Dance

Undergraduate Programs

Description

Learn the depth and breadth of dance as you practice this art form in multiple ways. Balance your artistic experiences with practical applications to enter the dance world after graduation. Be ready for a lifetime in dance to teach, perform, choreograph, write, and produce. Whatever your chosen path, emerge from the program with skills and abilities to think critically and act globally as high-quality dance artists.

Majors

 Program Locations Major / Total Credits
Dance BA BA - Bachelor of Arts
  • Mankato
 52 / 120
Dance BFA BFA - Bachelor of Fine Arts
  • Mankato
 64 / 120
Dance BS BS - Bachelor of Science
  • Mankato
 44 / 120
Dance BS Dance Therapy Pre Professional BS - Bachelor of Science
  • Mankato
 62 / 120
Dance BS Private Studio Teaching BS - Bachelor of Science
  • Mankato
 65 / 120

Minors

 Program Locations Total Credits
Dance Minor
  • Mankato
 23

Policies & Faculty

Policies

Admission to Dance BA or Dance BS is open. Contact the department for admission to the major.

Admission to the Dance BFA is competitive and selective to ensure individual attention necessary for effective professional preparation and training.

Students audition and interview for admission to the program. Students participate in a dance class and prepare a 1-minute solo dance. Standards for evaluating the audition are:

  1. Technical proficiency
  2. Artistry
  3. Professional goals

Auditions are held late summer in spring semester.

GPA Policy. All dance majors must maintain a "C" average. BFA students must maintain a GPA of 3.0.

Dance BFA Progressive Retention Standards

All students admitted to BFA are reviewed every semester in the program. Students meet with the Dance faculty to review progress and evaluate the student's status. BFA students are required to:

  1. Demonstrate appropriate progress in production, performance, and academic work at end-of-semester evaluations.
  2. Audition for all faculty and guest artist work.
  3. Demonstrate appropriate professional behavior in class and production work.
  4. 4Must participate in 2 dance concerts per academic year.

P/N Grading Policy. Required courses must be taken for a grade.

Contact Information

201 Earley Center for Performing Arts

(507) 389-2118
https://hss.mnsu.edu/academic-programs/dance/

Faculty

Co-Chair
  • Stephanie Thorpe, DMA
Co-Chair
  • George Grubb, MFA
Faculty

100 Level

Credits: 3

A survey of dance in all its vibrant forms intended to develop student understanding and appreciation for the significant role dance plays in world cultures.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-08

Credits: 3

A survey of dance in all its vibrant forms intended to develop student understanding and appreciation for the significant role dance plays in world cultures.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-06, GE-08

Credits: 2

Fundamentals of jazz technique, including knowledge and application of terminology. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 2

Fundamentals of African-based dance forms explored through West African and Caribbean roots. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 2

Fundamentals of ballet technique, including knowledge and application of terminology. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 2

Fundamentals of tap dance technique utilized in musical theatre. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 2

Fundamentals of modern dance technique, including an improvisatory component. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 1-2

Performing in a mainstage dance production. May be repeated.

Prerequisites: Consent

200 Level

Credits: 2

Expanding knowledge and skill of jazz dance technique with more direct application to musical theatre and concert dance, as well as focus on emerging performance skills. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 3

Cross-cultural survey of dance from around the world with emphasis on historical, social, and cultural dimensions. Includes western concert dance as one among many other forms. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: DANC 120 or DANC120W

Goal Areas: GE-08, GE-11

Diverse Cultures: Purple

Credits: 2

Expanding knowledge and skill of ballet technique, with increasing development of centerfloor and across-the-floor variations, as well as emerging performance skills. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 2

Expanding knowledge and skill of tap technique, in musical theatre, as well as focus on emerging performance skills. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Goal Areas: GE-11

Credits: 2

Expanding knowledge and skill of modern dance technique, including floor work, elevations, inversions, and emerging performance skills. May be repeated.

Prerequisites: none

Goal Areas: GE-11

300 Level

Credits: 2

Study and practice of specific techniques to improve dancers' performance, health, and teaching. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 2

The study of dance making, dance accompaniment, and dance criticism through the creation of dance works. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: DANC 228, DANC 322. Consent

Credits: 2

Exploration of a variety of improvisational techniques for beginning Dance Majors and Minors. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Credits: 2

Increasing difficulty of jazz dance technique through complexity of combinations, multiple turns, and more developed performance skills as applied to musical theatre or concert dance. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 3

This course is first in a two-part series of courses required for the K-12 Dance Education license. It examines the theory and practice of dance education and applies this knowledge to simulated teaching and to selected clinical settings. Consent of instructor is required. Fall

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 2

Increasing difficulty of ballet technique with more complex combinations, multiple turns, pointe work, and greater emphasis on performance skills. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 2

Increasing complexity of tap technique for musical theatre with greater emphasis on performance skills. May be repeated. Instructor consent is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Credits: 2

Increasing complexity of modern dance technique, including floor work, partnering, elevation, inversions, and performance skills. May be repeated. Instructor consent is required.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1

Individualized teaching, performance, or choreographic experiences occurring on, or off-campus. May be repeated.

Prerequisites: Consent.

Credits: 1

Expanding knowledge and skill in dance partnering, with the emphasis on styles used in performance of concert dance. May be repeated. Instructor consent is required.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1

Expanding knowledge and skill in dance partnering, with the emphasis on styles used in performance of theatre and musical theatre. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

400 Level

Credits: 2

Continuation of the principles and techniques of choreography with an emphasis on group forms.

Prerequisites: DANC 321

Credits: 3

This course is the second in a two-part series of courses required for the K-12 Dance Education license. The focus of the course is on lesson planning, assessment, and teaching in a variety of K-12 settings. Spring

Prerequisites: DANC 324

Credits: 3

Rotation of a variety of topics in dance. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: Consent

Credits: 1

Repertory experience in performance of the choreography by a variety of dance artists. May be repeated. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1

Capstone experience for all dance majors. Individually paced and directed, this project can be: choreographic, performance, or written.

Prerequisites: DANC 484W

Credits: 1

Course will advance individual student's compositional skills through her/his solo and group projects in an self-paced manner. Consent of instructor is required.

Prerequisites: none

Credits: 1

Course will further advance individual student's compositional skills through her/his solo and group projects in an self-paced manner.

Prerequisites: DANC 430, consent

Credits: 3

Historical survey of Western theatrical dance from the 1500's to the present. Also integrates reading and discussion about how class, gender, and race affected the development of concert dance history in the United States and Europe.

Prerequisites: DANC 120, DANC 225, DANC 226, DANC 228, DANC 321

Credits: 3

Investigation of concert dance history from diverse perspectives. Along with western European contributions, the legacies and traditions associated with the African diaspora, North American indigenous populations, vernacular and folk forms will also will be included. Sociopolitical ideologies of race, class, and gender will apply to this historical examination.

Prerequisites: DANC 225

Credits: 1-8

This course is designed to provide dance students additional dance experiences through work beyond the campus environment.Fall, SpringPrereq: Consent

Prerequisites: consent

Credits: 1-3

This course is designed to provide students with specialized study in dance.Fall, SpringPrereq: Consent

Prerequisites: consent