University dance programs have undergone some remarkable changes since March 2020. From shutting down completely and sending students home to mandating masks and social distancing, there are plenty of pandemic-era adjustments that students and faculty will be happy to leave behind. However, there are also some transformations that many dance departments plan to carry forward […]
Before March 2020, my relationship to teaching within higher education was as a part-time freelancer. Mostly, I held master classes, creative exchanges, intensive workshops or the very occasional “technique” class. I never thought of myself as a teacher as much as someone who was excited to share information and experience, and then witness its transformation […]
When university dance classes were forced to shift online in the middle of 2020’s spring semester, dance professors struggled to reinvent their lessons for the virtual environment. But Sandra Parks, assistant teaching professor at Drexel University, was prepared. She had spent the previous three years developing an online-only dance degree for Drexel’s Westphal College of […]
Recognizing the importance of questions such as “Who teaches what? And for who?,” many degree programs have recently been starting to alter their curriculums. Yet this approach has always been central to the University of East London’s BA Dance: Urban Practice, which has used alternative approaches to teach popular urban dances since 2007. Students in […]
When Rose Conroy-Voza entered Rider University in 2016, she thought all she needed to focus on was her dance classes. But the 2020 graduate found herself cherishing experiences outside of the studio—memberships in upwards of 10 clubs, an on-campus job and meaningful connections with her professors. “As I was introduced to all these different opportunities,” […]
For most students, the last year of college is bittersweet—saying goodbye to friends, professors and campus grounds while eagerly awaiting the next stage of life: financial independence, a different city, new connections and more. This year, however, seniors are preparing to graduate into a labor force facing historic levels of unemployment, competing for limited opportunities […]
Many high school students figure out where they might like to attend college by visiting campuses. But for dancers, there’s often an even better research opportunity that involves top-notch training, networking opportunities and a chance to perform: the college program summer intensive. University dance departments around the country offer summer intensives for high school students, […]
Most dancers are over the moon when they get accepted into their dream dance program. But what happens when your parents don’t share the same excitement? For some students, receiving an acceptance letter is the start of an even bigger battle: convincing their family of the validity of a dance degree. Talk It Out Know […]