Theatre & Dance
Michelle Ellsworth, Director of Dance
University Theatre Building
Office C332
michelle.ellsworth@colorado.edu
The University of Colorado Boulder offers a well-established, nationally recognized dance program that encourages the pursuit of one’s artistic voice, embodied scholarship and pedagogical exploration.
CU Boulder has an exciting and diversified dance program. Our curriculum is designed to use dance and the body to challenge assumptions about practices, values, technology and sustainability. Our program scaffolds entrepreneurial approaches to art-making based in personal initiative, curiosity and versatility.
We support the vital cultivation of self-awareness alongside a nuanced appreciation of one’s positionality within the global conversation. Somatic studies serve as the integrative tissue in our highly diverse and forward-thinking program.
We are a contemporary program—one that values and provides study in a range of styles and fusion of forms that influence and reflect the multifaceted nature of dance performance today. Our curriculum is designed to develop concrete skills in performance and choreography and to instill an appreciation of the role that dance plays in human culture around the world.
Requirements
Required Courses and Credits
Coursework is divided into six categories: dance & making, dance & context, dance & survival, dance & dancing, and dance & production.
For the undergraduate degree in DNCE, students must take 35 (and up to 45) credit hours in DNCE, no fewer than 18 of which must be upper division, with a grade of C- or better in each course. No fewer than 12 of the 18 upper-division credit hours must be completed on the Boulder campus. Students must have a grade point average of at least 2.000 in the major in order to graduate.
A single course can count towards at most one area requirement. Transfer students are welcome and fully invited into the major. We are committed to building pathways for ease of transfer credits and excellence in completing the dance major at CU Boulder. Transfer students will work directly with the Director of Undergraduate Dance on transferring dance courses. We are also committed to finding pathways for minors to become majors. Students shifting from the minor to the major will work directly with the Director of Undergraduate Dance on pathway options.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Dance & Making 1 | 6 | |
| Dance and Rhythm | ||
| Dance and Sound Design | ||
| Dance & Choreography | ||
| Dance & Making Dances | ||
| Dance & Context 1 | 6 | |
| Dance and Popular Culture | ||
| Dance and Culture | ||
| Dance & Dancing Histories | ||
| Dance & Queering: Perspectives in Performance | ||
| Dance & Hip-Hop History | ||
| Dance & Survival 1 | 6 | |
| Dance & Navigating the Apocalypse: Improvising | ||
| Dance & Resistance: Love & Failure | ||
| Dance and Special Topics | ||
| Dance and Injury Risk Reduction | ||
| Dance & Queering: Embodiment Strategies | ||
| Dance & Special Topics | ||
| Dance & Teaching Children | ||
| Dance & Survival | ||
| Art & Sustainability | ||
| Dance & Teaching | ||
| Dance & Next Moves | ||
| Dance and Special Topics | ||
| Dance & Dancing | 9 | |
| We encourage students to study several forms as a Dance Major. Dance and Dancing: More Dancing holds a placement process in the first week of classes. Possible forms for Dance and Dancing: More Dancing include: Hip-Hop, Contemporary, Contact Improvisation, House, Afro-Pop, and more. | ||
| Dance and Dancing: More Dancing | ||
| Dance and Dancing: More Dancing | ||
| Dance & Dancing: More Dancing | ||
| Dance & Production | 4 | |
| Must take either Dance & Production: Technical Skills or Dance & Production: Experiments in Design | ||
| Dance & Production: Technical Skills | ||
| Dance and Production: Run Crew | ||
| Dance & Production: Experiments in Design | ||
| Dance Elective | 4 | |
All dance electives may be repeated as many times as desired for credit unless noted otherwise. | ||
| African Dance | ||
| Advanced Hip-Hop | ||
| Advanced Ballet | ||
| Advanced Contact Improvisation | ||
| Beginning Contemporary Technique | ||
| Beginning Contemporary Technique with Experience | ||
| Beginning Ballet Technique | ||
| Beginning Jazz Technique | ||
| Beginning Jazz Technique with Experience | ||
| Beginning Hip-Hop Technique | ||
| Beginning Aerial Dance Technique | ||
| Beginning Tap Technique | ||
| Beginning Ballet Technique with Experience | ||
| Intermediate Jazz Technique | ||
| Beginning Contact Improvisation Technique | ||
| Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary Dance Technique | ||
| Intermediate Ballet Technique | ||
| Advanced Jazz Technique | ||
| Technique Practicum | ||
| Technique Practicum 2 | ||
| Dance & Community Practice | ||
| Dance & Performance | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Independent Study | ||
| Teaching Practicum | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 35 | |
| 1 | Must take two different courses. |
Graduating in Four Years
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for more information on eligibility. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress toward a BA in dance, students should meet the requirements in the Four-Year Plan section.
Plan(s) of Study
Through the required coursework for the major, students will fulfill all 12 credits of the Arts & Humanities area of the Gen Ed Distribution Requirement and can potentially fulfill the Global Perspective category in the Gen Ed Diversity Requirement.
