The Dance Program at Columbia College offers a creatively rigorous community that encourages the student to investigate, generate, and articulate her unique artistry through dance. With a comprehensive, progressive study in the dance discipline, the student will gain the experience needed to engage as a leader in the field, enriching the human experience through performance and choreography, dance education, and arts advocacy.  

Majors in Dance and Dance Education  

The degree programs in Dance seek to prepare major students for careers in performance, teaching, advocacy and administration of dance as fine art. The curriculum is firmly rooted in the technical study of Contemporary dance and other diverse forms. Classes are offered on multiple levels based on technical proficiency in Contemporary dance with classes specifically for majors meeting daily. In addition, training and opportunities provided through Dance Company and Leadership Semester experiences enable students to develop the knowledge and dispositions needed to engage as leaders in the dance field.  

Students may choose from the Bachelor of Arts in Dance Education to certify as a teacher of dance in the Pre-K – 12 school setting and the Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies non-certification degree program. Students are strongly encouraged to select one of three Dance certificate Programs aimed at deepening the BA in Dance Studies degree. The Certificate Programs include: 1-Dance Performance and Choreography, 2-Dance Studio/Private Sector Ownership, 3-Dance Research and Writing.  

Certificate Program Descriptions:

Dance Performance and Choreography: Prepares the student to become a practicing dance artist as a performer and choreographer by emphasizing course study in increased dance technique and dance composition.

Dance Studio/Private Sector Ownership: Prepares the student for a profession in the business of teaching dance in the private sector by emphasizing course study in dance technique, pedagogy, and business.

Dance Research and Writing: Prepares the student for a path leading to graduate study in the arts by emphasizing course study in dance aesthetics, dance science and dance as a phenomenon    

The Columbia College Dance Program is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).  

More information about the dance curriculum can be found in the current Undergraduate Academic Catalog http://www.columbiasc.edu/academics/catalog.asp