Why the University of South Carolina Believes Well-Rounded Humans Always Make the Best Dancers

Next spring, Mia Sanderson will graduate from University of South Carolina’s Betsy Blackmon Dance Program with two degrees, completing four years of dance and advertising curriculums that now position her for several career options: Will it be professional company life or marketing for a dance organization? Maybe even musical theater, she says.  “I’ve definitely become a better […]

Happy asian female tourist traveller with backpack walks in old city. Woman against backdrop of Hadrian's gate - popular attraction in old city of Antalya

A Day in the Life of 4 College Dance Majors

Despite all the hours young dancers spend in the studio, for many coming out of high school, the idea of dance as an academic discipline—an intellectual as much as a physical pursuit—can be unfamiliar, even mysterious. What do college dance programs actually require? What do students’ days look like? A college’s faculty, size, location, and […]

How University of the Arts Teaches Dancers to “Pay Attention Differently”—and Why It Works

When first-year students begin classes at the University of the Arts’ School of Dance in Philadelphia, they’re met with guiding questions that challenge them to reframe the very purpose of dance training: “How do you pay attention to what you’re doing all the time, differently?” asks Donna Faye Burchfield, professor and dean of the School of Dance. “What […]

a group of dancers wearing Ailey/Fordham shirts smiling at the camera

The Ailey/Fordham Dance BFA Turns 25

This fall, the celebrated collaboration that grew out of that conversation, the joint Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, marks its 25th anniversary. Two and a half decades ago, the two institutions opened their doors to the first cohort of students that would receive conservatory-level dance training paired with a robust liberal arts education.

a male dancer wearing white performing a grand jete on stage

Majors and Minors That Enrich a Dance Degree

For many dancers, the right college path is a mixed one, where dance is one component in a combination of majors and minors. It’s a choice that allows them to explore diverse interests, discover unexpected intersections, and deepen their engagement and mastery on multiple fronts.

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