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MA Dance
School/s
Bath School of Music and Performing Arts
Campus or location
Newton Park
Course length
One year full-time or two years part-time.

Entry requirements

We’re looking for dancers and dance makers with a specialist interest in performance, screen-based dance practice, alternative performance spaces and interdisciplinary work, where the texts of dance and one or more other media intersect.

You’ll need a dance-based first degree (2:2 or above) or a relevant professional qualification/experience equivalent.

Develop your specialist dance practice on one of the UK’s leading MA Dance courses.

  • Explore and create choreography for live performance and film.
  • Develop your dance practice in an interdisciplinary environment that balances taught and research components.
  • Collaborate with other artists as part of an international dance community and broaden the possibilities of your practice.

Within the context of contemporary movement practice, our postgraduate dance programme is designed to build your knowledge and skills of creative dance practices, and will appeal to entrepreneurial dance artists who are keen to develop their own practice.

We offer a range of creative opportunities to enhance your studies. Alongside guidance from your tutors, our Master’s Dance degree is supported by a number of high-profile associations with artists and industry specialists in order to enhance your study experience.

Find out more about Bath Spa's MA Dance on Instagram.

Find out more about our events and graduates.

Create. Perform. Transform.

Viewers from China can view the video on YOUKU.

“This course has opened my mind to new possibilities of research in the arts. It has helped me to build, deepen and reflect upon my creative practice and define myself as an independent dance artist according to my interests.”

Ana Manu-Jara, MA Dance graduate

英国巴斯斯巴大学的校园拥有一流的设施,是一个聚集灵感、充满创造力的地方。我的专业融合了舞蹈和电影艺术,让我充分发挥了想象力。通过实践,我深入了解了创作与构思,突破自己仅作为表演者出现在舞台上,更是一个创造者去表现艺术作品。 灵活多样的课程设置让我对学习生活充满好奇,不断探索。

 

"The campus boasts first-class amenities and is a place of inspiration and creativity. The professional blend of dance and film art allowed me give full play to my imagination... Through practice, I deeply understood dance creation and conception, and my personal breakthrough came not only as a performer on the stage, but also a creator of artistic works. The flexible and varied curriculum made me curious about learning, life, and continued exploration."

Zhou Yu, MA Dance

What you'll learn

Overview

Our postgraduate Dance course supports a broad range of artistic practices and includes specialisms in screen-based dance practice, interdisciplinary performance work and site-based performance.

We'll support you to develop your postgraduate level research skills, which will help you develop your own creative practice. In addition, collaborative opportunities form a key part of the programme, enabling you to work across art forms with other practitioners.

Course structure

This MA Dance course will take one year. As a full-time student you’ll take one 30 credit module and two 15 credit modules in term one, two 30 credit modules in term two, and one 60 credit module (your final project) in term three.

Trimester one
This trimester has a substantial taught element, with a number of optional classes.

Trimester two
Following your first trimester, your second also has a substantial taught element, with optional classes available.

Trimester three
Trimester three, your thesis module, is largely self-directed, with tutorials and peer presentations leading to course completion.

Course modules

This course includes or offers the following modules. Please check the programme document for more information on which modules are core, required or optional.

  • Creative Practice 1
  • Contemporary Issues and Perspectives
  • Collaborative Engagement
  • Creative Practice 2
  • Professional Practice
  • Final Major Project

Creative Practice One
This module provides you with an opportunity to explore and develop an area of your creative practice and will lead to you completing a new creative work. This might take the form of, for example, a performance, an installation, a film, or a combination of these and/or other different media. The module provides space for you to be adventurous in your process, exploring creative options that push the boundaries of your practice into new territory.

Contemporary Issues and Perspectives
This module will encourage you to engage in a range of ideas that are pertinent to current debates within the field. The module proposes that the exploration of different cultural-political perspectives can deepen your understanding of dance as both an artistic form and an embodied phenomena. You'll be introduced to a selection of topic areas which will develop your understanding of dance as a cultural phenomenon. The aim is to promote the critical thinking skills that are necessary for you to be able to engage in a selection of key debates and trends within the discipline.

Collaborative Engagement
This module allows you to explore a range of approaches that artists may use when working together within creative contexts. The module is centered around enquiry, experimentation, playfulness and risk taking, and at the conclusion of the project, reflection on these processes. The module creates the opportunity for you to engage with discourses surrounding different approaches to collaborative practice, and to extend your artistic experiences into new territories by engaging with the creative processes of others through shared experiences.

