The Dance Program at Theatre/Dance ISU
Introduction
The ISU Theatre and Dance Department provides a well-rounded curriculum that is both basic and innovative. Theatre and Dance productions range from classics to contemporary, from intimate to large-scale, and from student-directed to faculty produced. All programs in Theatre and Dance are structured to provide a rich mixture of academic, design, and performance courses, coupled with a broad array of electives, enabling ISU students to pursue theatre and dance as a profession or an avocation. Students may choose to focus on performance (acting, directing, dance, and choreography), technical theatre, dance education, or achieve an Education degree with certification to teach theatre. All ISU Theatre and Dance students are expected to gain a broad-based knowledge of all major aspects of production, and a solid grounding in the history, theory, and literature of their art.
Mission Statement
The Dance Program at ISU provides a liberal arts based approach to the study of the theatrical art of dance as a unique discipline within a collaborative, interconnected setting. Critical to a liberal arts education are creative and critical thinking skills, communication skills, collaborative working skills, interdisciplinary connections and cross cultural explorations.
Guided by the conviction that the arts are essential to a healthy community the dance program at ISU provides students with the basic tools that are necessary to follow an avocational/vocational calling in the field of dance and other related arts. At ISU, we foster a learning environment where students are encouraged to explore the unfamiliar and to take risks without fear of failure.
Dance Program Objectives
- Empower students to build a lifelong engagement with the art of dance based upon a foundation grounded in sound pedagogical practice;
- Train artists and educators who have strong technical foundations in contemporary and traditional forms of theatrical, educational, recreational and ritual dance;
- Provide a variety of performance venues in traditional theatre settings, experimental theatre, site specific work and community outreach;
- Provide opportunities for students to explore dance as a collaborative element of physical theatre and performance art;
- Provide opportunities to be exposed to guest artists and scholars across arts disciplines, through guest residencies, conferences, festivals and cross disciplinary, intermedia collaborations across campus and the greater community;
- Through participation in Theatre and Dance curricular and co-curricular offerings, students will:
- Demonstrate proficiency in the elements of movement to analyze, describe and creatively manipulate movement and develop competency in the craft of improvisation and choreography;
- Demonstrate an understanding of dance as a cultural, sociological, historical, and aesthetic phenomena, discipline and expression;
- Demonstrate critical reading and writing skills that examine the performing arts as reflective and reflexive of culture;
- Make connections with self and healthy living by developing a working knowledge of basic anatomy, kinesiology, somatic practices, injury prevention and nutrition;
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of rhythmic analysis and a heightened awareness of musical form;
- Demonstrate the skill of performance and the craft of choreography through participation in faculty and student productions;
- Demonstrate a fundamental knowledge in technical theater e.g. stagecraft, lighting, sound design, costume and makeup;
- Demonstrate a working knowledge of the art and science of teaching dance;
- Use technology to preserve and/or broaden the making of dance art;
- Acquire a background in the business of the art such as company management, production, grant writing, and entrepreneurial pursuits.
Careers in Dance
A career in dance requires extraordinary discipline, tenacity, dedication and excellent training. Training in Dance from ISU may lead to professional careers in dance and theater performance and choreography. It may also serve as a basis for graduate study or open up possibilities to job opportunities in fields such as costume and makeup design, light design, set and stage design, sound design, dance history, dance medicine and science, dance and physical therapy, somatic practices, dance ethnology, dance arts writing, research and criticism, dance photography and videography.
At ISU, we offer coursework in teaching dance in K-12 settings and as well as provide sound pedagogical and entrepreneurial training for those planning to open their own dance studio. Related fields, such as arts administration, arts therapies, production and company management and music also offer positions for the individual trained in dance.
Degree Program in Dance
The Department of Theatre and Dance offers a Dance Minor. Courses are designed following a liberal arts model with special emphases in either Performance/Choreography or Dance Education. The Dance Minor may be taken by any university student.
Performance Opportunities – Curricular and Co-Curricular
Throughout the year, the Department of Theatre and Dance regularly produces six productions including the faculty and guest artist dance concert, Idaho Moving Project (IMove). In addition, student groups such as Danson, produce two or more productions a year. Auditions for IMove are held annually in the Fall and are open to students, faculty, and community members. Auditions for Danson occur at the beginning of each semester to choose students for their own pieces and for the company. There are additional performance opportunities available to students of Theatre and Dance within our coursework such as DANC 210/410 Dance Composition I/II, all DANC dance technique and DAAC dance activity courses, THEA 300 Theatre Movement Workshop, THEA 131 Voice and Diction, THEA 251/252 Beginning/Intermediate Acting,THEA 390 Practicum in Theatre Arts, THEA g404 Problems in Acting and THEA g424 Acting Styles.
Financial Assistance
The Department of Theatre and Dance has monetary awards, scholarships and graduate assistantships available each semester. Scholarship auditions/portfolio reviews are held annually in early March. After that time, some scholarships may be awarded on an availability basis. Other financial aid options, including general scholarships, grants, and loans, are available through the Idaho State University Financial Aid Office.