How You Study
The course is organised into four strands that develop throughout the duration of the programme and are designed to prepare students for graduation. These are:
- Dance Technique
- Improvisation and Choreography
- Critical Contexts and Applied Practice
- Industry and Employability
This allows students to develop advanced skills in a range of areas to enhance employability prospects. Students may also be able to explore other creative disciplines through lenses of urgent cultural agendas, themes, and ideas, to see how performers, creators, and thinkers can work together.
Initially the course focuses on the fundamentals of technique, choreography and improvisation. It progresses to expand bodily awareness through other areas of dance, such as dance anatomy and fitness, somatic practices, digital/screen-based practice, and contact improvisation. In the final year, students will have the opportunity to demonstrate and enhance their skills to refine their own interests or specialisms.
Students can participate in a touring dance company, independent practice as research, choreographic projects, and dance in education. Students will also have the opportunity to attend lectures that consider the market and industry to develop skills for managing, producing, funding, and marketing their own work.
During their studies, students have the chance to gain experience and make industry contacts through a work placement. They have the opportunity to study abroad for one term during the second year at the University's partner institution in Norway, enabling them to experience international approaches to dance training. Students who choose to study abroad or undertake work placements are expected to cover their own travel, accommodation, and general living costs.
Lectures and seminars are supplemented by studio and workshop sessions, which aim to form an understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of dance. Students may also have the opportunity to work away from the University on outreach, performance tours, and community-based projects, incorporating technical and vocational skills, in order to experience dance as a creative enterprise.
Across the course students will be encouraged to stretch and expand their skills and may also have the opportunity to undertake a deeper exploration of an area which interests them.