Dance Major and Learning Outcomes

Dance Major Mission Statement

The Dance Department at DeSales University integrates the study of dance within a liberal arts curriculum. It focuses on cultivating the physical, emotional, and intellectual growth of its students through a supportive and holistic lens. The theoretical and practical approach to the art of dance aims to prepare our students for meaningful careers in the profession.

Dance Major Student Learning Outcomes

Students who graduate from DeSales University with a major in dance will be able to:

1. Demonstrate physical knowledge of ballet, Hip-Hop, and modern techniques with an emphasis on expressive clarity.
2. Demonstrate fluency in designing original creative work with connection to personal voice.
3. Analyze the aesthetic, physical, and cultural significance of dance.
4. Communicate cogently and thoughtfully about dance, dancers, and dancing through oral, written, and physical practices.
5. Demonstrate understanding of musicality including rhythmical acuity, syncopation, dynamics, and phrasing.

Studio courses emphasize training in ballet, Hip-Hop, and modern dance, and electives are offered in jazz, tap, partnering, as well as other non-eurocentric techniques. Master classes are offered regularly to augment the curriculum and to give students exposure to contemporary artists.

Admission into the dance major is twofold. The applicant must be accepted by the University, audition separately for the major, and be artistically accepted.

Program requirements for dance majors:

1. Five 1.5 credit courses of ballet, five 1.5 credit courses in Hip-Hop, and five 1.5 credit courses of modern dance technique classes. The intermediate proficiency level (DA 205 , DA 206 , DA 207 ) are required for graduation. Students are evaluated for technical ability every semester and are moved up in level at the discretion of the dance faculty.
2. The following 3 credit courses: DA 147 , DA 154 , DA 231 , DA 232 , DA 348 , DA 380 , DA 454 , DA 461 ; two of the following: DA 143 , DA 310 , DA 350 , DA 360 , DA 371 , TR 210  ,TV 225 ,
3. All dance majors participate as a dancer, understudy, and/or as a crew member for the Emerging Choreographers Concert and for the Dance Ensemble Concert every year. These types of experiences support our philosophy that the theoretical approach to performance must be supplemented with practical experience.
4. Within the framework of the dance department, the student, in consultation with their advisor, selects elective courses in accordance with their needs for future growth and development in the field of dance.

Pass/Fail Option:

 DA 301 , DA 4141 , DA 4241 , DA 428 , DA 4781 , DA 4791 , and DA 495  are offered on a pass/fail basis. DA 280  will be a class in which the instructor can designate the pass/fail option or not because it is a special topics class and will change from semester to semester.

Some dance courses may be open to non-majors with permission of the instructor. Non-dance majors can audition for dance department performances. All students cast in the Emerging Choreographers Concert and the Dance Ensemble Concert (dance majors and non-dance majors) must be registered for a ballet, Hip-Hop, and/or modern technique class for credit in the semester of the concert.