[Programs]

The centerpiece of the dance program is performance. Students at all levels have regular opportunities, both formal and informal, to develop their performance skills. Students generally perform in department concerts at the end of each semester, in dances choreographed by faculty, visiting artists or other dance majors. Students also may have the opportunity to choreograph for department concerts and to create self-designed projects through independent studies. Because dance is studied in an atmosphere with many opportunities for connection with the other arts, students also develop their awareness of potential influences and new possibilities in performance.

The Artist-in-Residence program brings well-known contemporary choreographers and/or teachers to the UMBC faculty for a full semester each year. This offers students the opportunity to work intensively with established dance artists and to be exposed to different ideas and methods of choreography. The program further develops students’ versatility in different techniques and styles. Recent visiting artists have included Mark Coniglio and Dawn Stoppiello, Tonya Lockyer, David Rousseve, Adrienne Clancy, and Mary Williford.

Major Programs:

Other Options:

Students may elect to pursue the completion of two majors, in separate fields of study, at UMBC. Depending upon the intensity of study required, it may be necessary to extend study at UMBC beyond the customary four years.

• Interdisciplinary Studies

Students may concentrate exclusively on dance, or they may create a highly individualized program, combining dance with other art forms through the Visual and Performing Arts Interdisciplinary major, or other fields of study through the Interdisciplinary Studies major.

Click here for UMBC class schedules.