The Bachelor of Arts degree program prepares future dancers, choreographers, educators and scholars, through a core curriculum that includes traditional and experimental techniques, creative exploration, historical and aesthetic context, technology, and production skills. Students may pursue elective study in a number of disciplines and related subject matter.
The department offers a variety of approaches to performance and choreography and gives students opportunities to experience them through participation in choreography by faculty and visiting artists, and through independent study in choreography under a faculty mentor. There are opportunities to perform in every semester.
Major Requirements
The requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Dance include a minimum of 58 credits. A grade of “C” is the minimum acceptable for credit toward the major, with the exception of the Gateway Course, DANC 320 Intermediate Contemporary Dance Technique II, which requires a minimum grade of “B”.
Students entering the program with little or no dance training are required to complete preparatory courses before taking the major requirements. Students entering the program with a high level of dance training may be placed on the Accelerated Pathway to the B.A.
Dance Techniques (minimum 23 credits)
A minimum of 15 credits in modern dance technique, which must include the following courses:
DANC 310 – Intermediate Contemporary Dance Techniques I (3.00)
DANC 320 – Intermediate Contemporary Dance Techniques II (3.00)
DANC 410 – Advanced Contemporary Dance Techniques I (3.00)
DANC 420 – Advanced Contemporary Dance Techniques II (3.00)
DANC 275 – Introduction to Umfundalai Contemporary African Dance Technique (3.00)
A minimum of 8 credits in ballet technique (including repeatable courses) from the following:
DANC 216 – Ballet II–Intermediate Ballet (3.00)
DANC 316 – Ballet III – High Intermediate Ballet (2.00)
Note: Students entering the program at a higher level of ballet may apply DANC 416 – Ballet IV – Advanced Ballet (2.00) to this requirement.
Choreographic Process (9 credits)
DANC 230 – Improvisation (2.00)
DANC 330 – Dance Composition I (3.00)
DANC 335 – Independent Projects in Choreography (1.00)
DANC 331 – Dance Composition II (3.00)
Performance (3 credits)
DANC 450 – Repertory (3.00)
Dance History (6 credits)
DANC 201 – Dance History I: Cultural and Classical Forms (3.00)
DANC 202 – Dance History II: Contemporary Forms (3.00)
Dance and Related Disciplines (11 credits)
DANC 240 – Music for Dance (2.00)
DANC 315 – Beyond Technique: The Body and Motion (3.00)
DANC 325 – Dance and the Contemporary Arts (3.00)
DANC 340 – Dance and Technology (3.00)
Technical Theater
DANC 399 – Dance Practicum (3.00)
Capstone Experience (3 credits)
DANC 475 – Senior Projects in Dance (3.00)
For course descriptions, go to the UMBC Catalog.
B.A. in Dance Pathways
Use the four-year academic pathways for each UMBC major/program listed below as a resource for major exploration and development of an individualized degree plan.