Bath Spa University

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Dance

A unique opportunity to explore contemporary choreography and performance practice, including inter-disciplinary, collaborative, and digital media work.

For more information about this course please visit the School of Music and Performing Arts website.

Studying dance with us immerses you in a sophisticated and highly creative environment. The course allows you to develop a range of practical skills underpinned and enriched by theory and knowledge. The study and practice of choreography, technique and performance, analysis, research, interdisciplinary and collaborative practice, plus digital technology (film and sound) lie at the heart of our study programme, giving our graduates a broad skill base with which to engage with the creative industries. Students studying dance as a Single Honours subject study all of these facets of the course. Those combining two subjects study a selection of them.

The option of collaborating with students from other creative courses generates exciting possibilities for interaction, enabling the production of original and challenging work in both live and digital performance spaces. Screendance, and the interface and integration of digital media in live performance work, forms an important focus of the course, and your development as a performer is supported by technique, contact improvisation, and somatic studies over the three years. You will develop an individual choreographic and performance style, and the imagination, confidence, and ability to adapt and apply your knowledge and experience to a wide range of contexts. Your creative and imaginative ability will be progressively developed and tutors will encourage you to produce work of the highest standards at all times.

As you develop practical skills, you will also be rigorously investigating the theories that underpin them. You will consider issues of representation and meaning through theoretical and practical study, referring to the work of known choreographers and through personal investigations into crafting approaches and processes.

In addition to working with the programme's committed and highly experienced staff team, we offer you the chance to work with a variety of professional choreographers. You will also have the opportunity to work in different venues, network with professionals, and to undertake a work placement that will prepare you to become a dance professional.  In your third year you will complete a digital portfolio, including a web site, that promotes yourself as a dance professional.

On graduating, you may choose to study further at postgraduate level or to find work as a choreographer, performer, teacher, filmmaker, community dance practitioner, independent dance artist, dance administrator, or a combination of more than one area of interest. Our aim is to support graduates to become confident, enterprising, skillful, and creative, and to become the exciting and innovative practitioners of the future.

Course Structure and Content

If you study dance as a Specialised Award you undertake all modules below in the three strands of the dance programme - Choreography (core), Technique, and Interdisciplinary/collaborative Practice.

If you study dance as a Combined Award you will study all the modules in the Choreography strand*, and have the option of other modules in the Technique and Interdisciplinary/collaborative strands**

* compulsory for Combined study routes.
** optional for combined study routes.

Year 1

• Choreography 1. Constructing the Body*
• Movement Techniques: Codified Practice
• Movement Technique & Improvisation : Somatic Practice**
• New Media and Performance Practice
• Collaborative Practice 1**

Year 2

• Choreography: Body as a Conscious Site*
• Movement Techniques: Codified Practice
• Movement Techniques: Contact Improvisation**
• Dance on Camera
• Collaborative Practice 2. Sound and Site**

Year 3

• Choreography 3*
• Movement Techniques: Codified Practice
• Movement Technique & Improvisation : Somatic Research**
• Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Practice: Intermedia Performance**
• Professional Portfolio - The Enterprising Artist**

Visiting Companies and Artists

Visiting Companies have included: Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company, Bedlam Dance Company, Earthfall (our Associate Company), Gill Clarke, Siobhan Davies and Company, Wendy Houston, Nigel Charnock, Precarious, Silesian Dance Theatre, Liam Steel (Stan Won't Dance), Yael Flexer, Jessica Cohen, Sean King, Arthur Pitta, Helen Bagget, Stuart Lynch, Maresa von Stockert.

Teaching Methods and Resources

Lectures, workshops, seminars and choreographic laboratories are led by qualified staff, visiting choreographers and artists. You will work in our main dance studio, which is fully equipped for choreography, performance and work with digital media, our Apple Mac edit suite, and in the new University Theatre building's studio and performance spaces.

Assessment Methods

Methods include practical projects (choreography and performance), essays, portfolios and seminar presentations.

Typical Offers

240-280 UCAS Tariff points (eg BCC; BB+AS a), with min 80 points from Dance or Performing Arts preferred.

Or dance experience outside education.

Eligible candidates will be asked to attend an audition.