CMU Announces a Dance Studies Major, the First of its Kind in Michigan

The Central Michigan University Theatre and Dance Department has announced a new Dance Studies Major, the first program of its kind in Michigan.

The mission of the CMU Dance Studies major is to train and mentor dance-based performers, critical thinkers, writers, choreographers, production technicians, administrators, educators, and scholars who will be prepared to contribute to the field of dance in a wide variety of professional careers.

CMU Dance Studies students will take classes that will prepare them for a variety of vocations within the field of dance including, but not limited to, professional performer, educator, choreographer, arts administrator, critic, and scholar. All dance majors will take an internship in their chosen area of dance during their senior year. A minor in Business or Entrepreneurship is required.

Dance Studies expands the intellectual framework of dance education outside of the traditional dance studio. While dance technique courses will be a significant portion of the required course work, critical thinking, writing, and rigorous scholarly exploration will partner with the physical training to deepen the students' understanding of dance in a global context. Students will study dance history in order to understand the development of varying genres of dance and their placement in global structures. Classes such as performing arts administration, dance composition, writing about dance, dance pedagogy, and dance for film (screen dance) will partner with students' technical dance training to provide varying paths for career exploration and employment.

The university will regularly host week-long residencies with professional dance artists to provide additional diverse dance experiences for CMU's dance students. Examples of past guest artist residencies include Omri Drumlevich (Gaga Movement Language, Batsheva Dance Ensemble), Masashi Action Machine (Japan), Jump Rhythm Jazz Project (Chicago), and Natya Dance Theatre (Chicago) For CMU Michigan Dance Day, we brought several respected Michigan Dancers to campus to present a series of master classes and discussion panels.

The dance faculty are engaged in active performance practice, community engagement, and scholarly research that directly serve the goals of the Dance Studies Major to prepare students to work in a variety of dance-related vocations.

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