively and clearly about themselves as dancers, teachers, choreographers and administrators. Researching about dancers, choreographers or content for creative projects is a staple for students in the dance discipline. Although a visual art form, the ability to communicate one’s art, process, research, methodology and pedagogy is equally important for dancers.

Which courses are designated as satisfying the (Writing in the Discipline) WID requirement by your department? Why these courses?

We have identified the following two courses as writing in the discipline for dance:

• DANC 215: Contemporary Dance and Culture 
• DANC 309: Dance History

These courses have been selected because they occur in the beginning and middle of the student’s degree program, which assists with monitoring growth in their writing development. Further, these courses are well-suited for WID because, from a curriculum standpoint, they provide the room and space for intensive writing instruction and practice. 

Although DANC 215 and 325 have been designated as our WID courses, various other dance courses also contain writing components and instruction.

What forms or genres of writing will students learn and practice in your department’s WID courses? Why these genres?

Students taking our WID courses will practice various written genres, including critiques, arguments, analytical and exploratory pieces, and research papers.

What kinds of teaching practices will students encounter in your department’s WID courses?

Students taking dance WID courses will encounter experiential teaching practices that include scaffolded assignments, multiple drafts, peer review, instructor feedback, in-class writing and writing-to-learn exercises. Instructors give lectures on writing, feedback and assignments.

When they’ve satisfied your department’s WID requirement, what should students know and be able to do with writing?

Students who have completed the WID courses in dance should be confident that they have the foundation, tools and practice to successfully write in the dance field. Students will be capable of successfully writing job applications, cover letters, resumes/CVs, artist statements, teaching philosophy statements, grant applications and commission proposals and scholarly research.

Declaring a minor allows you to explore other areas of interest and make interdisciplinary connections. Minor areas at RIC complement and reinforce all major areas of study. By declaring a minor, you can set yourself apart as a candidate for job, internship and volunteer opportunities.

Minor in Dance Performance