Dance

Career potential

By choosing to study dance at the University of North Texas, you will be preparing to enter a profession that values self-expression, intellectual investigation, creative exploration and discipline.

With a bachelor's degree in dance, you may find career opportunities in a wide variety of settings. The range of performance possibilities within professional dance companies includes ballet, modern, contemporary styles and dance/theatre, as well as independent/experimental performances. As with the variation in dance forms and styles, there also is a wide range of performance venues, including the professional stage, musical theatre and dance theatre, opera, and national and international festivals. Commercial work is found in theme parks or on cruise ships, in advertising, television, video and films.

In addition to careers in performance, you may teach in a school system or studio or pursue dance criticism and writing or related fields of interest. If you choose to pursue a master's or doctoral degree, opportunities exist in performance, choreography, dance science and related fields such as physical therapy, movement therapy, dance medicine and arts management.

UNT's Career Center can help you prepare to pursue your career. The center has information about jobs and employers, and the staff can assist you with resume and letter writing, job search strategies, and interview preparation.

Majoring in dance

UNT's dance program offers a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of fine arts in dance. You will take technique courses to reach an advanced level of competence in modern dance and ballet, with additional requirements in jazz, tap, African and other world dance forms. You are required to participate in an entrance and placement audition. There is an additional application for acceptance into the B.F.A. degree program.

In addition to the study of dance technique with a strong kinesiological foundation, course work will include work in improvisation, choreography, movement analysis, dance science, dance history, aesthetics and music for dance.

As a student in the Department of Dance and Theatre, you will participate in a variety of activities within the theatre program. Areas of study will include dance and theatre performance, design/technology in theatre, and education. Certification for teaching is completed through the College of Education.

Department of Dance and Theatre

The department includes study in dance performance, dance education, theatre performance, design and technology in theatre, and theatre education. The faculty is a diverse group of professional artists and educators with a commitment to the study of dance and theatre as an art form and an academic discipline.

Dance faculty members have extensive experience as choreographers, performers, directors, educators and researchers. Dance science forms a strong basis of the instructional philosophy of the faculty and the program. Individual faculty members have developed additional expertise in movement analysis, research in dance science, therapeutic approaches with movement, dance pedagogy, computer applications to dance and interdisciplinary approaches to the choreographic process.

Dance faculty members have served as master teachers and presenters at national and international professional conferences and festivals. Their choreographic work has been presented by dance companies and independent performance groups throughout the United States. They have also been involved with international performance opportunities for students in Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, France and Tunisia.

Getting hands-on experience

UNT's dance students have opportunities to perform in various venues on and off campus. The department houses several performance spaces, including a 500-seat proscenium theater, a black box studio theater and informal performance spaces within the dance studios. You could get involved with works being created by faculty members, guest artists and senior-level students. In addition, dance majors often join UNT's theatre majors in the presentation of musical theatre productions.

An important part of the UNT experience will be your participation in organizations such as Chi Tau Epsilon (national dance honor organization), DANCE UNiT (community awareness and participation in dance) and University Players (theatre and dance performance, education, social activities). DANCE UNiT also will provide you opportunities to perform and present choreography through its annual Daybreak Performance held in the University Union. Chi Tau Epsilon is available if you have a 2.85 or higher grade point average. You could also become part of a special interest group that focuses on ways of linking contemporary modern dance with African dance and salsa dancing. As a part of the Department of Dance and Theatre, you will be involved with theatre students in the University Players.

UNT dance majors and faculty members participate in the American College Dance Festival Association by attending annual dance festivals, participating in classes with master teachers from across the country, performing in adjudicated concerts and attending performances of other college and university dance programs.

Preparing for UNT

If you are a high school student, we suggest you prepare for college by becoming computer proficient and taking:

• English … 4 years
• Math … 4 years
• Social science — economics, geography, government, history … 4 years
• Science … 3 years
• Foreign language … 3 years
• Fine arts … 1 year

You will need to take courses in most of these subjects under the university core curriculum required of all undergraduates, in addition to your major courses. Talk with your high school counselor about preparing for college, including the entrance exams (SAT Reasoning Test or ACT) that you should take during your junior year.

High school courses in music, theatre, visual art, advanced math, body sciences and physical conditioning, as well as formal dance training, will help prepare you for the rigors of a major in dance.

As a benefit for transfer students, UNT participates in the Texas Common Course Numbering System. This system makes it easier to transfer credits for general academic courses from one Texas institution to another.

If you're attending a Texas community college, you should consult the UNT Transfer Guide, the UNT Undergraduate Catalog and an academic counselor/advisor to discuss your degree plan. Proper planning will help you receive the maximum amount of transfer credits.

You must be accepted to UNT and complete an audition for admission into the dance program. Visit www.danceandtheatre.unt.edu for audition and performance dates as well as current program information.

Charting your path with academic advising

Faculty members in the dance program will help you each semester select those courses necessary to earn your bachelor's degree. The advisors for dance are in Stovall Hall, Room 180.

Curious about courses and other features of this major?
See the current catalog.