Dance: Choreography and Performance Concentration, BA

Dance: Choreography and Performance Concentration, BA

Passionate about moving and making? Come join our close-knit community of performers.

In our program, students engage with dance on multiple levels—creative, intellectual, and physical. Guided by our outstanding faculty, you’ll receive conservatory-caliber training in a small class setting. As a Choreography and Performance emphasis, you’ll dive into the theory and practice of movement, technique, and choreography through an assortment of workshops and performances, attending shows throughout the Bay Area and working with a diverse range of guest artists. Your studies will culminate with a self-generated project that demonstrates mastery in your chosen field. 

Our students grow tremendously in their critical thinking, writing, and verbal communication skills, all valuable skills for any future profession. Some of our graduates head for careers in dance, theatre, and the arts. Many continue onto graduate studies. Others put their critical and creative skills to work outside of the arts, in education, health care, and beyond.

Myriad possibilities await you, and we are here to prepare you for them!

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Learn more about the program

Get to know our well-respected faculty and their specialties, as artists and scholars. Or explore scholarship opportunities and an array of performance possibilities.

Dance Curriculum

Dance: Choreography and Performance Concentration, BA

BA

The BA in Dance: Choreography and Performance Concentration is designed for the student interested in pursuing conservatory caliber training. This major concentration prepares dancers for a career in the performing arts and/or graduate studies in Dance with a minimum of 48 units.

Learning Outcomes

  • PLO 1: DISTINGUISH technical terms and theories used in dance studies, influenced by aesthetics, anatomy and science, Somatics, pedagogical and performance theories; and employ this terminology appropriately when discussing and writing about specific works and/or assessing one's practice;
  • PLO 2: RECOGNIZE the cultural context of a work of art or style of movement in the studio and in writing. Frame creative challenges within larger historical/theoretical questions to locate one¬ís own place in history by recognizing the dance lineage that shape us in our search for defining the dancing identity necessary in today¬ís world;
  • PLO 3: ENGAGE in critical discourse to explore how social identities are constructed, constrained, reinforced, and treated with inequality by systems of power, including within the field of performing arts by analyzing issues of access, representation, exclusion, and inclusion in the field in both creative practice and on paper;
  • PLO 4: FORMULATE an intersectional perspective through the lenses of race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, ability, age, and culture; strengthening our sense of how socially conscious bodies are able to see and take action towards social diversity in relationship to the SMC community, the Bay Area, the country and beyond when assessing one¬ís practice.
  • PLO 5: DEMONSTRATE individual artistic choices and promote self-authority and agency to express individual thought and creativity outside of rigid, dominant and binary world views both experientially and in writing;

Requirements

Lower Division

The following lower-division courses are required for the major.

  • Choreography I (2 units)
  • Dance Movement Science (3 units)
  • Choreography II (2 units)

LD Movement Classes

Take six movement classes from the following list. Courses may be repeated.

  • Tap (1 units)
  • West African Dance (1 units)
  • Baile Folklorico (1 units)
  • Jazz Dance (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance I (1 units)
  • Ballet: Somatic Fundamentals (1 units)
  • Gaga/Improvisation (1 units)
  • Hip-Hop Dance (1 units)
  • Chinese Dance (1 units)
  • Ballroom (1 units)
  • Intermediate Tap (2 units)
  • Int West African Dance (2 units)
  • Intermediate Baile Folklorico (1 units)
  • Intermediate Jazz Dance (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance II (1 units)
  • Ballet II (1 units)
  • Intermediate Hip-Hop Dance (1 units)
  • Intermediate Chinese Dance (1 units)
  • Intermediate Ballroom (1 units)

Upper Division

The following courses are required, and BA Dance Students must take 2 units of DANCE402 (either two 1-unit versions or a single 2-unit version).

  • Choreography III (2 units)
  • Laban and Bartenieff Movement (3 units)
  • Dance Pedagogy (3 units)
  • Asian Dance Contemporary World (3 units)
  • Dance History: Antiracist Appr (3 units)
  • Dance and Performance Studies (4 units)
  • Dance Company Ensemble (1-2 units)
  • Senior Project (4 units)

UD Movement Classes

Take eight movement classes from the following list:

  • Advanced Tap (1 units)
  • Advanced West African Dance (1-2 units)
  • Advanced Baile Folklorico (1 units)
  • Advanced Jazz Dance (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance III (2 units)
  • Ballet III (2 units)
  • Advanced Gaga/Improvisation (1 units)
  • Advanced Hip-Hop Dance (1 units)
  • Advanced Chinese Dance (1 units)
  • Advanced Ballroom (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance IV (1 units)
  • Ballet IV (1 units)

Dance Production

Take one of the following:

  • Dance Production I (1 units)
  • Dance Production II (1 units)
  • Choreography I (2 units)
  • Dance Movement Science (3 units)
  • Dance Movement Science Lab (1 units)
  • Beginning Belly Dance (1 units)
  • Tap (1 units)
  • West African Dance (1 units)
  • Baile Folklorico (1 units)
  • Jazz Dance (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance I (1 units)
  • Ballet: Somatic Fundamentals (1 units)
  • Gaga/Improvisation (1 units)
  • Hip-Hop Dance (1 units)
  • Chinese Dance (1 units)
  • Ballroom (1 units)
  • Pilates (1 units)
  • Somatics (1 units)
  • Yoga (1 units)
  • Choreography II (2 units)
  • Dance and Film (3 units)
  • Intermediate Tap (2 units)
  • Int West African Dance (2 units)
  • Intermediate Baile Folklorico (1 units)
  • Intermediate Jazz Dance (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance II (1 units)
  • Ballet II (1 units)
  • Intermediate Hip-Hop Dance (1 units)
  • Intermediate Chinese Dance (1 units)
  • Intermediate Ballroom (1 units)
  • Dance Production I (1 units)
  • Independent Study (1-4 units)
  • DANCE Elective (1-5 units)
  • Choreography III (2 units)
  • Laban and Bartenieff Movement (3 units)
  • Dance Pedagogy (3 units)
  • Dance Pedagogy EL (1 units)
  • Asian Dance Contemporary World (3 units)
  • Dance History: Antiracist Appr (3 units)
  • Advanced Tap (1 units)
  • Advanced West African Dance (1-2 units)
  • Advanced Baile Folklorico (1 units)
  • Advanced Jazz Dance (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance III (2 units)
  • Ballet III (2 units)
  • Advanced Gaga/Improvisation (1 units)
  • Advanced Hip-Hop Dance (1 units)
  • Advanced Chinese Dance (1 units)
  • Advanced Ballroom (1 units)
  • Advanced Pilates (1 units)
  • Advanced Somatics (1 units)
  • Advanced Yoga (1 units)
  • Production Mgmt for Dance (1 units)
  • Lighting Design for Dance (1 units)
  • DANCE UD Elective (1-5 units)
  • Dance and Performance Studies (4 units)
  • Dance Company Ensemble (1-2 units)
  • Dance Production II (1 units)
  • Modern/Contemporary Dance IV (1 units)
  • Ballet IV (1 units)
  • Independent Study (1-4 units)
  • Senior Project (4 units)
  • Arts Administration (4 units)
  • Lighting I (2 units)
  • Advanced Tap (1 units)
  • Advanced West African Dance (1 units)
  • Advanced Baile Folklorico (1 units)
  • Advanced Jazz Dance (1 units)
  • Advanced Modern (1 units)
  • Advanced Ballet (1 units)
  • Advanced Improvisation/Gaga (1 units)
  • Advanced Hip-Hop (1 units)
  • Advanced Chinese Dance (1 units)
  • Advanced Pilates (1 units)
  • Advanced Yoga (1 units)
  • Dance Production Management (3 units)
  • Dance & Performance Studies (3 units)
  • Dance and Social Justice (3 units)
  • Dance for Camera (3 units)
  • Laban & Bartenieff Mvmnt Stud (3 units)
  • Choreography IV (3 units)
  • Choreography V (3 units)
  • Design Methodologies (3 units)
  • Lighting II (2 units)
  • Lighting III (2 units)
  • Costume Design (3 units)
  • Scenery I (3 units)
  • Dance Stage Management (3 units)
  • Producing (3 units)
  • Vectorworks (1 units)
  • Sound I (3 units)
  • Digital Dance (3 units)
  • Research Methods (2 units)
  • Somatic Movement Studies I (1 units)
  • Somatic Movement Studies II (1 units)
  • Somatic Movement Studies III (1 units)
  • Seminar in Phenomenology (3 units)
  • Critical Dance Pedagogy (3 units)
  • Somatic Movement Seminar (3 units)
  • Embodied Bartenieff (2 units)
  • Choreography A (3 units)
  • Choreography B (3 units)
  • Production Practicum (3 units)
  • Graduate Teaching Practicum
  • Graduate Dance Practicum
  • Independent Study (3 units)
  • Thesis I (3 units)
  • Thesis II (3 units)

What can you do with a degree in Dance, Choreography and Performance?

A degree in Dance with Choreography and Performance Concentration provides students with conservatory-caliber training in technique, choreography, pedagogy, and production for stage and screen.

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Women in red dance on stage

Dancer / Performer
Audition, rehearse, and perform in concert, commercial, and touring productions.

Choreographer
Create original works; set repertory; lead studios, rehearsals, and showings.

Rehearsal Director
Maintain choreographic integrity; coach casts, schedule calls, and give notes.

Company / Stage / Production Manager
Advance shows; coordinate tech, budgets, crews, and touring logistics.

Teaching Artist / Studio Instructor
Teach technique, composition, and performance in studios, schools, and community programs.

Dance Film / Media Producer
Develop screendance projects; direct, shoot, and edit performance for digital platforms.

Lighting / Production Designer
Design lighting and production elements to support choreography and narrative.

Movement Director (Theatre/Film)
Shape physical storytelling, intimacy, and ensemble movement for stage and screen.

Saint Mary's Testimonials

Brevin Domingo '19

“At SMC, you don't have to fit into just one box. A liberal arts education allowed me to pursue both of my passions for health science and dance, be involved in student organizations, work an on-campus job, and study abroad. The opportunities here are endless!”

Brevin Domingo '19 (Allied Health Science & Dance: Choreography & Performance)

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