Additional DNCE credits may be taken as desired in any DNCE classes relative to a student's interests and professional goals. Students are encouraged to take additional dance technique credits in diverse forms including African Dance, Hip Hop, Ballet, Contemporary, and more. Please be in discussion with your Dance Academic Advisor and/or the Undergraduate Director of Dance for mentoring.
| Year One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall Semester | Credit Hours | |
| DNCE 1017 or DNCE 1027 | Dance and Popular Culture or Dance and Culture | 3 |
| DNCE 2021 | Dance and Dancing: More Dancing | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Science and Lab) | 4 | |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: Lower-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Elecive | 2 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| DNCE 1013 | Dance & Navigating the Apocalypse: Improvising or Dance & Resistance: Love & Failure or Dance and Injury Risk Reduction or Dance & Queering: Embodiment Strategies or Dance and Special Topics or Dance & Special Topics or Dance and Special Topics or Dance & Teaching Children or Dance & Survival or Dance & Real Fake AI Embodied Knowledge or Art & Sustainability or Dance & Teaching or Dance & Next Moves | 3 |
| DNCE 3035 | Dance and Production: Run Crew | 1 |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: QRMS) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Year Two | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| DNCE 1012 or DNCE 4012 | Dance & Production: Technical Skills or Dance & Production: Experiments in Design | 3 |
| DNCE 3041 or DNCE 4061 | Dance and Dancing: More Dancing or Dance & Dancing: More Dancing | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Social Sciences/US Perspective) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| DNCE 3043 | Dance & Choreography or Dance & Making Dances or Dance and Rhythm or Dance and Sound Design | 3 |
| DNCE Elective | 2 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Diversity course (example: Global Perspective), if needed, or Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 17 | |
| Year Three | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| DNCE 4017 | Dance & Dancing Histories or Dance & Queering: Perspectives in Performance or Dance & Hip-Hop History | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution/Diversity course (example: Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| Gen. Ed. Skills course (example: Upper-division Written Communication) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| DNCE 3041 or DNCE 4061 | Dance and Dancing: More Dancing or Dance & Dancing: More Dancing | 3 |
| DNCE 3043 | Dance & Choreography or Dance & Making Dances or Dance and Rhythm or Dance and Sound Design | 3 |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Year Four | ||
| Fall Semester | ||
| DNCE 1013 | Dance & Navigating the Apocalypse: Improvising or Dance & Resistance: Love & Failure or Dance and Injury Risk Reduction or Dance & Queering: Embodiment Strategies or Dance and Special Topics or Dance & Special Topics or Dance and Special Topics or Dance & Teaching Children or Dance & Survival or Dance & Real Fake AI Embodied Knowledge or Art & Sustainability or Dance & Teaching or Dance & Next Moves | 3 |
| Additional DNCE Technique | 2 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Natural Sciences) | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Spring Semester | ||
| Additional DNCE Technique | 2 | |
| Gen. Ed. Distribution course (example: Social Sciences) | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Upper-division Elective | 3 | |
| Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 121 | |
Learning Outcomes
The following areas of knowledge and experience are central to all the undergraduate degrees in dance:
- Physical accomplishment in a range of dance styles and within fusions of various forms, including contemporary, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, transnational fusion, African dance, performance improvisation and other dance traditions from around the world.
- Experience with the process and underlying aesthetics of dance creation, composition and collaboration.
- Basic familiarity with cultural, sociological and aesthetic issues important to the contemporary realities of the field of dance, including a working knowledge of major world dance styles, works of dance literature, theoretical lenses and the history of dance.
- Knowledge of the various means, such as stagecraft, costuming, lighting, make-up, production and projections, through which a public presentation of dance is realized.
- Study and practical experience in dance pedagogy, identifying our purpose, goals and objectives as future educators.
- Basic knowledge of tactics for sustaining wellness, including various somatic approaches to dance training, injury prevention and rehabilitation from injury.
- Experiential study of the relationship between dance and music, including concrete practice of skills in playing and hearing music.
- Opportunities to explore the power of performance for effecting positive social change.
In addition, students completing a degree in dance are expected to acquire the ability and skills to:
- Define their positionality as a maker and thinker of art with responsibility and awareness within their local setting and global conversations.
- Create and perform through dance, theatre, design, technology, research, scholarship and writing.
- Make art that is relevant to their medium of expression, that generates resistance to and expands developed techniques towards contemporary relevance, and aesthetic and artistic excellence.
- Apply diverse theories to critically analyze various performance practices, approaches, compositions, forms, histories, events and scripts.
- Engage with the histories of their art form and the impact of these histories on contemporary performance challenges and opportunities.
- Build communities of greater equity and inclusion within the cultures of theatre and dance, and the broader world.
- Cultivate their responsibility as artist-citizens to have a positive impact on the world and the future.