Creative Practice Two
This module enables you to build on your knowledge and understanding of creative practices as artistic, political, social, and cultural phenomena within a practical research framework. You'll be introduced to embodied approaches to generating knowledge through a series of seminars and practical workshops. The study programme leads you to build a portfolio of work that evidences how your individual research interests have been explored through creative practice. The module aims to deepen your practice as a performer/maker through interrogation, reflection and dissemination.

Professional Practice
This module provides you with the opportunity to develop your knowledge and understanding of the demands of the professional dance arena. The module is designed to support you to explore your individual career aims; whether that's to work as a choreographer, filmmaker, director, community practitioner, or pursue further research in the field. You'll plan and carry out a project in response to a professional context/opportunity of your choosing. Throughout the module, you'll examine how the creative industries function, develop an understanding of how to build creative networks and expand your professional opportunities.

Final Major Project
This module requires you to undertake a significant project that consolidates and builds on the skills, knowledge and experience that you have acquired in the previous trimesters. The content and form of your final submission, which will ideally be a seminal work in your development as an artist/researcher, should be entirely defined by you. The form of your project might be for example; a completely written thesis, a performance work for stage or site, a performance accompanied by critical analysis and or a lecture demonstration, a film or collection of films and writing, an installation, or a combination of any the above in a manner that builds a coherent integrated product.

How will I be assessed?

You'll be assessed through a range of methods including performances/screenings, presentations, written work and journals. Practical project assessment may focus on your creative process as well as the final product. All work is assessed against generic criteria so you can compare your achievements against your previous work.

How will I be taught?

Weekly seminars form the central axis of the course. These are complemented by optional dance skills classes including technique and choreography, or additional research seminars. Study will also be strengthened by one-off events and intensive weekends where you’ll work with tutors and visiting artists.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

Opportunities

Study abroad

You can apply to study abroad through our GALA scheme. Previous students have performed or created work in Indonesia, Malta and China.

Careers

Having a postgraduate qualification opens up a range of options in the world of dance-related work and beyond.

You’ll be positioned to become a choreographer, performer, teacher, screendance maker, or any combination of these things. We’ll support you to develop versatility and understanding of how to market and present your work in a professional manner, so we can help you to graduate with the entrepreneurial skills needed to succeed in a challenging but inspirational workplace.

Adobe Creative Campus

Develop a wealth of indispensable digital skills that you can take into your future career. One of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, we provide all Bath Spa students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite, giving you the tools to communicate creatively, whatever your course or chosen professional field.   

“If it wasn't for your free mind, your will to break with conventions and your encouragement and support in me to dare to take risks and to go on new paths in my artistic process and adventures, I would not have developed and created the work I did in this year."

Stephanie Scheubeck. MA Graduate.

Facilities and resources

Resources

Bath Spa MA Dance students have access to a range of quality filmmaking equipment using the University’s free equipment loan service. In addition, fully up-to-date editing software is installed on our University computers and your work is supported by specialist technicians.

Fees

2024 entry
Student Annual tuition fee
UK full time £8,825
UK part time £4,413*
International full time £17,065

Fee notes

*Fees shown are for part time study over two years, although some courses may be available over longer periods.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the Dance MA course. It was an opportunity to really explore who I wanted to be as a dance artist and what kind of art I want to make. I particularly enjoyed working with film and creating screen-dance pieces that were different to anything I've done before.”

Abz Irwin, MA Dance graduate

Interested in applying?

What we look for in potential students

We’re looking for entrepreneurial dance artists who are keen to develop their own practice.

You’ll need a dance-based first degree (2:2 or above) or a relevant professional qualification/experience equivalent. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) web page to learn more.

How do I apply?

Ready to apply? Click the "apply now" button in the centre of this page.

Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply webpages.

International applications

If you’re an international student or based overseas, web-based interviews may be offered. Please contact International Admissions for more information: internationaladmissions@bathspa.ac.uk

International students should visit our international pages for more information about our entry requirements, fees and scholarships, and student support.

Interview and portfolio guidance

An applicant's suitability will be assessed through an application statement and a sample of work on video (five minutes maximum). Applicants will be invited to interview.

When to apply

Many of our postgraduate courses have a limited number of student spaces. To avoid the disappointment of the course being full, we recommend that you apply now.

Late applications (generally those made after 31 July) will only be considered if places remain on the course.

Need more information or still have questions? Contact us to discuss your situation.

Course leader: Anna Heighway
Email: a.heighway@bathspa.ac.uk

Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk