College
Ball State University Department of Theatre and Dance offers seven diverse degree options that emphasize developing and nurturing each student’s creativity, curiosity, and collaborative skills. We inspire our students to be thinkers, responsible citizens, and motivated theatre artists who will make a difference in creating the next generation’s voice.
Our undergraduate-only program, low student-to-faculty ratio, hands-on advising and mentoring from a faculty of working professionals, and distinguished guest artists in all disciplines allow for the personal development of each artist as an individual.
We offer B.F.A. degrees in Acting, Dance, and Musical Theatre, and B.A./B.S. degrees in Design and Technology, Directing/Stage Management, Theatre Education and Theatrical Studies.
The department is an active award-winning participant in KCACTF, SETC and USITT. Our degrees are fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre and National Association of Schools of Dance.
The Cowley College Tigerette Dance Team is a proud and respected group of collegiate student-athletes that support Tiger athletics. The Tigerettes dance and cheer at all home women’s and men’s basketball games, along with appearances at various community events and college functions. The team performs a variety of styles including jazz, pom, and hip hop. The Tigerettes attend NDA dance camp each summer and perform in showcases and competitions during the year.
The UW-L Dance Team is a competitive dance team that requires dedication, drive, ability, and a love of dance. The dance team performs at Men’s and Women’s home basketball games and competes at various regional competitions throughout the year. They are also the host of the Annual Rob Wagner Cancer Benefit Show.
The WMU dance team is under the supervision of the department of intercollegiate athletics. The team performs at every bronco football and men’s basketball game. The team performs at alternating volleyball matches and women’s basketball games. The pom based team dances to most of the tunes played by the bronco marching band. The team also puts together special jazz and hip hop performances for the basketball games. You will see your bronco dance team at many community events, and fundraisers also.
The Firestarters entertain the crowd at the men’s and women’s home basketball games by performing halftime jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, and pom routines. You can also find them on the sidelines during the women’s home games, performing crowd teasers and chants.
During season we practice four day’s a week, plus our games. During off season we will practice 2 times a week with weekly workouts added in throughout the week, and also hold open gym time to work on specific skills that are a necessity to being an athlete on the Spirit Program. We attend a private college camp during the summer that help us prepare for the approaching season.
Community Service is another big part of who we are. Therefore, we do a lot of appearances out in the community at non-college functions.
The tradition here at KU is one of excellence and such a unique experience. On the dance team, you will train to be the best you can be. Our main purpose is to support and perform for the University’s athletic teams. As a team member, you will make special appearances all year round.
Our team will work together toward a common vision — to have an amazing experience while representing the best university in the country! This is a huge commitment and we expect 100% from everyone at all times. We are looking for dedicated young women who strive for excellence in all aspects of life. The Rock Chalk Dancers are a family and a good support system. Being on this team will help create memories and friends that will last a lifetime. We look forward to meeting each and every one of you.
In our rigorous program focused on contemporary modern dance, our students learn how the body works, research our art form’s expansive history, and define their own voices as performers and choreographers. Together we embrace the messiness of creation and explore how our diverse viewpoints can contribute to the evolution of dance.
Called “a hotbed of choreographic innovation” by the New York Times, our intimate program features one-on-one mentoring from an extraordinary group of resident performers, choreographers, scholars, and educators plus numerous guest artists. Our faculty members have been honored with six New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie”) Awards, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, two Fulbright Scholarships, and two Guggenheim Fellowships. They have been performers and choreographers for artists ranging from Mikhail Baryshnikov to Bebe Miller to Paul Taylor. Dedicated educators, they have earned numerous campus awards for excellence in research, teaching, and advising.
Building deep relationships across the professional dance world, we connect students with major ensembles such as the Trisha Brown Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, which have welcomed our alumni as performers, and each year we select a few students for our unique Mark Morris Shadow Program. With broad skills, our graduates choreograph, become artistic directors, dance on Broadway, teach, write, and thrive in body-based professions.
Our collaborative work lives at the forefront of innovative and integrative techniques that transform dancing and choreography. We invite students to take charge of their education, experiment, immerse in the creative process, and lead dance into new territories. All students—in our BFA, BA, and MFA programs or our courses for non-dance majors—are encouraged to locate center and go from there.
A dancer’s top priority is academics. All members must be enrolled at UWM and in good academic standings. Participating in dance team activities should not compromise a member’s educational goals. The primary mission of the dance team is to support the athletic teams, assist the cheerleading squad in motivating the crowd, entertain the audience at games and other school functions, as well as promote overall school spirit. The dance team also represents the university in dance competitions and exhibitions.
A secondary mission of the team is to foster a sense of community spirit and cooperation through appropriate appearances throughout the Milwaukee community. Part of the dance team’s responsibilities will be to perform and/or make appearances at community events. Once the team accepts a community appearance, the function becomes as important as an athletic event and should be treated as such.
For more than 40 years, Columbia College Chicago has educated world-renowned performers, instructors and innovators in dance.
Dancemaking is the heart of Columbia’s internationally recognized Dance Center, where you’ll learn choreography, technique and improvisation across a wide range of styles. As Chicago’s leading presenter of contemporary dance of regional, national and international significance, the Dance Center closely collaborates with the city’s diverse dance communities to ignite your imagination.
But, as an artist, you need more. You’ll also receive a first-rate liberal arts education with opportunities for cross-training in theatre and digital technology, teaching, arts management and body science.
As an undergraduate in dance, you’ll study composition and choreography in depth as you are challenged to write, research, and analyze the field of dance. At the same time, you’ll continue to develop your dance skills with technique classes and performance opportunities.
The foundations of our dance program are contemporary modern dance, which includes the vibrant Jump Rhythm Jazz style, along with ballet and tap. You’ll examine the body in motion, explore collaborations in dance and music, and improvise dance as you develop your own vocabulary for composition and choreography.